JOHN & YOKO

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BEHIND THE GROOVES: a music blog by Jeff Harris

On this day in music history: March 20, 1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono are married in Gibraltar in a quiet civil ceremony. Initially the pair intend to get married on the Southampton Ferry, but when they get there, they’re told that the captain no longer officiates weddings, so they have to go elsewhere. Lennon calls Beatles personal assistant Peter Brown to ask where he and Yoko can be married in a quiet and discreet manner. Brown suggests the island of Gibraltar off the southern coast of Spain (a British colony at the time). The ceremony takes place at The Rock Hotel, with Brown acting as the best man. The groom wears a white suit and tennis shoes, and the bride a short white mini skirt, white hat and sunglasses. The couple honeymoon in Paris and Amsterdam, where they stage the first of two “bed-ins” for peace (the other taking place in Montreal, QC, Canada). When asked about the wedding ceremony, Lennon is quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying “it was all very quick, quiet and British.” Lennon documents the entire episode in The Beatles song “The Ballad Of John And Yoko”, recorded on April 14, 1969. The union produces one son, Sean Taro Ono Lennon (born on October 9, 1975. The Lennons remain married until John’s death in December of 1980.