singles bought when they came out . . . . . . . . .an ongoing series and with thanks to the wonderful Jeff Harris 'blog On this day in Music History   


On this day in music history: June 1, 1969 - “Give Peace A Chance” by The Plastic Ono Band is recorded. Written by John Lennon (though credited to Lennon - McCartney on its original release), the song is written as a message to promote world peace. Inspiration for the song comes during John and Yoko’s “bed-in” honeymoon, after a reporter asks Lennon what they are trying to achieve by laying in bed. Lennon answers “just give peace a chance”. When he gives this answer on more than one occasion during the bed-in, John quickly writes the song and then hires a four track tape machine to brought into their suite to commit it to tape. It is recorded in room 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with numerous friends and celebrities present including Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K, Derek Taylor and Tommy Smothers (also on guitar) singing on the chorus. The song is adapted as an anthem of the American anti-war movement. Released as a single in the UK on July 4, 1969 (US release on July 7, 1969) “Give Peace A Chance” peaks at #2 on the UK singles chart

This was a great single if a tad odd sounding but the sooner we saw the video we 'got it' and wished we had been there . . . . . . .