John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the legendary couple par excellence. The founder of the Beatles and the Japanese artist breathed their mystical aura into the world of art and culture for nearly 15 years. Both lying in bed in pajamas with the slogans “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace” ; this image remains one of the couple's most famous moments. Here's a look back in history.
A committed honeymoon
While the duo met in November 1966 during an art exhibition by Yoko Ono in London, it was not until May 1968 that the musician and the artist took the leap. They officially got together in 1969 (after John Lennon divorced Cynthia Powell in November 1968 and Yoko Ono separated from Anthony Cox). Furiously passionate, they married on March 20th, 1969 in Gibraltar: she wore a white mini outfit and high socks, he wore a jacket and white turtleneck sweater.
Taking advantage of the public attention following their union, John Lennon and Yoko Ono decide to use their notoriety to highlight their pacifist ideas. From March 25th to 31st, 1969, the couple spent a committed honeymoon: lying in bed in a suite at the Amsterdam Hilton hotel, they invited journalists and the media to come and share their vision of peace with them, under the signs “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace.” A strong "Bed-In" for Peace in the midst of the Vietnam War, organized by two celebrities of the moment gave rise to the Beatles song that propelled to the top of the charts, "The Ballad of John and Yoko." 50 years later, in 2019, the hotel organized a tour of the famous suite and a screening of the video archives of this great moment.
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A true fusion, the bride and groom were never apart, thereby weakening the balance of the Beatles… until the couple separated for eighteen months from April 1973 to January 1975. After their reunion at an Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden, John Lennon and Yoko Ono officially re-couple on the red carpet of the 1975 Grammy Awards. On October 9th, 1975, Yoko Ono gives birth to their only son Sean Taro Ono Lennon. From then on, the two artists took the decision to withdraw from public life. A sequestering that lasted five years until 1980 when they released their joint album Double Fantasy. Unfortunately the final end came with the murder of John Lennon, shot dead by a fan on the evening of December 8th, 1980 while arriving at his apartment building in New York City with Yoko Ono at his side. A dramatic, tragic moment in history.
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Translated by Constance Caiola
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