Essential TV and Film Appearances of John Lennon 1968 - 1980

1968

Release - John Interview (London, June 6 1968)

John along with Victor Spinetti appeared on this BBC TV show to promote the stage adaption of John`s books "In His Own Write" and "A Spaniard in The Works".

Yoko & John (Webridge, England, June 9 1968)

On this day at John`s home, John and Yoko produced two avant garde films that they called "Film No. 5" (aka "Smile") & "Two Virgins".
But when not filming those two films, The cameraman, William Wareing, also shot some 16mm black and white & colour home movie footage of
the proceedings which captured John playing his acoustic guitar.The footage was sold at auction in 1987 and subsequently leaked out into collectors circles.

Frost on Saturday - John & Yoko's First TV Interview (London, Aug 24 1968)

John and Yoko made their first television interview together on David Frost`s talk show on the BBC. This was broadcast in black and white.
The interview was officially released on DVD on a collection of "Frost on Saturday" interviews in 2010

ITN News - John & Yoko Arriving & Leaving Courthouse (London, Oct 19 1968)

ITN filmed some black and white footage for that nights news of John & Yoko arriving and leaving the London courthouse. Amazing scenes.

"John Lennon & Yoko Ono" (Intertel Studios, Wembley & "Kenwood", London, Dec 11-14 1968)

John & Yoko allowed a film crew from Austria to film them over at least 3 days for a TV documentary about them. The doco "John Lennon &
Yoko Ono", aired in March 1969 on Austrian TV in black and white despite being filmed in colour. The 30 minute TV special focused mainly
on John but there was also a short segment on Yoko. On the first day of filming (Dec 11, 1968) they accompanied John & Yoko to the
shooting of "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" The next day (Dec 12) the film crew went to John`s home "Kenwood" in Weybridge and
shot some more footage that mainly focused on Yoko`s "art" while John noodled on his guitar in the background.
They also had a couple of mins from the Dec 14 "Dentists Interview" that was being frilmed by a Dutch TV crew. There is also 24 minutes of silent colour
raw footage from "Kenwood" & 16 minutes of colour raw footage with sound from the "Rock and Roll Circus" filming in collector`s hands.

The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus (London, Dec 11 1968)

John & Yoko participated in a planned Rolling Stones TV special called "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". Apart from a "sketch"
with Mick Jagger and introductions for both John`s and the Stones segments, John`s main contribution was as the lead singer/guitarist of
"The Dirty Mac" a specially put together band just for this occasion. The band consisted of John, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch
Mitchell, Ivry Gitlis (on violin) and Yoko. They performed an excellent version of John`s "Yer Blues".

Rood Wit Blau ("Red, White, Blue") John & Yoko Interview (Knightsbridge, London, Dec 14 1968)

John and Yoko visited their dentist for an appointment. Never one to miss an opportunity, John invited a TV crew from Holland to interview
both him and Yoko whilst they were there.The first 30 minutes consists of Yoko being interviewed and the remainder has John joining her.

1969

Through The Eyes of Tomorrow (London, Jan 14 1969)

John & Yoko were interviewed on the "Let it Be" set by the Canadian TV show "Through The Eyes of Tomorrow". John didn't seem in the best shape in this interview.

Mr. & Mrs. Lennon`s Honeymoon (Amsterdam, Holland, March 25-31 1969)

John & Yoko had the entire week of their honeymoon "bed-in" at the Amsterdam Hilton hotel filmed by a Dutch film crew. Footage from almost
every day is featured. The film "Mr. & Mrs. Lennon`s Honeymoon" was premiered in Sept 1969 at London`s ICA along with some more of John & Yoko`s art films.

John & Yoko: The Bed In (aka "Bed Peace") (Montreal, Canada, May 24-June 3 1969)

John & Yoko had their cameraman, Nic Knowland, film their entire second "Bed-in" from when they left England bound for The Bahamas up
until they visited Ottawa, 10 days later. This doco was edited in Feb 1970 and was premiered in New York in Dec 1970 under the title of
"Give Peace a Chance". It took until 1990 for it was remastered and issued on home video as "John & Yoko: The Bed- in". More recently,
Yoko also made a beautiful clean remastered copy available on her website under yet another new title of "Bed Peace".

Colour Home Movie - Singing "Oh Yoko" & "Give Peace a Chance" in The Bahamas (Sheraton Hotel, Freeport, Bahamas, May 25 1969)

Colour footage of John & Yoko performing an acoustic versions of "Oh Yoko" & "Give Peace a Chance" while at the Sheraton Hotel in
Freeport, Bahamas."Oh Yoko" was first seen as "bonus footage" on the DVD & Blu Ray releases of "Imagine: John Lennon" in 2018.
"Give Peace a Chance" was shared on John`s youtube in 2021.

The David Frost Show (London, June 14 1969)

John and Yoko were interviewed again on "The David Frost Show", this time in colour and exclusively for America.

Sweet Toronto (Toronto, Canada, Sept 13 1969)

John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band played a live concert at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival in Canada. For this occasion "The
Plastic Ono Band" consisted of John, Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Alan White. Film of the concert was originally released into
theatres in 1973 as "Keep on Rockin`" but without any of the John footage. It was re-edited to include the John performance and issued on home video in 1988 and on DVD in 2007.

Man of The Decade (Tittenhurst Park, England, Dec 2 1969)

John and Yoko were interviewed as they wandered around their Tittenhurst Park estate for a ATV TV special "Man of The Decade".

24 Hours - The World of John & Yoko (Tittenhurst Park, England, Dec 2-6 1969)

John and Yoko were filmed over four days for a BBC documentary about their current activities including interviews and footage of a
bizarre recording session at Abbey Road. In 2021 Amazon Prime shared an excellent copy of this special on their pay service.

ABC News Raw Footage - Interview at Apple Offices (London, Dec 7 1969)

ABC News did a colour interview with John and Yoko at Apple.

John & Yoko: A Visit For Peace (Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa, Canada, Dec 17-23 1969)

This Canadian CBC documentary, which aired on boxing day, 1969 contains most of John & Yoko`s week-long Dec 1969 Canadian promotional activities.

CBC Weekend - John & Yoko Interview (Ontario, Canada, Dec 20 1969)

A lovely complete colour broadcast of this Canadian interview exists in collectors circles as well as a very good quality version in b/w.

CBS Interview (Raw Footage) - Marshall McLuhan (Toronto, Canada, Dec 20 1969)

Today it was off to University of Toronto`s Centre For Culture & Technology to conduct two interviews with the American CBS network.
The first interview was with Marshall McLuhan. A fascinating interview in beautiful colour.

CBS Interview - David Culhane (Raw Footage) (Toronto, Canada, Dec 20 1969)

The second interview done today for the American CBS network was with David Culhane. Raw colour film of this interview exists in very good quality and has been bootlegged.

British Movietone - Unicef London Concert (London, England, Dec 15 1969)

John & Yoko (and George) appeared at the UNICEF concert in London. British Movietime newsreels filmed over 4 minutes of silent black and
white footage of this event which saw John and George performing together live in concert for the very last time.
However only 1:21 mins of the newsreel actually shows John, George & Yoko performing.

1970

Reuters - Denmark Press Conference (Skyum Bjerge, Denmark, Jan 5 1970)

John & Yoko visited Tony Cox, his wife Melinda and Kyoko at their current home in Denmark. Whilst there theyheld a press conference.

ITV News - Paris Hilton Interview (Paris, France, Jan 26 1970)

John & Yoko, on their way home to London from Denmark, with their new very short hairdo's, stopped overnight in Paris at the Hilton Hotel
due to London airport being fogged in. The next day a French reporter for ITV grabbed them for a brief interview in which it is obvious John wasn`t in the mood for questions.
Nice colour interview.

The Tony Cox Videos (aka "3 Days In The Life") (Various Locations, London, Feb 8-11 1970)

For those lucky enough to get to see this fascinating footage of 4 days in the life of John & Yoko which was filmed on black and white
videotape by Yoko`s ex-husband, Tony Cox then you will see some very interesting things like:John playing guitar in bed; Rehearsing for
the "Instant Karma" TOTP performance; Being interviewed for a Canadian TV show at the "Black Houuse" and Julian Lennon and Kyoko having lots of fun at Tittenhurst.

1971

Le Grand Amphi - John & Yoko Interview (Cannes, France, May 20 1971)

John & Yoko sat down indoors in Cannes for a formal interview with the French TV show "Le Grand Amphi" during which John gets to show off his French speaking skills quite well.

"Imagine" (Various Locations in London and New York, May 26-Sept 12 1971)

John & Yoko filmed a TV special during 1971 which was eventually broadcast on American TV in December 1972. The footage used in this
special was filmed over a period of four months (May - Sept 1971) in England and New York. Footage from all the hundreds of hours of
footage has been used in four official documentaries so far: "Imagine" (original special from 1972); "Imagine: John Lennon" (1988);
"Gimme Some Truth" (2000) and "Above Us Only Sky" (2018).

Carousel - "This Is Not Here" Exhibition (Syracuse, New York, Oct 9 1971)

WCNY-TV aired a program called "Carousel", that did stories on recent art events in the state of New York. THis episode was filmed at
Yoko's art exhibition "This is Not Here" in Oct 1971. You not only get to see John and Yoko but also Ringo and Phil Spector.
Unfirtunately the only known copy was filmed on very bad black and white video.

Freetime (WNET Studios, New York, Oct 14 1971)

Bizarre is the only way to describe this TV special which has to be seen to be believed. A very weird live "Happening" featuring Yoko, John & Jonas Mekas and members of the audience.

The Irish Tapes (Bank St, New York, Nov 12 1971)

A local New York film maker got tpermision to film John & Yoko in their apartment for a film project reportedly called "The Irish Tapes".
John promptly wrote a new song to perform for the black and white video camera. We get to see John rehearsing the brand new song "Luck
of The Irish" with Yoko while sitting on their bed. The quality of this uniquely fascinating film is unfortunately very bad having
been recorded on an ancient video recorder in black and white.

Pop 2 (Bank St, New York, Dec 3 1971)

John & Yoko (and Jerry Rubin) did an interview from their New York residence for the French TV show "Pop 2". Sitting on his bed, inbetween
being interviewed, John played a dobro and briefly busks his way through a couple of songs including a snatch of "Freeda Peeple" &
"Attica State". The 2 part interview strangely has one part in colour and the other only in black and white

Ten For Two (New York, Dec 11 1971)

This TV special was filmed at a benefit rally & concert to support the cause of the imprisoned John Sinclair (who was swiftly released
soon after this concert). A long concert with lots of performers, mostly unknown with the highlight, apart from John, being Stevie
Wonder.John & Yoko, supported by David Peel`s backing band, finally took the stage at 3am on Dec 11 and performed excellent "skiffley"
acoustic versions of "Attica State", "Luck of The Irish", "Sisters O Sisters" and "John Sinclair".

The David Frost Show (New York, Dec 16 1971)

John & Yoko were once again guests on David Frost`s talk show though this was for his the American version. Apart from the interview John
& Yoko also performed "Attica State" and "Sisters O Sisters" backed by members of David Peel`s band who also performed.

Colour Home Movie - Attica Prison Benefit Concert (Apollo Theatre, New York, Dec 17 1971)

This benefit concert was for the families of the 43 men killed in a riot at Attica State Prison in September 1971.
The concert was held at the famous Apollo Theatre in New York. John & Yoko performed "Attica State", "Sisters O Sisters" and "Imagine" with an acoustic
only line-up that featured two other guitarists plus Jerry Rubin on percussion. French journalist, Jean-Francois Vallee filmed the event with a 16mm colour camera.

1972

The Mike Douglas Shows (Philadelphia, USA, Jan 14-27 & Feb 4 1972)

John & Yoko co-hosted a week of "The Mike Douglas Show" in Philadelphia. The shows were broadcast over one week in mid February 1972.
John & Yoko performed a number of songs and John even got to perform (badly) with his hero Chuck Berry

ABC News Raw Footage - Interview With Geraldo Riviera (INS Offices, New York, April 18 1972)

John & Yoko attended another INS hearing and Journalist Geraldo Riviera from WABC Channel 7 News managed an exclusive interview with John
& Yoko both inside the building and briefly outside as they were leaving.

The Dick Cavett Show (New York, May 3 1972)

John & Yoko made a return appearance on "The Dick Cavett Show" and apart from an interview John along with the Elephants Memory band
performed "Woman is The Nigger of The World" and Yoko performed "We`re All Water".

Underground News (Record Plant, New York, May 5 1972)

John & Yoko were interviewed at the Record Plant recording studio in New York today, during an Elephants Memory mixing session, for the
obscure "Underground News" TV Show. This program was a cable-like UHF news program broadcast in Chicago, hosted by Chuck Collins who
conducted today`s interview. They also filmed David Peel performing a couple of "songs" and there`s even a brief glimpse of Mick Jagger who'd dropped by for a visit.

NBC News Raw Footage - Bank St. Interview (New York, May 18 1972)

John & Yoko sat down on their Bank St. balcony for a lengthy interview with NBC News. It was broadcast the next night.

WABC Ch 7 News Raw Footage - Interview in San Francisco (Various Locations, San Francisco, Aug 5 1972)

On May 28 John and Yoko drove across America to the west coast, eventually ending up in San Francisco were they stayed for over 2 months.
Journalist, Geraldo Riviera headed over to San Francisco in early August to try and get John & Yoko to headline some concerts in aid
of the "One To One" charity in late August. Today Geraldo took the couple on a sight-seeing tour of San Francisco and later in the
evening back at their hotel room did an interview with them while John did some rough songs on an electric guitar.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono Present The One To One Concert (Madison Square Garden, New York, Aug 30 1972)

John & Yoko and Elephant`s Memory performed two shows at the "One To One" fund raising concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The evening concert was broadcast on the ABC TV network in December as an edited 40 minute production. It was later released in Feb 1986 as "John Lennon Live in New York City".

The Jerry Lewis Telethon (New York, Sept 4 1972)

John & Yoko and Elephants Memory made an unannounced appearance on the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.
John performed "Imagine" then Yoko did her brand new song "Now or Never" and they finished with a reggae version of "Give Peace a Chance" joined by Jerry Lewis on trumpet.

1973

NBC TV News Raw Footage - Nutopia Press Conference (New York, April 2 1973)

John & Yoko held a press conference today to announce the formation of a new country - "Nutopia". The raw footage from NBC news is available.

Weekend World (Los Angeles, April 6 1973)

While John was in LA helping Ringo on his next album, he andYoko were interviewed for this British current affairs program which aired in the UK two days later.

Flipside (New York, May 12 1973)

John & Yoko were interviewed at the Record Plant for this US TV show which aired a few days later. The interview was mainly focused on
Yoko to help promote her new double album "Approximately Infinite Universe".Apart from the interview Yoko was also filmed with Elephants Memory performing a few songs.

"Mind Games" TV Commercial Raw Footage (New York, Oct 24 1973)

John filmed a TV commercial for his new album "Mind Games". The raw footage is available in magnificent quality. Elton John was on the set
too (and possibly Ringo). It is not known if the TV commercial was actually ever aired.

KABC Channel 7 News - Malibu Beach Interview (Broadcast) (Malibu Beach, California, Nov 1 1973)

To help promote his latest album "Mind Games" John was interviewed today whilst walking along Malibu Beach in California by
reporter and friend Elliot Mintz. The interview was broadcast in 3 parts later in November.

KABC Channel 7 News - Malibu Beach Interview Raw Footage (Malibu Beach, California, Nov 1 1973)

Outtakes from John`s Malibu Beach interview are available in excellent colour quality taken from a master tape.

1974

Whatever Gets You Thru The Night Promo Filming Raw Footage (New York, Oct 17 1974)

A BBC film crew filmed John today in various locations in New York for potential use for a promo video of John`s new single "Whatever Gets
You Through The Night" to be shown exclusively on "Top of The Pops". For whatever reason the video never eventuated but some of the
footage was used in a short edited version of "#9 Dream" which was shown on "Top of The Pops" in early 1975. Yoko also used some of that
same footage for a 1992 promo of "Mind Games". The majority of the raw footage (24 mins worth) turned up again in the 2000`s in avaerage quality and in colour.

Colour Home Video - Elton John Concert (MSG, New York, Nov 28 1974)

John appeared live on stage at Elton John`s concert tonight at Madison Square Garden. A fan shot some terrible quality colour super 8
footage which finally emerged on Youtube in March 2011. Terrible quality but historically essential.

Monday Night Football - John Interview (Los Angeles, Dec 9 1974)

John attended a gridiron football while in Los Angeles and at half-time was interviewed by commentator Howard Cossell.

Today - John Interview (New York, Dec 17 1974)

John & his attorney Leon Wildes appeared live on the "Today" show and were interviewed about John`s current legal proceedings along with the usual Beatle related questions.

1975

The Grammy Awards (New York, March 1 1975)

John attended The Grammy Awards and presented an award with Paul Simon & Andy Williams. Unexpectingly accepting the award was Art Garfunkel.

The Old Grey Whistle Test - John Interview (The Dakota, New York, March 11 1975)

John was interviewed in New York at the Dakota for the UK music show "The Old Grey Whistle Test". Later, in early April, John recorded two
live songs - "Stand By Me" and "Slippin' & Sliddin'" that were then included in the broadcast. The unedited raw footage of the two songs are also available.

Un Jour Future - John Interview (New York, April 4 1975)

John was interviewed at his just vacated apartment in Sutton Place in New York for the French TV Show "Un Jour Future". At one point John
jumps on the piano and does a brief rendition of "Lady Marmalade". A pristine version taken from the French INA Television archives without the voice overs in now available.

The Tomorrow Show - John Interview (New York, April 8 1975)

John recorded an interview with host Tom Snyder for "The Tomorrow Show". The interview is available on commercial DVD.

Salute To Sir Lew (New York, April 18 1975)

John recorded his last ever live TV performance in a TV special made as a salute to Sir Lew Grade called "Tribute To Sir Lew".
John performed "Slippin` & Sliding", "Imagine" & "Stand By Me" although the last song was never braodcast. The American and British broadcasts
have different edits and mixes and the UK version has comedian Dave Allen on camera introducing John whereas the US broadcast comes
straight out of a commercial break and straight into "Slippin` & Sliding" with an American voiceover introducing him.
John also came out at the very end of the show along with the other performers to take their bows.

WPVI Channel 6 Action News (Philadelphia, May 16-18 1975)

John went to Philadelphia to help with the charity fund raising at the local radio and TV stations. After spending a few hours on radio
John was invited to the TV studios of WPVI and allowed to do the weather report. The broadcast version of this has never turned up but
thankfully a TV cameraman did grab a movie camera and film his segment along with some before and after footage too.

1976

CBS TV News Raw Footage - John Receives His Green Card (New York, July 27 1976)

Finally John received his Green Card and all the news agencies were there to witness this wonderful occasion. John briefly spoke to the
press outside the building before going inside to officially receive his "green card". Selected press were allowed to filmed the
proceedings and briefly interview John & Yoko. The raw footage from CBS is available on the internet and bits and pieces have turned up in docos mostly in "The US vs John Lennon".

1977

WABC News - John & Family Plus Mick Jagger at The Circus (Madison Square Garden, New York, March 29 1977)

John, Yoko & Sean along with Mick Jagger attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden this afternoon.
A news crew from WABC just happened to be there and grabbed a few quick words from John.

1980

Colour Home Movie - John Performs "Dear Yoko" (Cold Spring Harbour, New York, April 11 1980)

At their new home "Cannon Hill" in Cold Spring Harbour in New York, John used his brand new video camera to film himself singing a new
song he had just written for Yoko called "Dear Yoko". He actually filmed two takes. Later, when Yoko arrives, John plays her the video.

Colour Home Movie - John, Yoko & Sean in Cold Spring Harbour (New York, April 12 & 13 1980)

More John & Yoko home movies have come to light with the family being filmed lazing about outside in the sunshine overlooking the water.

"I'm Losing You" Recording Session (The Hit Factory, New York, Aug 19 1980)

John & Yoko were filmed in the studio. John was recording "I'm Losing You" and apart from a few glimpses of Yoko, the band and the filming
slate nothing had been seen of this footage since the mid 80`s until in 2016 some of the John footage amazingly turned up.
In all there seems to only be approx 3:28 mins (including the slate) worth of John footage available... so far.

Colour Home Movie - John Interviewed By Robert Hilburn at The Hit Factory (New York, Oct 10 1980)

Bob Gruen filmed John while he was being interviewed at The Hit Factory by journalist Robert Hilburn. Unfortunately there is little
lighting in the studio control room and for the majority of the film (27 mins) John is in almost total darkness.
Nonetheless it is fascinating to listen to.

Colour Home Movie - John & Sean Birthday Party at Tavern on The Green (New York, Oct 10 1980)

John & Sean held a joint birthday party at Tavern-on-The-Green. Home movie footage was taken of the occasion.
The majority of the home movie footage turned up on a bootleg in 2016 in great quality although collectors reportedly have 45 minutes of footage.

"Woman" Promo Video Filming Outtakes (Central Park, New York, Nov 26 1980)

Brief outtake footage (about 2 mins worth) of John & Yoko walking through Central Park has turned up in a few docos over the years but
since then the full 8 mins of outtakes in pristine quality have turned up incollectors hands.

"Woman" Promo Video Filming - Bedroom Scene Outtakes (New York, Nov 26 1980)

In their last ever film footage together, John & Yoko were filmed in a mock-up of their bedroom dressed in kimonos and then in bed
together. Some of the footage was ultimately used for the promo video of "Woman" in 1981. 40 minutes of silent raw film outtakes are in the hands of collectors in reasonable quality.