Bed-In

During the Vietnam War in 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace, which were their non-violent ways of protesting wars and promoting peace.

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Knowing their March 20 1969, marriage would be a huge press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace.

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They spent their honeymoon in Room 902 at the Amsterdam Hilton for a week between March 25 and March 31 and invited the world's press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. After their other stunts, such as the naked cover of the Two Virgins album, the press were expecting them to be having sex, but instead John and Yoko were sitting in bed talking about peace with signs over their bed reading "Hair Peace" and "Bed Peace". The world's press ridiculed them relentlessly, but they didn't allow their peace efforts to be hindered in any way. After seven days, they flew to Vienna, Austria, where they held a press conference while eating chocolate cake while they were inside a white bag, a promotion for Bagism, another of their concepts which called for social change.

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During April 1969, John and Yoko sent acorns to the heads of state in various countries around the world in hopes that they would plant them as a symbol of peace.

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John and Yoko's marriage, their first Bed-In, the Vienna press conference and their acorn event were all mentioned in the song "The Ballad of John and Yoko".

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Their second Bed-In was planned to take place in New York, but John wasn't allowed into the country because of his 1968 marijuana conviction. Due to its proximity to the United States, they decided to hold their Bed-In in the Bahamas at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel. They flew there on May 24 1969, but after spending one night in the 86?F (30?C) heat, they decided to head to Toronto, Canada.

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Eventually, they flew to Montreal on May 26 where they stayed in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. During their seven day stay, they invited Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Dick Gregory, and Al Capp and all bar Capp sang on the peace anthem "Give Peace a Chance", recorded in the hotel room on June 1.

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In December 1969, they spread their message with a billboard reading "War is Over! If You Want It - Happy Christmas From John and Yoko". The billboards went up in eleven cities.

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Their peace campaign was met mostly with derision, and most journalists simply dismissed it as a publicity stunt. Lennon, who was accused of doing this for money or attention, countered by saying that he could write a song in an hour and make more money than he could spending seven days in bed talking about peace.

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1969: 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday...

John Lennon: John Winston Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was best known as a singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist for The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist, actor and author. As half of the legendary Lennon-McCartney songw...

Yoko Ono: :For the Die ?rzte song, see Yoko Ono (song)...

Bed-In related Images and Photos (experimental)

In Bed	Women in Bed Holding Flowers	Breakfast in Bed	Four Poster Bed in the Chinese Style 1750s
The Exorcist Regan in Bed Head Knocker	Arthur Rimbaud in His Bed in Brussels	Marilyn Monroe Breakfast In Bed Poster	Woman Sitting up in Bed Reading a Thriller Surrounded by Ghostly Figures from the Novel
French Authoress Francoise Sagan Laying in Bed Listening to Music	Gone with the Wind: Vivien Leigh Laying in Bed from the WB Photo Collection	Mental Patient at la Salpetriere Sitting on Her Bed in Phase Gaie	Unidentified Scene of Thieftakers Arresting a Man in Bed