Remembering Lennon and Ono’s “Bed-Ins”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed-ins.” Putting their psychedelic spin on the form of nonviolent protest known as “sit-ins,” the pair spent a week in bed at an Amsterdam hotel in March 1969, giving a repeat performance a few months later in Montreal.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed-ins.” Putting their psychedelic spin on the form of nonviolent protest known as “sit-ins,” the pair spent a week in bed at an Amsterdam hotel in March 1969, giving a repeat performance a few months later in Montreal. To commemorate these events, Yoko has posted a request on imaginepeace.com, requesting that any fans staging tribute reenactments send in documentation of their versions for publication on the website.

Though the main object of the 1969 protests was the Vietnam war, Lennon and Ono bed-ins called for an end to all war. Each day, the couple invited members of the press to visit their hotel suite during the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. to discuss world peace with them. As the culmination of the second bed-in, John and Yoko invited such personalities as Tommy Smothers and Timothy Leary to record the song “Give Peace a Chance” in their hotel room. Dismissed by some as a mere publicity stunt, the concept nevertheless continues to influence pop culture, appearing in song lyrics, music videos, and even comedy sketches. Other notable artists have held their own bed-ins during the last couple of decades, including lead singer of Green Day Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife.