Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, have donated rare vinyl acetate discs featuring John Lennon and Ono’s classic 1969 protest anthem “Give Peace a Chance” to 50 charities to help those organizations raise money during the holidays. Only 50 copies of the 12-inch discs were pressed, each individually hand cut on a lathe at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London by engineer Sean Magee.
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The double-sided disc features “Give Peace a Chance” on one side and the Ono composition “Remember Love” on the other. Both songs were recorded on June 1, 1969, during the couple’s Montreal Bed-In for Peace protest in the same hotel room. Credited to the Plastic Ono Band, the tracks were released together on a single on July 4, 1969, in the U.K. and three days later in the U.S.
“Give Peace a Chance” peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, of course, has gone on to become one of the most recognizable anti-war anthems ever.
The version of “Give Peace a Chance” featured on the vinyl acetate is the “Ultimate Mix” that Sean Lennon produced in 2020 and was included on the 2021 reissue of the 1970 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.
Each copy of the limited-edition disc features a note from Sean Lennon that reads, in part, “Happy Holidays. To raise the spirit of Peace and Love this December, here is one of only fifty Limited Edition acetates that have been hand-cut at Abbey Road. It’s yours – to sell, auction, raise money to help your charity or to fund your Xmas party – to GIVE PEACE A CHANCE and REMEMBER LOVE.”
The note also asks encourages the charities to post messages about how they’re utilizing the disc while using the hashtag #GivePeaceAChance, which Lennon promises will be re-tweeted “to help promote the good causes and good vibes.”
You can check out the full list of 50 charities who received copies of the “Give Peace a Chance” disc at JohnLennon.com.
The press release about the acetates also includes a quote from John Lennon reflecting on how the song was originally received.
“I was pleased when the movement took up ‘Give Peace a Chance’ because I had written it with that in mind,” he said. “I felt an obligation even then to write a song that people would sing in the pub, or on a demonstration. I remember hearing them all sing it—it was a very big moment for me. That’s what the song was about.”
This Friday, December 8, marks the 43rd anniversary of Lennon’s murder.
