AN extraordinary documentary captures the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono post-Beatles and settling in New York.
But the early 70s archive footage, phone calls and the couple's home movies do not always make easy viewing in One to One: John & Yoko.
Yoko tells of the incredible abuse comparable to social media trolling today she received after she began seeing Lennon in 1966.
She says the other Beatles, Paul, Ringo and George, never commented about her in the press: "They ignored me, that's male chauvinism."
Yoko says: "I'm supposedly the person who broke up the Beatles. When I was pregnant, many people wrote to say, 'I wish you and your baby would die'.
"I got a rubber doll that had lots of needles in it, in the body and the mouth and the nose, and everything.
"And when I was walking on the street with John, people came to me saying things like, 'I'm an ugly Jap', and they pulled my hair, hit my head. And I had three miscarriages during that time."
John says of Yoko: "I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative genius."
The film also contains restored footage and audio from a 1972 Madison Square Garden gig for Staten Island's Willowbrook special needs school, which urgently required money.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742610876/articles/UFEY96hyzDYsJacr3Osys/1321161116.jpg]
The One to One concert was the only full live show John, joined by Yoko and their band, performed as a solo artist after the Beatles.
The setlist included Come Together, Cold Turkey, Mother and Imagine.
John is also asked about the risks in speaking out against President Richard Nixon and promoting activism while in New York. Chillingly, he says: "People trying to kill us? I'm not about to get myself shot.
"It will cause excitement in its own way. I'm still an artist, a revolutionary artist, right?"
John was 40 when crazed fan Mark Chapman shot him dead in New York in 1980. Son Sea...
But the early 70s archive footage, phone calls and the couple's home movies do not always make easy viewing in One to One: John & Yoko.
Yoko tells of the incredible abuse comparable to social media trolling today she received after she began seeing Lennon in 1966.
She says the other Beatles, Paul, Ringo and George, never commented about her in the press: "They ignored me, that's male chauvinism."
Yoko says: "I'm supposedly the person who broke up the Beatles. When I was pregnant, many people wrote to say, 'I wish you and your baby would die'.
"I got a rubber doll that had lots of needles in it, in the body and the mouth and the nose, and everything.
"And when I was walking on the street with John, people came to me saying things like, 'I'm an ugly Jap', and they pulled my hair, hit my head. And I had three miscarriages during that time."
John says of Yoko: "I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative genius."
The film also contains restored footage and audio from a 1972 Madison Square Garden gig for Staten Island's Willowbrook special needs school, which urgently required money.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742610876/articles/UFEY96hyzDYsJacr3Osys/1321161116.jpg]
The One to One concert was the only full live show John, joined by Yoko and their band, performed as a solo artist after the Beatles.
The setlist included Come Together, Cold Turkey, Mother and Imagine.
John is also asked about the risks in speaking out against President Richard Nixon and promoting activism while in New York. Chillingly, he says: "People trying to kill us? I'm not about to get myself shot.
"It will cause excitement in its own way. I'm still an artist, a revolutionary artist, right?"
John was 40 when crazed fan Mark Chapman shot him dead in New York in 1980. Son Sea...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 22, 2025