The Pop Corporation

When people acting in bad faith start complaining about pop going woke, it’s funny to think about how political pop used to be and just how much politicians hated people who spoke out about them.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a literal FBI file on them and Elvis snitched to Nixon about the pair, as The Beatles became a memory, and Mr & Mrs Ono Lennon spoke openly about political causes, sexism, racism, activism and whatever else they saw as injustices. Sure, they were clunky sometimes, but it’s more admirable to stick your neck out than sit on your hands, right?

With that in mind, there’s a new box set coming out which focuses on Yoko and John’s activism, and rightly, the set is called ‘Power To The People’.

This collection will be overseen by Sean Ono Lennon, and the thing that’s most interesting is that there’ll be 90 songs that haven’t been heard before and previously unreleased music. You’ll be able to hear it on October 10th and there’s some really fancy packages for those shelling out for physical releases, including a huge 12-disc box set. Click here for pre-orders and having a nosey at what’s on offer.

Yoko writes in the box set: “The ‘One To One’ concert was our effort in Grassroots Politics. It embodied what John and I strongly believed in – Rock for Peace and Enlightenment. And this one in Madison Square Garden turned out to be the last concert John and I did together. Imagine Peace. Peace is Power. Power To The People!”

Sean Ono Lennon added: “I was completely floored putting this collection together and getting to remix the concerts and hearing all the unreleased material from my parents’ archive for the first time.”

“People may not realise how special it is for me to hear my dad talking or to see him. I grew up with a set number of images and audio clips that everyone’s familiar with. So to come across things that I’ve never seen or heard is really deep for me, because it’s almost like getting more time with my dad.”

“When I was 11, my mum put out the Live in New York City album and film. So I grew up listening to it. It was a concert that had a legendary status in my mind, because it was my dad’s last concert.”

“For the concerts, Paul Hicks and Simon Hilton and I spent a lot of time finding the best possible balance to keep the feeling of a live show while refining the overall sound as much as possible and Sam Gannon did some meticulous and miraculous work with audio restoration. I won’t disclose all our techniques but there was some ‘movie magic’ required, and I think in the end, the shows sound better than ever.”

Here’s some info. Scroll to the bottom for some cool restored footage.

HYBRID ‘BEST OF’ SHOW

1. ‘Power To The People (intro)’*
2. ‘New York City’*
3. ‘It’s So Hard’*
4. ‘Move On Fast’*
5. ‘Well Well Well’
6. ‘Born In A Prison’*
7. ‘Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)’*
8. ‘Mother’*
9. ‘We’re All Water’
10. ‘Come Together’
11. ‘Imagine’*
12. ‘Open Your Box’*
13. ‘Cold Turkey’*
14. ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’*
15. ‘Hound Dog’
16. ‘Law And Order’
17. ‘Give Peace A Chance’
* afternoon show, otherwise the performance is from the evening show

NEW YORK CITY (THE ULTIMATE MIXES)

1. ‘New York City (Ultimate Mix)’
2. ‘Sisters, O Sisters (Ultimate Mix)’
3. ‘Attica State (Ultimate Mix)’
4. ‘Born In A Prison (Ultimate Mix)’
5. ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday (Ultimate Mix, extended)’
6. ‘The Luck Of The Irish (Ultimate Mix)’
7. ‘John Sinclair (Ultimate Mix, extended)’
8. ‘Angela (Ultimate Mix)’
9. ‘We’re All Water (Ultimate Mix)’

NEW YORK CITY (STUDIO JAM)

1. ‘Jazz Freakout’
2. ‘You Can’t Sit Down’
3. ‘Roll Over Beethoven’
4. ‘Honey, Don’t’
5. ‘Ain’t That A Shame’
6. ‘My Babe’
7. ‘Send Me Some Lovin’’
8. ‘Fools Like Me’
9. ‘Down In The Caribbean’
10. ‘Happy Birthday Yoko Ono’
11. ‘That’s Right’
12. ‘Don’t Be Cruel / Hound Dog’
13. ‘Yoko’s Rhythm’
14. ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ / It’ll Be Me’
15. ‘Yakety Yak’
16. ‘Road Runner’