Loading...

#IMAGINE50 – Free screenings of the IMAGINE film + Tim’s Twitter Listening Party

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's IMAGINE with free venue & online film screenings + Tim's Twitter Listening Party.


#IMAGINE50 – JOIN US.

On Thursday 9 Sept 2021, Yoko Ono Lennon, Sean Ono Lennon, Mercury Studios, Tim’s Twitter Listening Party, The Coda Collection, AXS, WDR/ARD, Hard Rock, Sage Gateshead, Music Venue Trust and Universal Music Group invite you to join us for a Global Party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of John & Yoko’s IMAGINE.

Replay the IMAGINE 50th Anniversary Twitter Listening Party
while watching John & Yoko’s IMAGINE film

“John and I were both artists and we were living together, so we inspired each other. The song ‘Imagine’ embodied what we believed together at the time. John and I met – he comes from the West and I come from the East – and still we are together. We have this oneness and ‘the whole world would eventually become one’ is the sense that we will all be very happy together. All these instructions are for people for how to spend eternity, because we have lots of time.”

– Yoko Ono Lennon.

John and Yoko listening, East Coast Memorial, Battery Park, New York City, on 4 September 1971.

TIM’S TWITTER LISTENING PARTY

Thursday 9 September, 2021
7:30 pm BST • 2:30 pm EDT • 11:30 am PDT

How it worked:
At the above time on 9 September, we all started watching the IMAGINE film together with many of the participants and public tweeting about it simultaneously.

Watch the replay of the IMAGINE 50th Anniversary Twitter Listening Party
while watching John & Yoko’s IMAGINE film

Klaus Voormann, Phil Spector, Alan White, George Harrison, John Lennon and Dan Richter seated at the kitchen table at Tittenhurst as Yoko pours tea during recording sessions for Imagine, summer 1971.

Running simultaneously was a ‘Tim’s Twitter Listening Party’ – a ‘second screen’ deeper context experience on Twitter, with Tweets of quotes, photos, multimedia and conversation, led by Yoko Ono Lennon, The Estates of John Lennon, guitarist George Harrison and keyboard player Nicky Hopkins; plus Sean Ono Lennon, bassist Klaus Voormann, drummer Alan White, guitarist Joey Molland, cameraman Nic Knowland, activist Tariq Ali, legendary broadcasters Dick Cavett, Michael Parkinson and Elliot Mintz, John & Yoko’s personal assistant Dan Richter, Ultimate Collection mixer/engineer Paul Hicks, Abbey Road Studios and Coda Collection editorial director Greg Kot with Master of Ceremonies Tim Burgess for Listening Party.

Watch the replay of the IMAGINE 50th Anniversary Twitter Listening Party
while watching John & Yoko’s IMAGINE film

John plays Yoko’s white Steinway ‘O’ piano and sings ‘Imagine’ as Yoko opens the shutters and lets the light into the White Room, Tittenhurst, Berkshire, UK, 21 July 1971.

WATCH THE FILM AT LIVE VENUES

Hard Rock showed the IMAGINE film throughout the day in select Hard Rock Cafes in North America and Europe.

In the UK, Sage Gateshead was excited to welcome people back to its phenomenal Sage One venue with a free Surround Sound screening of IMAGINE, timed to sync with the Twitter Listening Party. More info here.

Grassroots Music Venues all over the UK screened the film at 7:30pm for free, in collaboration with Music Venue Trust. Check your local music venue for details and look for the hashtag #IMAGINE50 on Twitter.

Confirmed venues included 33 Oldham St Manchester, The Bear Club Luton, Bristol Fringe, Cavendish Arms Stockwell, The Chambers Folkestone, Creature Sound Swansea, Fife Street Social Club Nuneaton, FortyFive Vinyl Café Micklegate, Heswall Hall Wirral, Hot Box Live Chelmsford, Night and Day Cafe Manchester, Pavilion Mid Wales, The Queens Hall Narberth, Retro Manchester, Rose and Monkey Manchester, The Sound Lounge, Snowcat Cinema Penarth Pier Pavilion, Temperance Leamington Spa, Three Wise Monkeys Colchester, The Trades Club Hebden Bridge, Upstairs at The Gather Ennerdale Bridge.

John & Yoko sitting at one of five plinths of George Adamy’s plexiglas artwork Month of June, 1970, at 77 Water Street on the corner of Front St and Old Slip, New York City, 4 September 1971

WATCH THE FILM ONLINE

US & UK: THE CODA COLLECTION

The Coda Collection, a unique streaming platform that delivers the most iconic music documentaries, concert films, and more, was proud to stream the “Imagine” film in the U.S. and the U.K. to empower even broader audiences to take part in this global special event. The Coda Collection is available exclusively via Amazon Prime Video channels.

Audiences in the U.S. were able to stream IMAGINE on The Coda Collection channel during and after the event with a free 7-day trial.

Audiences in the U.K. streamed IMAGINE on Amazon Prime at no additional charge during the event.

Tweets from the Twitter Listening Party were also available for anyone to follow live on a bespoke page at the Coda Collection website here.

To explore The Coda Collection, including other John Lennon & Yoko Ono films, visit codacollection.co

 
 

US: AXS

In the USA, IMAGINE is available to AXS subscribers (see below) on the AXS TV NOW App.

 
 

UK: SKY TV

In the UK, IMAGINE is available to Sky TV subscribers on NOWTV and the SkyGo App

 
 

EUROPE: WDR/ARD

In Germany, Switzerland and Austria you can watch IMAGINE on WDR/ARD platforms here.

 
 

WORLDWIDE: STREAM ON APPLE TV

You can purchase the film on Apple TV here and view it either in a web browser on your computer or phone, or on an Apple TV enabled device (including AppleTV 4K, Roku players & TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio, LG Smart TV, Sony, Playstation and XBox).

 
 

BUY THE BLU-RAY OR DVD

IMAGINE is also available on Blu-Ray and DVD in stores worldwide, paired with GIMME SOME TRUTH, the Grammy Award winning documentary about the making of the Imagine album.

 
 

MORE OPTIONS

To check all the viewing options in your country, click here.

John & Yoko with Andy Warhol, Jack Nicholson and Miles Davis at Betty Klein’s birthday party, Riverdale, Bronx, New York, 12 June 1971.

REPLAYS

Watch the replay of the IMAGINE 50th Anniversary Twitter Listening Party
while watching John & Yoko’s IMAGINE film

John Lennon, George Harrison and Fred Astaire all perform with Yoko for her door-opening film; St Regis hotel, New York City, 2 and 6 September 1971.

AFTERSHOW ON TWITTER SPACES

8:40 pm UK • 3:40 pm NYC • 1:40 pm LA • 4:40 am Tokyo

Immediately following the Tim’s Twitter Listening Party on September 9, Sean Ono Lennon and BBC6 Music’s Chris Hawkins hosted a special #IMAGINE50 Listening Party Aftershow with discussion and Q&A via Twitter Spaces. The audio-only event included the Special Guests below.

 
 

SPECIAL GUESTS

Chris Hawkins, our compere, is a seasoned radio broadcaster: presenter, host, interviewer, DJ, music aficionado and reviewer. He has gained a reputation for thoughtful, insightful and informative radio documentary programmes. He is a regular voice on BBC Radio 5 Live, and frequently appears on BBC News and BBC Breakfast TV. He currently hosts the early morning show on dedicated alternative music station BBC Radio 6 Music, the most listened-to digital-only radio station in the UK.

 

  

Sean Ono Lennon is a British-Asian-American musician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, artist, actor and polymath. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and brother to Kyoko Ono and Julian Lennon. He has been a member of Cibo Matto, Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Plastic Ono Band and guested with many other bands. He is a prolific songwriter, film score composer and producer and runs independent record label Chimera Music with partner Charlotte Kemp Muhl.

 

  

Klaus Voormann is a graphic designer, illustrator, musician and producer. He first met The Beatles in Hamburg’s Kaiserkeller club in 1960 and they became close friends. His design for The Beatles’ Revolver album won multiple awards including two GRAMMYs. He played bass on ‘Imagine’, the Imagine album and most of John’s solo albums and singles. He played on recordings by George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Manfred Mann, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Jerry Lee Lewis and many more. His artworks and books have been exhibited/published worldwide.

 

  

Alan White is an English drummer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the progressive rock band Yes, which he joined in 1972. In 1969, he joined the Plastic Ono Band after John Lennon invited him to play at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival. He subsequently played on ‘Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)’, ‘Imagine’ and the Imagine album. White also played with The Alan Price Set, George Harrison (notably the All Things Must Pass album), Billy Preston, Ginger Baker’s Air Force and Terry Reid.

 

  

Nic Knowland BSC is a BAFTA, BIFA, BIFICA, RTS & Kodak Award winning Director of Photography. He was cameraman for John & Yoko for many of their film projects, including Imagine, “RAPE”, Apotheosis and Bed Peace. His camerawork can also be seen throughout the Grammy Award-winning documentary Gimme Some Truth featuring the recording of the Imagine album in John & Yoko’s home studio at Tittenhurst. Nick remains a much sought-after Director of Photography for music videos, concert films, commercials, documentaries, dramas and feature films.

  

  

Dan Richter is best known as Moonwatcher the man-ape in the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he also choreographed. Dan lived and worked closely with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 to 1973, organising many of their creative projects. He has had a long career as a mime, choreographer, actor, director, producer, memoirist, and for two decades a Hollywood executive. For the last thirty years, Dan has been leading mountaineering trips in Sierra Madre, California, where he teaches courses on rock climbing and mountaineering.

 

  

Tariq Ali is a political commentator, activist, film-maker and widely published author. He has written numerous books on history and politics, seven novels and is the long-standing editor of the New Left Review. He corresponded with, met and became friends with John & Yoko after John wrote ‘Revolution’ and enjoyed lively political debate with them both at home and in the pages of Black Dwarf and Red Mole alternative newspapers. He can be seen in the documentaries Gimme Some Truth and Above Us Only Sky talking about ‘Imagine’ with John & Yoko in their Tittenhurst kitchen in May 1971.

 

  

Elliot Mintz is an American broadcaster, DJ, interviewer, entertainment correspondent, TV show host, celebrity publicist and PR consultant. He first interviewed John & Yoko in 1971. They met in 1972 and became lifelong friends: socialising, travelling and vacationing together. As a DJ, Elliot’s legendary weekly syndicated radio show The Lost Lennon Tapes ran consecutively for four years, containing 219 hours of rare John Lennon material that Elliot hand-selected from the archives – a massive creative labour of love. He remains a close friend and advisor to the family.

 

  

Simon Hilton is a London-based Creative Director and prolific music video director and film editor. He is the series producer of The John Lennon Ultimate Collection Series, editor of the books Imagine John Yoko and John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band, was responsible for supervising the restoration of the Imagine and Gimme Some Truth films with their reconstruction from the original negative and new audio remixes in Stereo, Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos. He has worked with Yoko Ono for the last 18 years.

 

  

Paul Hicks is a triple Grammy Award winning British mixer and engineer renowned for his work at Abbey Road Studios and worldwide for mixing and remastering music by The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. As a musician he collaborates with Dhani Harrison, writing and performing in the band thenewno2 and composing original soundtracks for films and documentaries.

Protesting on the Northern Ireland / Oz March, with lines of police outside Moyses Stevens Florists Berkeley Square, London, UK, 11 August 1971.

AXS TV SPECIAL

A few days prior on September 6th at 5 pm PDT/8 pm EDT, AXS TV honoured the 50th anniversary of IMAGINE with a showing of the film as well as the 1988 documentary, Imagine: John Lennon.

Hosted by Ahmet Zappa, co-host of AXS TV’s ‘Rock My Collection’, and Katie Daryl, executive producer and host of ‘The Top Ten Revealed’ the duo were joined by an impressive roster of notable musicians who reflected on how John & Yoko have impacted their lives, and how the Imagine album and song have influenced their careers.

The special re-aired September 8 at 5 pm PDT/8 pm EDT and the IMAGINE film is available to stream via the AXS TV NOW App. Visit AXS.tv for more information.

John & Yoko in front of a giant bronze eagle sculpture by Albino Manca at the East Coast Memorial in Battery Park, and at the riverfront with the Statue of Liberty in the background, New York City, 4 September 1971.

FIND OUT MORE

Find out more about the IMAGINE film, album and books at imaginejohnyoko.com.

WAR IS OVER! (IF YOU WANT IT) billboards, Times Square, New York, 25 December 1969.