Music fans didn’t really want to believe it at the time. But anyone with eyes and ears should have been able to discern that The Beatles were breaking apart in 1969. The actions of John Lennon were a telltale sign.
Lennon, inspired by Yoko Ono, concocted a new moniker for the music he was making separate from The Beatles. This malleable new outfit released a pair of hit singles in 1969.
“Peace” Offering
John Lennon and Yoko Ono insisted on doing everything together once they began their romantic relationship. Much to the shock of other members of The Beatles, that included his music-making activities.
The Beatles took a break in 1969 following the tortured sessions for the Let It Be album. (They didn’t release that until after their breakup had been announced in 1970.) Lennon took advantage of the hiatus. He engaged in his peace campaign, which included the highly-publicized bed-ins.
During the second of those events in Toronto in June 1969, Lennon recorded the classic anthem “Give Peace A Chance”. Only Lennon’s name wasn’t the one that appeared as the artist when the single was released.
The Age of Plastic
The name Plastic Ono Band was coined by Lennon in response to one of Yoko Ono’s multimedia art projects. She did a performance at one point surrounded by tape recorders hung on plastic stands. Lennon came up with the name and then started using it for whatever he and Ono were doing outside The Beatles.
Lennon gave Paul McCartney a songwriting credit on “Give Peace A Chance” as a thank-you for helping him with “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” single earlier that year. That helped propagate the myth that what he was doing with Yoko was all a part of a coordinated Beatles plan.
But when Lennon released “Cold Turkey” as a Plastic Ono Band single later in 1969, McCartney’s name was nowhere to be found. In fact, Lennon had presented the song, an account of his comedown from heroin addiction, to The Beatles, and they’d turned it down. Even in that case, however, Ringo Starr played drums to give it the façade of a Fab Four-adjacent project.
A Brief Brand
In reality, by the time that song was recorded, Lennon had already made his shocking announcement to the other group members that he was leaving The Beatles. The group agreed to keep it on the down low until Let It Be was released. (Paul McCartney eventually kiboshed that plan when he jumped the gun and announced the breakup in April 1970.)
The Plastic Ono Band made a pair of live appearances in late 1969. Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, and Alan White backed Lennon and Ono as group members. But Lennon always envisioned the group as one where members could come and go.
When 1970 rolled around, the Plastic Ono Band was still in existence. But perhaps for marketing purposes, Lennon started including his own name on singles like “Instant Karma!” and “Happy Christmas (War Is Over).” His first studio album after the Beatles’ breakup was John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
The name stuck around on various projects connected to Lennon and Ono for a few years. Ono revived the name for a 2009 album and used it in concert for several years after that. 2015 marked the last appearance of this unique band/brand.
(Photo by Susan Wood/Getty Images)
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