UK album release: Walls And Bridges by John Lennon

John Lennon’s fifth solo album, Walls And Bridges, was released on 4 October 1974 in the United Kingdom.

The most focused set of recordings made during John Lennon’s legendary Lost Weekend, Walls And Bridges marked a return to form following the clumsy sloganeering of Some Time In New York City and the frequently aimless Mind Games.

The album had been released on 26 September 1974 in the United States. It was a Billboard number one, was awarded gold status, and spent 35 weeks on the charts.

In the United Kingdom it peaked at number six, and was in the charts for a total of 10 weeks.

Shortly after its release Lennon supervised a quadrophonic mix of Walls And Bridges, although the popularity of the format was limited in 1974 and it sold poorly.

An advertising campaign ran to promote Walls And Bridges. The concept, suggested by Lennon, was around the theme “Listen to this…”, and was applied to button badges, stickers, advertisements, posters and t-shirts. In New York City it also featured on the rear of 2,000 buses.

A television commercial also ran in late 1974. It showed the album sleeve in various permutations, and had a voiceover by Ringo Starr. Lennon returned the favour by voicing the advert for Starr’s album Goodnight Vienna, released in November 1974.