UK album release: John Lennon Anthology

A box set containing four compact discs of previously-unreleased studio outtakes, live recordings and home demos made by John Lennon between 1969 and 1980, John Lennon Anthology was released on 2 November 1998 in the United Kingdom.

John Lennon Anthology was issued four years after The Beatles’ Anthology project began, and it’s clear that the success of the previously-unreleased recordings by Lennon’s former band proved a deciding factor for Yoko Ono.

John Lennon Anthology was released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 1998, the following day in the United States, and on 6 November in Japan.

The box set reached number 62 in the UK and 99 in the United States. Because each set counted as four CDs, it was certified gold in the US by the RIAA in December 1998 after selling 125,000 copies; the threshold for gold discs was 500,000.

No singles from the collection were issued, although ‘I’m Losing You’, featuring Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Bun E Carlos, received some airplay along with a video featuring animated drawings by Lennon.

A companion highlights disc, Wonsaponatime, was simultaneously released. This featured 21 tracks, several of which were slightly edited from the box set versions. The album reached number 76 in the UK but failed to chart in the US.