Tributes for John Lennon’s 60th birthday

To mark the 60th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth, remixed versions of his solo albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Double Fantasy were released in the United Kingdom.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band contained bonus tracks Power To The People and ‘Do The Oz’, as well as extra photographs and reproductions of handwritten lyrics.

Double Fantasy had bonus tracks Walking On Thin Ice, the previously unreleased Help Me To Help Myself, and dialogue between Lennon and Ono titled Central Park Stroll. Both reissues were released in the United States on the following day.

In Liverpool, a civic ceremony was held to celebrate Lennon’s birthday. The event took place at Dovedale School, and guests included his half-sister Julia Baird.

Around 200 fans gathered around Lennon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. In Strawberry Fields in Central Park, New York City, fans watched five skywriting aeroplanes wrote the words ‘Remember Love’ repeatedly in three circles over Manhattan.

An exhibition of Lennon’s work opened at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Tokyo, the world’s first John Lennon museum opened at the Saitama Super Arena. Opened by Yoko Ono, it featured nine sections, each of which explored a chapter of Lennon’s life.

MJI Broadcasting in the United States syndicated a three-hour radio special entitled John Lennon: A 60th Birthday Celebration. Hosted by Dennis Elsas, it featured interview with Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, George Martin, Steven Tyler, David Crosby, Brian Wilson, Don Henley and Alice Cooper, as well as Lennon’s friends Elliot Mintz and May Pang.

The show, which had been broadcast from 6 October until this day, also contained the world radio première of Help Me To Help Myself from the Double Fantasy reissue.

A six-hour tribute show was broadcast on the KGSR-FM station in the United States, beginning at 6pm. In an interview recorded in New York City on 7 September, Ono discussed the reissues. It was followed by the MJI Broadcasting show, and a two-hour tribute to Lennon titled Austin Celebrates John Lennon, featuring a number of Texan musicians performing his songs.

Elsewhere, VH-1 in Europe dedicated their evening programming to Lennon, with new interviews with Ono, a showing of the 1998 film Imagine: John Lennon, and a compilation of videos.