The Beatles icon John Lennon has a great official Twitter tribute account, and it revealed yesterday a rare quote from Lennon about how “Give Peace A Chance” was banned due to a word featured in the song. Lennon writing a ‘freak’ letter to killers and wounded veterans was revealed yesterday.
Lennon said, “The word ‘mas****ation’ was in it. Every bloody record I put out was banned for some reason or another. Even ‘Walrus’ was banned on the BBC at one time, because it said ‘knickers’. So I copped out and wrote ‘mastication’.”
“Give Peace A Chance” was Lennon’s first solo single, and it has become an anti-war anthem. It was released in July 1969 before The Beatles split up, and it was a massive hit, topping out at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was credited to the Plastic Ono Band, Lennon’s project with wife Yoko Ono that would later go on to produce the hit “Imagine” in the 70’s. Lennon called a surprising The Beatles song ‘junk’ before his death.
Lennon’s Twitter also posted a rare quote where Lennon talked about being disilussioned with fame, and being bothered in public at places like restaurants, “When I left England I still couldn’t go on the street. It was still Carnaby Street and all that stuff was going on. We couldn’t walk around the block, couldn’t go to a restaurant, unless you wanted to go ‘with the business of the star going to the restaurant’ garbage.” Lennon sent huge money to a surprising name in the 70’s.
