Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World

Now on all streaming platforms – see John Lennon’s first performance outside the Beatles

In 1969, the outdoor concert that got the most publicity was certainly Woodstock.  But, another festival took place less than a month later, up north in Canada, dubbed the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, and it also looms large in rock history. 

It marked the first public performance by John Lennon without the Beatles.  The film also features incredible footage of rock legends like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis, in addition to a wild performance by a then-unknown band called Alice Cooper.

Filmmaker Ron Chapman has put together Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World, a documentary that features not only the fantastic concert footage (captured by the legendary D.A. Pennebaker, who also filmed Monterey Pop and Bob Dylan’s Don’t Look Back), but also delves deeper into the show’s planning and unbelievable hurdles that had to be overcome to pull this off. 

Featuring modern day interviews with the show’s original creator, John Brower, as well as Alice Cooper, Robbie Krieger of the Doors (who played that day, but was inexplicably not filmed), and both Klaus Voorman and Alan White, who played bass and drums respectively, backing John Lennon.  

Pennebaker did release a film of the event in 1973, titled Sweet Toronto – but that was just concert footage.  While that movie is worth seeing, Revival69 is so much better because it tells the whole, crazy story.  For one thing, the concert was almost cancelled numerous times, due to poor ticket sales, and radio indifference.  Then, in an act of sheer desperation, the day before the event, the promoters placed a Hail Mary call to the London offices of Apple Records, in hopes of persuading John Lennon to attend the show and possibly host it.  Lennon had publicly shown his love for the Fifties artists on the bill, so it was worth a shot.

Not only did Lennon say YES, but he also said he wanted to PERFORM live.

Lennon played exactly TWO concerts after the Beatles.  This is one of them.  

Revival69 is definitive proof that these rock and roll pioneers were still at the top of their game.  Chuck Berry does his signature duck walk, while Bo Diddley was punk before punk, with his homemade guitar and primitive beat. Jerry Lee Lewis works up a sweat, and Little Richard is simply spellbinding.  

There’s footage of Alice Cooper, and it’s just…crazy.  Performance art at it’s best.

Then, there’s Lennon, backed by Voorman, White, and buddy Eric Clapton on guitar.  With zero actual rehearsal, the band jammed through mostly old Fifties’ hits, the kind of stuff you run through at an open jam night at a local bar, like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Money.” 

Lennon seems rusty and self-deprecating, but still turns in a fine performance.  That is, until his wife, Yoko Ono, comes out of the bag she was sitting in on stage (you read that right).  She begins screeching at the end of “Cold Turkey” and the crowd is dumbfounded into silence.  Thankfully, Chapman only shows a little of Ono’s solo “performance” (for the full set, track down Sweet Toronto, if you dare).  

Chapman also tracks down people who attended the show, including Rush bassist, Geddy Lee, rock critic, Robert Christgau, Claudja Barry and Shep Gordon.

Seven days after performing at this show, John Lennon would quit the Beatles forever.  Perhaps the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was the proof he needed that he could do it on his own.

The concert also helped kickstart the 50’s resurgence that would continue with nostalgia concerts at Madison Square Garden, films like American Graffiti and Let the Good Times Roll, bands like Sha Na Na, and even TV shows like Happy Days.  

The sad thing is that Lennon performed only a handful of shows in the last 10 years of his life, making his performance in this film even more special.  

Revival69 sheds new light on an important, but mostly-forgotten, event in rock n’ roll.  The footage of Lennon, Alice Cooper, and especially the rock pioneers, make this essential viewing for any music fan.  —Tony Peters