A concert moviee showcasing the last full-length John Lennon concerts is coming to theaters. The multi-camera Power to the People: John & Yoko Live in NYC movie was filmed during two massive Madison Square Garden live shows held on Aug. 30, 1972.
Lennon, Ono and the Plastic Ono Band with Elephant’s Memory appeared before a combined audience of 40,000 people, raising more than $1.5 million (or the equivalent to $11.5 million today) in this benefit concert for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lennon played solo favorites like “Instant Karma” and “Imagine,” along with “Come Together” from his Beatles years.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 20, on the 57th anniversary of Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono. Select locations will feature audio in 5.1 Surround or Dolby Atmos. Participating venues have not yet been announced. Visit powertothepeoplefilm.com to find out more.
Inside the Restoration of John Lennon’s ‘Power to the People’
“That Madison Square Garden gig was the best music I enjoyed playing since the Cavern or even Hamburg,” Lennon told NME in 1972. “It was just the same kind of feeling when the Beatles used to really get into it.”
Restoration of the film, originally directed by Steve Gebhardt, took years. Every frame was physically and then digitally cleaned up. The concert footage was then re-edited and remixed by a seven-time Grammy-winning team led by the Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon. Lennon was murdered in 1980 when his son was five.
The younger Lennon also oversaw the restored music, as the multitracks were baked and re-transferred at high resolution, digitally restored and then remixed in high definition stereo, 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos.
“Maybe not everyone realizes how special it is for me to hear my dad talking or to see him,” Sean Lennon said in a news release. “I grew up with a set number of images and audio clips that everyone’s familiar with. So to come across things that I’ve never seen or heard is really deep for me, because it’s almost like getting more time with my dad.”
READ MORE: Ranking Every John Lennon Top 40 Hit Single
This wider release of the Power to the People: John & Yoko Live in NYC film follows a sprawling box set, also titled Power to the People, that chronicled Lennon’s early years as a New York City transplant. The 12-disc release coincided with Lennon’s 85th birthday celebrations. The 2025 One to One: John & Yoko documentary focused on rehearsals and preparation for these historic shows at Madison Square Garden.
A portion of these concerts was released in 1986 as Live in New York City, with footage excerpted into stand-alone music videos. That album has since gone out of print. There was also a 2010 compilation titled Power to the People: The Hits.
Watch the Teaser for ‘Power to the People’
Beatles Live Albums Ranked
Beatles live albums didn’t really used to be a thing – then they started arriving in bunches. Let’s count them down.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
How an Old Beatles Song Connected David Bowie With John Lennon
