Ahmet Zappa & Katie Daryl host special event
AXS TV presents a landmark night of music honoring the 50th anniversary of trailblazing visionary John Lennon’s seminal 1971 masterwork Imagine — airing Monday, September 6 starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. This special event is hosted by Rock My Collection host Ahmet Zappa and The Top Revealed host and executive producer Katie Daryl, who will both be on hand throughout the special event. The duo are joined by an impressive roster of notable musicians who reflect on how John Lennon and Yoko Ono have impacted their lives, and how the Imagine album and song have influenced their careers.
Featured guests include folk rock favorite Melissa Etheridge; STYX frontman Tommy Shaw; Jane’s Addiction mastermind Perry Farrell; Heart hit-maker Nancy Wilson; Boyz II Men tenor Shawn Stockman; international singer/songwriter LP; iconic performer/producer Linda Perry; and Evanescence songstress Amy Lee, among others.
The evening takes viewers behind the scenes and into the life of the man behind the iconic music with the 1988 documentary Imagine: John Lennon at 8 pm ET. The deeply personal profile boasts unparalleled archive footage and narration by Lennon, himself, compiled from more than 100 hours of interviews capturing the artist as he discusses the early days of The Beatles; writing the signature hit “Help!;” meeting Yoko Ono; and embarking on a journey of peaceful activism; as well as recalling the birth of his son, Sean; his hiatus from music; and so much more. Released just eight years after Lennon’s tragic death, the film includes insightful conversations with Yoko Ono; Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia Lennon; and his sons, Julian and Sean Lennon, providing a poignant homage to one of music’s most important figures.
Following will be the 1972 television special Imagine, which provides a surreal walk through a day in the life of John Lennon and Yoko Ono set to the music of Lennon’s legendary Imagine album and Ono’s Fly. The film blends creative set pieces with intimate footage of Lennon and Ono at their home and in the recording studio, resulting in a unique cinematic odyssey packed with unforgettable songs such as “Imagine,” “Oh My Love,” “How Do You Sleep?” and “Gimme Some Truth,” and appearances by Lennon’s friends and collaborators George Harrison, Fred Astaire, Dick Cavett, Miles Davis, Jack Palance, and Andy Warhol, among others. This particular film can also be enjoyed streaming on the AXS TV NOW app.
This special event is also airing on Wednesday, September 8th with Imagine: John Lennon at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT and Imagine at 9:45 pm ET/6:45 pm PT.
The following day, Yoko & Sean Ono Lennon, The Estate of John Lennon and Universal Music Group are hosting a Global Party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Imagine” – the song, the album and the film. At 11:30 am PDT/2:30 pm EDT/7:30 pm BST, fans around the world are invited to watch the Imagine film together, either online or in person at participating venues as Yoko Ono Lennon, Mercury Studios and partners including The Coda Collection, Hard Rock and Music Venue Trust make the film available to view for free.
Meanwhile Tim Burgess’ wildly popular Tim’s Twitter Listening Party will be hosting a simultaneous online Listening Party event, where the experience of watching and listening to the music of the “Imagine” film will be enhanced by a second-screen Twitter experience – with quotes, photos and multimedia, led by Yoko Ono Lennon, the John Lennon Estate and many of the musicians, filmmakers and friends involved in the making of the album and film, as well as fans joining in using the hashtags #timstwitterlisteningparty and #IMAGINE50.
Confirmed participants for the event are Yoko Ono Lennon, The Estates of John Lennon, guitarist George Harrison and keyboard player Nicky Hopkins, plus Sean Ono Lennon, bassist Klaus Voormann, drummer Alan White, cameraman Nic Knowland, factotum Dan Richter and MC Tim Burgess, with more to be announced soon.
Audiences in the US will be able to stream the Imagine film on The Coda Collection channel during and after the event with a free seven day trial.
Audiences in the UK can stream the film on Amazon Prime at no additional charge during the event. Tweets from the Twitter Listening Party will also be available for anyone to follow live on a bespoke page at the Coda Collection website.
