RCMP spied on Lennon, Ono: declassified files

The RCMP was spying on Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono after they announced plans for amassive festivalto promote peace near Toronto, newly declassified government files show.

Lennon and Onowere hoping to stage a three-day concert in July 1970 at Mosport Park, 100 kilometres east of Toronto.

An RCMP report dated Dec. 30, 1969, and that was obtained by the Canadian Press reveals the security service was monitoring the couple, who were planning to invite other members of the Beatles as well as Elvis Presley to the show.

"Lennon hopes that if the festival would turn out to be a success, there would be a good chance they might take this festival to Russia," said one portion of the report.

Lennon had wanted the festival to be beamed around the world. It would have been stagedat theheight of the Vietnam War, and the musician said he picked Canada because it was a "young nation" that wasn't interfering in foreign countries.

Lennon and Ono had a 50-minute meeting with then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau days after announcing the concert, the report said.

The pair were already familiar with Canada, having staged their bed-in for peace in May 1969at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where they recorded Give Peace a Chance.

Rock music writer Ritchie Yorke left his newspaper job that year to join Lennon and Ono on their world peace quest.

"We really believed that we were in a position that we might be able to change some things."

Yorke said seeing his name in the RCMP report was upsetting, but at the same time left him "proud that we were there at that time, trying to stop the forces of repression."

Had a hunch they were being watched

Yorke, 63, lives in Australia and still writes about music.

He recalled that he had suspicions that authorities were keeping surveillance on Lennon and Ono.

"You'd keep seeing the same sort of person in different places."

The RCMP shared information about the event with the FBI.

The festival never took off after Lennon and Ono battled with organizers over whether to provide free admission, and they also had run-ins with Beatles manager Allen Klein.

Months later, in April 1970, Lennon and Ono wrote a letter to Rolling Stone magazine saying they still wanted to organize a peace festival.

"Have we all forgotten what vibes are?" said the letter. "Can you imagine what we could do together in the one spot thinking, singing and praying for peace."

Yorke said the release of the information is a good thing, reminding people of what the late Beatle stood for. Lennon was gunned down in front of his New York apartment in 1980.

"Most of what John Lennon was trying to tell us is equally appropriate now as it was when he was staying in Canada in 1969."