Heywood artist recreates John Lennon and Yoko Ono's famous ‘Bed-In For Peace’

Stuart Hampton and Joanna Bond recreated John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous ‘Bed-In For Peace’ performance

A Heywood artist and his partner celebrated the 50th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous ‘Bed-In For Peace’ performance by staging a bed-in of their very own in Wales on Saturday 23 March.

Stuart Hampton, from Darnhill, and his partner, Joanna Bond, re-enacted the iconic event at the Marine Hotel in Aberystwyth, marking the 50th anniversary of the famous protest against the Vietnam War.

Beatle John and wife Yoko staged their first ‘Bed-In’ just five days after they married in Gibraltar, hosting the non-violent protest from their Hilton Hotel room in Amsterdam on 25 March 1969.

Singing a number of the Beatles classics together such as 'Give Peace a Chance' and 'All You Need is Love', Stuart and Joanne were joined by musicians, singers, film-makers and supporters on the day, with queues outside the door and people singing in the corridors.

Stuart, who is a fan of the Beatles, said: “People could hear it from the streets. We are so happy to have recreated the true atmosphere of the peace and love hippie 60's and are so pleased the Marine Hotel backed the event so we could re-imagine this historic moment in time here in the UK.

“John and Yoko originally urged others to stay in bed and grow their hair for peace, so we are honouring their original wishes by peacefully staging a Bed-In of our own. It was a great moment in history that is worth celebrating and commemorating.

“John and Yoko's original ideas and philosophy for the bed-in are just as relevant today as they were back in 1969 – peace and love never stop being a good thing to promote and encourage in our world.”