Daytime Revolution: A Film Review

 

Photos by Michael Leshnov, courtesy Kino Lorber

My job as an instructional coach for reading and literacy teachers around America has taken me to interesting places over the past year. Fortunately, it took me to New York City on October 9, 2024, where I could view the film Daytime Revolution at the Quad Theater. 

Over the past few years, I have seen many documentaries about John and Yoko. As you would have guessed, I have enjoyed them all.   Daytime Revolution is my favorite one since The U.S. vs. John Lennon.  

In early 1972, John and Yoko were co-hosts of the Mike Douglas Show.   Years ago, I read Mike Douglas' autobiography, so I knew that if you were asked to co-host, then you would have to choose who the guests were going to be on the show for the week.   I also know that it was a bit misleading.   The co-hosts really weren't on for a straight week.  They recorded over several weeks, and after 5 shows, they showed them all as if they were recorded one day after the other and were live. 

When John and Yoko hosted the talk show, they picked the guests and chose people who were pretty radical. These were the types of people that ladies and sick children who were watching daytime television weren't used to seeing on their screens at that time of day.   That is what this documentary is all about- the stories of the guests who were on the show and everything that happened when John and Yoko were co-hosts.

Many performers, musicians, politicians, and the cooking segment women were interviewed and looked back on their time on the show, telling previously unheard stories of John and Yoko.   I found the duo called "Yellow Pearl" to be very good and the story told by one of the singers is really great.  The way the director wrote the modern-day interviews with the 1972 interviews was amazing and made the documentary very riveting. 

As far as I was concerned, the highlight of the film was seeing John with Chuck Berry. The color is so vibrant in the film that you can see how purple Chuck's shirt really was. The sound of the performances was outstanding. But the smile on John's face and the excitement that he had while singing with Berry almost jumped off the screen. We got to witness one of the best moments of John's life—performing with his musical hero.  Even if you have seen this footage a million times on YouTube, seeing it in this film is like seeing it again for the first time.  

I also appreciated that the entire performance of John singing "Imagine" was included in the film. Usually, only part of a song is shown in a documentary, but I want to thank the filmmakers for keeping the full performance.

During the week of co-hosting, John and Yoko passed around a canvas that was signed by all of the guests and folks in the audience.  It was said it was going to be auctioned off for a charity at the end of the week.   Does anyone know anything about this?   Was it auctioned off?  Who has it and where is it now?  Does anyone recall seeing the canvas in an auction in the past 50 years?   Do you think someone has it tucked away under a bed somewhere?

I hope that the entire Mike Douglas Show with John and Yoko gets released on Blu-Ray very soon.  It was out as a VHS set back at a time when I couldn't afford it, so I have never seen the entire show.  

The film is still showing at a few select theaters around the country.  Catch it if you haven't seen it yet and it is near you.   Otherwise, you will have to wait until November when it will be out on Blu-Ray and DVD.   It is well worth your money to get it.  I know that I want to see it again.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the DVD or Blu-Ray here is the the Amazon link for the pre-orders.  Anything ordered from this affiliate link supports this page with a small percentage of the sale. Thank you for your support. 

https://amzn.to/4f68C21

Two of Rock royalty

 

February 2, 1972 

A different view of a class performance

 

Johnny B. Great!

 

The Riot at the Chuck Berry Concert

 I don't know about you, but when I think of people rioting at a concert,   I don't think of Chuck Berry.   When I think of a Chuck Berry concert, I picture people dancing in the aisles and in their seats.   I don't think of Chuck Berry fans as being rowdy, but boy oh boy what happened on February 19, 1967 proved me wrong. 

There was a resurge of interest in 1950s Rock n Roll in the U.K.  in the early months of 1967.   Teenagers were once again dressing like Teddy Boys and jiving with their girls that wore full skirts.   The music of that time was also gaining popularity again and you can't think of 50's Rock n Roll without having Chuck Berry.    Chuck got a group from Canada to back him and went on a U.K. tour.    On February 19 the tour brought him to London, England, and the Savile Theater.   

Chuck and his band backstage during the tour in 1967 (photo by Barry Cassson)

The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein had owned the Savile Theater since 1965 and would rent it out for play productions during the week.   The weekends, however, were reserved for concerts.   The Sunday night rock concerts at the Savile became a tradition for many in London during the time.   Chuck Berry's concert one of those Sunday nights. .  Over 1,000 fans came to see the show.   Most of them came dressed for the occasion.  Many of the guys wore Zoot Suits and winkle-picker boots.  

Several famous musicians were in the audience as well.   Tom Jones was there and so were John Lennon and Ringo Starr, who were sitting in a box with Brian Epstein.   

There were several warm-up acts that performed before Chuck Berry hit the stage.  Bands including Big Taste and Hamilton's Movement were booed while performing.   Those in the audience were screaming "Get off the stage!"  and "We want Chuck Berry!"     Del Shannon performed and the audience's reaction was a little better.   They especially liked it when he sang one of his big hit numbers, "Runaway."  

Finally, Chuck Berry came out and started to sing the classics  "Nadine,"  "Roll Over Beethoven" and "School Days"  The Savile Theater was rocking out.   People started to jive in the aisles.  Others were dancing in their seats.   25 minutes into the 40-minute concert, one guy jumped on the stage to dance next to Chuck Berry.    Since having an audience member on the stage was against the Greater London Council's regulations, the theater manager pulled the safety curtain.    

John and Ringo must have known what that felt like.   They had their share of people running on the stage during a concert and their share of concerts stopped in the middle because of the audience.    

When the concert was abruptly stopped, the Chuck Berry fans lost it.   A microphone stand was thrown, and so was a fire extinguisher.   They started to tear the seats apart.  Stuffing from the cushions was flying around and the entire seats were thrown.    They were tearing the Savile Theater apart.   They were yelling and demanding to see Chuck Berry.

When it became obvious that they weren't going to get what they came for, they turned their anger towards the Beatles box and started to boo and jeer them while throwing things up towards the box.  Ringo and John ran out of the place and into a car to leave the riot.   

Cynthia, John and Ringo leave during the riot.  You can see Brian checking to make sure they are alright.

50 policemen arrived at the theater.  They got the concert-goers to move outside.   On the sidewalk in front of the theater, they began tearing down the posters that advertised the Chuck Berry concert and were screaming, "We want our money back!"    Things didn't break up until arrests were made.  

One of the guys in the band, Barry Casson remembers the riot like this,  “They ripped up the theatre, ripped the curtains down and ripped the seats right out of the moorings. Fifty police were called out. It was an actual riot. When they lifted the curtain a half-hour later, there was nothing left. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.”

Brian was not happy about the situation at all.  He said,  "The bringing down of the safety curtain was an action which appalled and annoyed me, it was entirely unnecessary and a full investigation of those taking the action will be made and those responsible will accept the consequence of possible dismissal."  He went on to say that he hoped there were no hard feelings and he wanted Chuck to return to perform.   

 A month later, Chuck did just that and there was not a riot the second time around.   In an interview backstage, he had this to say about the Beatles,  "Talking about the Beatles, three or four of their songs are amongst the best ever written in pop music. Especially 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand'. I put that one with songs like my 'Sweet Little Sixteen' – and I'm not saying that just because I wrote it. I'll never write another song like that."

John from the wings

Johnny B. Good

Photos from Imagecollect.com   Please DO NOT share these photos elsewhere.

The Beatles and Chuck Berry have a very long history.    Being a St. Louis area gal and a fan of early rock n roll, I can't help but love the music of Chuck Berry.    Johnny B. Good,  Rock n Roll Music, No Particular Place to Go, and My Ding a Ling were songs I remember hearing over and over again during my life.     And growing up in this area, I was always hearing about Chuck Berry on the news.


The Beatles first heard of Chuck Berry way back in the 1950's while they were in Liverpool and all four of them automatically loved the music.   Chuck Berry was the root of Rock n Roll for them and paved the way for all four Beatles to become the musicians that they were.

As I am sure you have all head, Chuck Berry passed away yesterday and the age of 90.    He lived a very full life.   While I can't always agree with things that happened in his personal life, that doesn't stop me from enjoying his music and appreciating the impact he made on the Beatles.


John and Ringo (along with Cynthia) saw Chuck Berry perform in concert at the theater Brian owned in February 1967.  As far as I know, that was the first time any of the Beatles actually met him.  

In 1972, when John and Yoko performed on the Mike Douglas show, John had the idea of having one of his childhood rock n roll heroes perform each day of the show.   He picked out a list of rockers, but Chuck Berry was the only one that could make it.   And so John and Chuck performed (even if it was in the wrong key for John) on television in what was one of John's must nerve wracking and exciting moments.

Paul met Chuck backstage at Busch Stadium in 1993.   They had a vegetarian diner together before the concert and Linda gave him a copy of her cookbook.

While I think Ringo and George must have met Chuck at some point, there isn't any record of it and there aren't any photos that I could find.   But it just seems like their paths must have crossed at some point in time, don't you think?

I actually did a lot of research on the Beatles and Chuck Berry for my book.  So if these stories interest you please order my book at www.stlbeatles.com

If you are ever in St. Louis---make sure you drop by Blueberry Hill and pay your respects to Chuck Berry.   He will be always remembered for being a great guitarist and one of the founding fathers of Rock n Roll.   Thanks Mr. Berry!

Happy Birthday Chuck Berry!