A new video has just been released of John Lennon and Yoko Ono performing at a benefit concert for the families of those killed in New York’s Attica prison in 1971.
The concert took place 24 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1971, at the Apollo Theater in New York. Video shows John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band performing what was then a new song, “Attica State.”
The clip opens with an explanation of what happened on Sept. 13, 1971, at Attica Correctional Facility, noting that 39 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
The emcee of the evening explains to the crowd while introducing John and Yoko that the pair “saw fit to put down in music and lyrics, so that it will never be forgotten in our country by anyone, the tragedy of Attica State.”
The performance is one of 92 bonus tracks that appear on the John and Yoko box set Power to the People (Super Deluxe Edition), which came out in October. The set focused on John and Yoko’s political activism and life in New York City.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.















