John Lennon gave two performances on August 30, 1972, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This would be his last and only full-length concert appearance since the breakup of The Beatles. The event was called “One To One,” which was a pair of afternoon and evening charity concerts to benefit the Willowbrook Home, a facility for children with mental challenges.
Geraldo Rivera, a friend of Lennon and Yoko Ono, requested their participation as headliners of the concert. They were backed by the band Elephant’s Memory. Also performing at the show were Sha Na Na, Stevie Wonder, and Roberta Flack.
In typical Lennon humor, during the afternoon show he introduces his song “Mother” by saying, “Here’s another one of those songs from one of the albums I made since I left The Rolling Stones.”
Both concerts were recorded and filmed, with most of the afternoon show being released in 1986 on the album Live In New York City. The filmed version of the afternoon show was released on VHS, but has yet to be officially released on DVD.
John Lennon never went on tour as a solo artist. The last time he was part of a tour was when he was with The Beatles, who retired from touring in 1966. The “One To One” concerts would be the last time John and Yoko would publicly perform live together.
