It became John’s second non-Beatles single
John Lennon with his wife Yoko Ono at Heathrow Airport, London in 1971(Image: Mirror Syndication International)
Even before The Beatles went their separate ways in 1970, John Lennon had begun recording and releasing his own music. Alongside his second wife Yoko Ono, he formed the Plastic Ono Band in 1968 and the couple released two editions of experimental tracks called ‘Unfinished Music’ in 1968 and 1969 respectively.
The Plastic Ono Band’s first single was ‘Give Peace a Chance’, written by John in opposition to the Vietnam War. It became the soundtrack of the American anti-war movement in the 1970s and peaked at two on the British charts.
John’s follow up to that single was ‘Cold Turkey’. It was written when he and Yoko decided to withdraw from taking heroin, which John was said to have taken up in 1968, when relations within The Beatles were strained.
In a 1970 interview, John explained: “Heroin. It just was not too much fun. I never injected it or anything. We sniffed a little when we were in real pain.
“I mean we just couldn’t – people were giving us such a hard time. And I’ve had so much s**t thrown at me and especially at Yoko. People like Peter Brown in our office, he comes down and shakes my hand and doesn’t even say hello to her.
“Now that’s going on all the time. And we get in so much pain that we have to do something about it.
John Lennon with Yoko Ono in 1969(Image: Mirrorpix)
“And that’s what happened to us. We took H (heroin) because of what The Beatles and their pals were doing to us. And we got out of it. They didn’t set down to do it, but things came out of that period. And I don’t forget.”
After John wrote ‘Cold Turkey’ during his ‘bed-in’ protest with Yoko, he recorded demos of the song in September 1969 and he presented it to The Beatles who were working on ‘Abbey Road’ before its release that month. The band turned the song down so John decided to release it under the Plastic Ono Band name in October.
The recording process was far from easy. John had performed it live on September 13 at Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival festival, which was the Plastic Ono’s Band’s first stage performance.
About that performance, John said: “We were full of junk too. I just threw up for hours till I went on. I nearly threw up in ‘Cold Turkey’ – I had a review in Rolling Stone about the film of it – which I haven’t seen yet, and they’re saying, ‘I was this and that.’ And I was throwing up nearly in the number, I could hardly sing any of them, I was full of s**t.”
The song was recorded at Abbey Road, with Ringo Starr on drums. They tried 26 takes of the song but couldn’t get it right, before coming back to the studio on September 28 to get it right.
Upon release on October 20, its references to drugs meant it was banned by some radio stations, which was a point of frustration for John. He told Playboy in a 1980 interview: “‘Cold Turkey’ is self-explanatory. It was banned again all over the American radio, so it never got off the ground.
“They were thinking I was promoting heroin, but instead… They’re so stupid about drugs! They’re always arresting smugglers or kids with a few joints in their pocket. They never face the reality.
“They’re not looking at the cause of the drug problem. Why is everybody taking drugs? To escape from what? Is life so terrible? Do we live in such a terrible situation that we can’t do anything about it without reinforcement from alcohol or tobacco or sleeping pills? I
Rhe Beatles performing their last public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building in 1969(Image: Express/Express/Getty Images)
“I’m not preaching about ’em. I’m just saying a drug is a drug, you know. Why we take them is important, not who’s selling it to whom on the corner.”
As well as working on this track, John was said to have told The Beatles in September 1969 that he wanted a “divorce” from the group, seemingly beginning the process of their split. The band released ‘Let It Be’ as their final album in 1970, as their break-up was made public.
But ‘Cold Turkey’ was a key step in John moving toward solo work and his artistic endeavours with Yoko. It was his first song that he had written which had a solo credit, rather than being Lennon – McCartney.
The single’s cover art featured an x-ray of his head, with his signature round glasses superimposed on top.