Elisabetta Bianchini
Fri, December 16, 2022
In 1969, Toronto hosted one of the most impressive music festivals in rock 'n' roll history at Varsity Stadium, with an A-List lineup that included John Lennon, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Alice Cooper and The Doors.
But why do so few people, Canadians in particular, even know it happened?
Filmmaker Ron Chapman (Who the F**K Is Arthur Fogel) is now taking us behind-the-scenes of the development of this impressive festival in REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World, including how young concert promoter John Brower literally put his life on the line to make it happen.
“I kind of feel that there are some great Canadian stories Canadians should know about and be proud about, and that should get out to the rest of the world,” Chapman told Yahoo Canada.
“Interestingly enough, not a lot of other people know about this event, which Rolling Stone called the second most important event in rock history, and it happened here in Toronto.”
“This is one of the most important moments in the history of rock 'n’ roll and yet, Canadians don't know about it. Torontonians don't know about it and the world doesn't know about it.”
Chuck Berry in "REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World"
Interestingly enough, not a lot of other people know about this event, which Rolling Stone called the second most important event in rock history, and it happened here in Toronto.
The concert promoter who couldn't be stopped
Featuring very conversational interviews with John Brower, Alice Cooper, Robby Krieger from The Doors, Geddy Lee and more, paired with enticing archival footage from the festival itself, REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World transports you right back to the golden age of rock music. It’s an almost unbelievable story of how this impressive rock lineup came to be, after it almost didn't even happen.
“That was a time when, for people like John who had that passion, who had that belief, they were undeterred, they were not going to be stopped,” Ron Chapman said. “He kept pulling everything out of the bag.”
“I think a lot of other people would have given up and I also think that something like what happened at that time, and what he did, would not be possible in today's world.”
John Lennon in REVIVAL69: The Concert that Rocked the World
For John Brower, he equates his work on this festival to sailing across the water and hitting a point of no return: "You either keep going and get to your destination, or you're going to sink."
“We were riding high in anticipation of success and when things started to look like they weren't going to [be successful] we just added more, getting The Doors to come on the bill, bringing Kim Fowley and Rodney Bingenheimer into town,” Brower told Yahoo Canada. “When it seemed like all was lost, there was the Hail Mary pass that Kim Fowley called for as the quarterback."
“What Ron's created as a rollercoaster ride in this film, is to me, the most intriguing part of it because it really captures that zeitgeist of success and impending doom back and forth in a five-day period, which is exactly what it was like.”
John Lennon and Yoko Ono in "REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World"
'Some of the greatest footage I've ever seen'
An exhilarating aspect of the documentary is watching how, in the the final hours, John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrived in Toronto, set to perform as The Plastic Ono Band featuring Eric Clapton, Alan White and Klaus Voormann, which effectively led to Lennon leaving The Beatles.
For John Brower, the most "thrilling" moment was actually riding with Lennon and Ono in Toronto.
“The most thrilling moment was being in the limousine with John and Yoko and Rodney Bingenheimer when we pulled into the centre and we were getting our escort into the city, which is some of the greatest footage I've ever seen,” Brower said. “It was overwhelming because I was not part of assembling that, I was down at the stadium putting the show on.”
“The next day I was just wondering, ‘did this really happen?’ I mean, that's really what it was like, it was like a dream while it was happening."
Toronto Varsity Stadium in "REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World"
Toronto losing its rock history
A massive question fro many who watch REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World will be, with such a star-studded lineup, why aren't we talking about and celebrating this festival in Canada? For Ron Chapman, he believes one link to this limited knowledge of the festival is that Toronto has not preserved its rock history, like the complete redevelopment of Yonge Street in the city.
“We don't have any of the iconic rock palaces that showcase so much great music, whereas in Hollywood or in Los Angeles, Sunset Boulevard still has all of the iconic places that rock created and that became historical landmarks,” Chapman said. “When you take away our historical landmarks and build condos, or the Eaton Centre, you lose the history.”
“Somebody once said to me if that show had happened in Buffalo there would have been a movie made about it like the next year... I think we need to think about our cultural heritage and while we still have a lot of it left, how much of it are we going to preserve.”
John Brower added that the fact that the festival was in Toronto, generally, impacts its notoriety.
“This festival was overlooked by the States," Brower said. "They didn't bother sending [any press] because [they've got their] own festivals and big deal."
"The other the other part of it, of course, is that a good percentage of the audience…came from America because the Canadians didn't even know that this concert was happening the way it was happening. They didn't know Lennon was coming because they didn't tell people. America knew it and they came in droves.”
Revival69: The Concert That Changed the World is opening in select theatres in Canada between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4. There will be a screening at Toronto's Hot Docs Cinema followed by a Q&A with Ron Chapman, John Brower, Geddy Lee and Robby Krieger, moderated by Alan Cross. The film will be available in Canada on VOD beginning Jan. 3, 2023 and Crave in February.
A massive question fro many who watch REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World will be, with such a star-studded lineup, why aren't we talking about and celebrating this festival in Canada? For Ron Chapman, he believes one link to this limited knowledge of the festival is that Toronto has not preserved its rock history, like the complete redevelopment of Yonge Street in the city.
“We don't have any of the iconic rock palaces that showcase so much great music, whereas in Hollywood or in Los Angeles, Sunset Boulevard still has all of the iconic places that rock created and that became historical landmarks,” Chapman said. “When you take away our historical landmarks and build condos, or the Eaton Centre, you lose the history.”
“Somebody once said to me if that show had happened in Buffalo there would have been a movie made about it like the next year... I think we need to think about our cultural heritage and while we still have a lot of it left, how much of it are we going to preserve.”
John Brower added that the fact that the festival was in Toronto, generally, impacts its notoriety.
“This festival was overlooked by the States," Brower said. "They didn't bother sending [any press] because [they've got their] own festivals and big deal."
"The other the other part of it, of course, is that a good percentage of the audience…came from America because the Canadians didn't even know that this concert was happening the way it was happening. They didn't know Lennon was coming because they didn't tell people. America knew it and they came in droves.”
Revival69: The Concert That Changed the World is opening in select theatres in Canada between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4. There will be a screening at Toronto's Hot Docs Cinema followed by a Q&A with Ron Chapman, John Brower, Geddy Lee and Robby Krieger, moderated by Alan Cross. The film will be available in Canada on VOD beginning Jan. 3, 2023 and Crave in February.
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