John Lennon and Yoko Ono were the most famous couple in rock music in 1968 (and probably for a few years afterwards) and the almost chemical-physical connection of the counterculture. In the flower power year, they also ventured out into the public as an artist association that produces music together with their first joint album “Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins”.
It wasn’t supposed to be the last collaboration, but the music on LP number one with the crude and dazzling title immediately faded into the background because Lennon and Ono decided to ensure maximum attention with the cover artwork.
Both appeared stark naked, not even their sexual organs were concealed. A novelty – even for the sexually charged final years of the Sixties. While music listeners argued about the quality of the singing improvisations recorded in one evening with birdsong and distorted instruments, the authorities in the USA took action.
At the airport in Newark (New Jersey), 30,000 copies were confiscated on suspicion of pornography before they could even go on sale. EMI initially refused to release the album unless the cover photo was replaced.
End of the song: The record was released by the record company Track Records, albeit covered in paper. However, many record stores stopped selling them.
Lennon and Ono were surprised at the commotion. “I didn’t think there would be such an uprising,” said the singer, who struggled for a long time to get permission for the production from his Beatles colleagues. “The world probably thinks we’re an ugly couple.”
“The most gruesome spectacle of the 60s”
The motif was taken in October 1968 in the basement of Ringo Starr’s apartment in London without a photographer, but with a self-timer. Paul McCartney later said that he had not expected this action, but nevertheless wrote a few lines to accompany the recording for his friend. George Harrison later appeared amused and spoke of “two naked, limp bodies” – something that was basically completely harmless and definitely not pornographic. Ringo Starr simply called the artwork “insane.”
For British pop critic Julie Burchill, the album cover is, above all, terribly tasteless. With harsh words she judged retrospectively: “Next to Altamont, the sight of the naked Ono-Lennons on the cover of their joint album was the most horrifying spectacle of the 60s.”
5,000 copies of the now extremely popular vinyl edition of the album were sold, then “Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins” disappeared from the market. “Unfinished Music No. 1” followed just a few months later. 2: Life With The Lions”. The cover was basically just as intimate, but didn’t trigger any more outcry. The two artists could be seen in the hospital. The picture was taken when Yoko Ono was being treated for pregnancy complications (she later lost her unborn baby). The back cover was still provocative: it showed John Lennon and Yoko Ono being arrested for possession of cannabis in 1968.