Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World (2024)
Director: Ron Chapman Run Time: 97 min. Release Year: 2022
Starring: Alan White, Alice Cooper, John Brower, Klaus Voormann, Robby Krieger
Country: Canada, France
Language: English
About the film:
The remarkable, behind-the-scenes story of how a little known music festival came together against all odds. Young, scrappy concert promoter John Brower puts his life on the line to turn his failing Toronto Rock n Roll Revival into a one-day event, later coined in rock mythology as “the second most important event in rock n’ roll history.” And it almost didn’t happen. The festival united rock legends and the almost famous, but it was the 11th hour arrival of John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band that ignited a truly seminal moment for the 20,000 fans at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium.
Through exclusive conversations with iconic musicians like Alice Cooper, Robbie Krieger (The Doors), Alan White (Yes), Geddy Lee (Rush), Danny Seraphine (Chicago) and Klaus Voorman (Manfred Mann, The Beatles), and over 60 minutes of remarkable archival footage and audio tapes, the documentary immerses us in the whirlwind chaos leading up to the festival — the biker gang, threat of cancellation, a mid-flight band rehearsal, and inexplicable luck that culminated in Lennon shedding the mantle of the Beatles and nervously taking the stage with Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and Alan White — an unforgettable happening that triggered Lennon’s decision to leave the Beatles forever.
“Brimming with both revelry and reverence, Revival69 remembers a time when anything felt possible”
—Nick Seip, In Review
Forged with rare, recently discovered behind-the-scenes Super 8 verité footage, and including never-before seen 16mm film of the concert shot by D.A. Pennebaker and his crew, REVIVAL69: The Concert That Rocked the World (2024), is an exhilarating VIP ride into a pivotal moment in music history, told through the eyes of those who were there: the musicians, the mavericks behind the scenes, and all who witnessed history in the making.
About the filmmaker:
Ron Chapman is an award-winning Toronto filmmaker. Chapman has had a lifetime of creative entrepreneurship. Starting out as a musician, he became an artist manager, record producer, club owner concert promoter. Chapman evolved to develop his own film production company and advertising agency, where he produced and directed commercials for international brands. His feature documentaries have garnered acclaim worldwide and have aired on major networks and platforms. They include: Who the F**K is Arthur Fogel (2013), featuring Lady Gaga, U2, The Police, Madonna, Rush, and key music industry insiders; The Poet of Havana (2015), with Carlos Varela, Benicio Del Toro, Jackson Browne; and The Forbidden Shore (2016), an in-depth exploration of Cuba’s top musical artists.
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