"Yoko worked the room like a trouper, skipping across the stage with a girlish enthusiasm..." - David Fricke, Rolling Stone
"Fans who had not seen each other in their lives before embraced each other. It was like we were all one big family." - Nicole Wilde, West Germany
"Yoko asked, 'Can we get light please?' No light! 'Anyone out there? Eewowwoewow!' Light! Everyone was laughing because she's really a very funny woman." - Christ Devos, Belgium
"When Yoko is onstage, there's magic in the air. She's such a little lady, but she's full of energy!" - Petra Zeitz, West Germany
"If you ask me and the other people who were in the concert, these bad reviews are nothing more than big lies! There were several hundred more people in the hall than the critics reported." - Radio Correspondent for Berlin Radio Station
"Yoko Postpones Local Show,Tour" - Headline in Chicago Sun-Times, 3/27/86
"Sometimes a media mindset is established about people in a negative way that people never quite get beyond." - Elliot Mintz
AN "IK" VIEWPOINT: When I first learned about Yoko's plans to head out on tour, fear for her safety was my first reaction. It was small comfort when letters from other Instant Karma! people came in echoing my own apprehension. At least I was not alone. Little did any of us know at the time that the biggest danger Yoko would face would be the poison pens of critics and reporters as they tried to stifle her tour every step of the way. And stifle it they did. Despite the obvious fun the fans were having at the concerts, the critics just couldn't bear to write anything good about Yoko. There were notable exceptions - the warm receptions in Warsaw, Budapest and even London where Yoko had been most nervous about appearing.
But apparently, for the most part, the critics had a field day. A few of our European correspondents wouldn't even repeat what had been written because of the nastiness of it all. But let's just put this all in perspective: What other artist is accused of being on an ego trip because he or she decides to tour? With what other artist is there so much attention paid to whether or not a concert hall is filled to capacity? A quick check of Billboard's 4/12/86 Boxscore page that lists the top concert grosses, shows us that the heavy-metal band, Rush, played to 7,000 empty seats. Luther Vandross with two other acts on the bill had 4,000 empty seats. Pat Benatar played to a half-empty concert hall in once city, and only 2,000 people showed up in a hall that holds 8,500 in another city. Where are the big headlines in the evening newspaper?
Criticism is nothing new to Yoko. It was nothing new to John. It's not even anything new to those of us who care about them. But it does get frustrating at times. The Starpeace tour is really a John and Yoko event. Yoko is taking John along in spirit, with her inclusion in the concerts of "Imagine" and "Give Peace A Chance." In every interview along the tour trail in Europe, Yoko talked peace in a continuation of John and Yoko's campaign to bring the word "peace" to the front pages of newspapers around the world. Some have speculated that the reason people didn't show up at Yoko's concerts was because they're tired of hearing about peace. Some things never change. J&Y were constantly criticized for talking peace at every opportunity. But as the two of them did back then, Yoko has accomplished part of what she set out to do. In 1986, when all the papers are filled with Star Wars, contras, terrorists and boats being blown up at sea - one tiny lady is causing a major controversy by saying "Peace." Funny world, isn't it?
The good news is - Yoko, though obviously disappointed, is in good spirits and health. Those of you who've expressed concern that there may be something more than poor ticket sales to her postponed (and cancelled) USA concerts can take heart. Yoko feels fine and could easily have tackled the strenuous pace of touring. She also could have taken the easy way out and told everyone she was not feeling up to finishing the tour, but Yoko is not known for taking the easy way out. Saving face may be a Japanese tradition, but Yoko doesn't want anyone worrying needlessly about her health.
"All these years, I was receiving these letters, and in the beginning, I couldn't even send a reply. The time was just not the time. And then I kept thinking about it, and especially because of Strawberry Fields' opening, I really felt that I'd like to thank them in person. And the stage is the closest you can get to being in person." - Yoko, Rolling Stone
The tour was a goodwill tour, and even though the reporters and critics were not interested in goodwill, the fans who attended Yoko's shows were thrilled. Yoko played to warm receptions in Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest and London.
"The motive of the tour is a good one, and I'm counting on that, aside from taking realistic measures to ensure that it's safe for me. The main motive is, of course, to try to just circulate some love and peace in the world. It's the thing that John and I believed in all these years, and it's something that we can't forget." - Yoko, Rolling Stone
Some wondered at the outset if the tour was simply an "ego trip" for Yoko or a bid to sell more "Starpeace" albums. But Sam Havadtoy pointed out, "It's a peace tour. The idea wasn't to make money. You don't play Warsaw to make money. The idea is, let's not look for more weapons, let's look for peace."
The William Morris Agency booked the tour. Most performers have a sponsor to help defray the enormous expense of taking a show on the road, but Yoko would not okay a 'Coca Cola' or 'Pepsi'-type sponsor, leaving the expenses at her doorstep. Havadtoy: "If it were her choice, we'd have some herbal tea company."