Greetings,

I’m John Timmins, album producer of Amchitka, the 1970 concert that launched Greenpeace. What can I say? It’s been an honour to work on this project from conception to now, just a few days from the international album release. I hope you’ll stop in here from time to time to read about the latest on the album, but more importantly, I’d like to use this space to share some of the amazing stories that lead to Greenpeace releasing this concert album. And I’d especially like to hear from you.  Were you at the Amchitka benefit concert in 1970? Do you remember hearing about the “Don’t Make a Wave” committee? Do you remember the first time you heard “Greenpeace”? Or are you just a great fan of the performers: Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Phil Ochs? For those of you who don’t know, there’s a very special place in Greenpeace’s heart for the Amchitka Benefit Concert.  Irving Stowe, one of founders of Greenpeace, was extremely concerned about proposed atomic tests being held at Amchitka, one of the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. After a number of meetings with friends and other concerned individuals, a group formed – first called the “Don’t Make a Wave” comittee, then “Green Peace”. The idea was to send a crew to bear witness to the nuclear tests at Amchitka. But being short of money, Irving had the idea to put on a “solidarity” benefit concert to fund the trip. He managed to convince Joni Mitchell to play, and she in turn brought along James Taylor. With Phil Ochs and Chilliwack joining in, the concert turned out to be a great success, and raised enough money to send the first Greenpeace ship on our first-ever peaceful act of civil disobedience. The rest is history.  And so we really do view Amchitka as the concert that launched Greenpeace.

Read more about Greenpeace’s history.

Rex Weyler’s Book: “Greenpeace” is the most complete and detailed account of how Greenpeace came to be, and how it evolved into the organization it is today.