John Lennon’s Only Cassette Tape With ‘Unheard’ Recording Was Just Sold
Image via Bruun Rasmussen
Recently, a cassette tape of an unreleased song by John Lennon, along with an interview with the pop culture icon, was sold by Bruun Rasmussen for over US$58,000.
The song on the tape, titled Radio Peace, has never been heard by the public, and was recorded by four Danish schoolboys on January 5, 1970.
Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, had been in town for personal matters, but still managed to schedule a mini press conference at the New Experimental College in Skyum Bjerge, as per Robb Report.
The four boys, who were writing for their school’s newspaper, were allowed into the briefing. The entire recording, according to the Danish auction house, lasted about 33 minutes.
The first segment comprised Lennon and Ono answering press questions, with the boys asking about the anti-war movement the couple had been campaigning for.
Following the Q&A session, Lennon then performed for the audience, including Give Peace A Chance together with Ono, and the unreleased Radio Peace. The song was originally meant to be used for a radio station he had hoped to launch back then.
“The radio station was never opened and the song was never released. To our knowledge, the only place where this song exists is on our tape,” Karsten Hoejen, one of the four boys who made the recording, shared with the BBC.
As to why they were willing to give up such an iconic piece of pop culture history, the boys said they had been unable to decide how to split ownership among their families.
The tape had been expected to fetch 200,000 to 300,000 Danish krone (US$31,000 to US$47,000) but eventually sold for a cool 370,000 Danish krone (US$58,129).
While it’s unclear what the new owner plans to do with the unreleased record, it’ll certainly be a gift to pop culture if they were to release it to the public.
[via Robb Report, cover image via Bruun Rasmussen]
Also check out these recent news
