Recording of 'unreleased' John Lennon song up for auction

Cassette with unreleased Lennon song up for auction 1:04

(CNN) -

Amid more than 100 paintings and sculptures for sale at auction in Copenhagen, Denmark, lies an unusual piece of pop memorabilia: a long-lost tape containing an unreleased song by John Lennon.

It is expected to fetch up to 300,000 Danish crowns ($ 47,000) in Tuesday's sale.

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The white cassette tape also includes interviews with the Beatles singer and his wife Yoko Ono, and is accompanied by a series of photographs dating from 1970.

The four interviewers, then 16-year-old schoolboys, put the tape on sale more than 50 years after it was recorded, according to auction house Bruun Rasmussen.

At the time, Lennon and Ono were visiting Thy in Jutland, Denmark, to resolve a custody dispute between Ono and her ex-husband over their daughter Kyoko, who is also in the photos.

The tape contains the 33-minute interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

In addition there are Polaroid photographs captured by one of the schoolchildren.

Credit: Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP / Getty Images

The four young men, who used to help produce the school's magazine, were given permission to skip classes in hopes of getting an interview with Lennon and Ono, the auction house said. On January 5, 1970, they were granted access to a small press conference, along with a small group of journalists, where they asked about the peace movement and Lennon's musical career. (At the time, Lennon was pursuing a solo career after the release of The Beatles' "Abbey Road" the year before).

The 33-minute recording also includes an impromptu performance, after one of the boys asked Lennon if he could play something for them.

The Beatle sang "Give Peace a Chance," which was first performed at the couple's famous "Bed-in" protest in Montreal in 1969, before playing an unreleased song, "Radio Peace."

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Written to accompany a proposed radio station in Amsterdam with the same name, "Radio Peace" can be "considered a kind of younger sister" to "Give Peace a Chance," the auction house said.

But the radio station never aired and the song was never released.

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Elsewhere in the recording, one of the four interviewers, Karsten Højen, can be heard asking what young people can do to defend the anti-war movement, to which Lennon and Ono suggested using posters and holding events promoting messages of peace.

At one point, Lennon and Ono were also convinced to dance around the Christmas tree while everyone sang a Danish Christmas carol.

In photos taken by Højen's schoolmate Jesper Jungersen, Lennon with his iconic round glasses and long braids is seen alongside Ono, who is dressed in black.

In another image, the couple are huddled on a red sofa next to Kyoko in front of the Christmas decorations.

"The experience had a huge impact on our lives," Højen is quoted in the auction catalog: "Back then, we weren't as concerned with famous people as young people today. Instead, we saw John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a kind of political prophets and symbols of peace.

"We share a common destiny with them regarding music and the progressive ideology of peace. The two celebrities shaped our generation and the entire countercultural movement."

In an apparent coincidence, another series of rare recordings of interviews with Lennon and Ono will also be auctioned on Tuesday.

Recorded in 1969 and 1970, the interviews, conducted by celebrated Canadian interviewer Ken Zeilig, could fetch £ 30,000 ($ 41,000) when they go up for auction in the UK.

Spanning 12 tapes and over 90 minutes, the recordings delve into details of scenes from "Abbey Road," the War is Over movement, and Lennon's protests against the execution of convicted murderer James Hanratty.

Most of the interviews were "unheard of before," according to Omega Auctions, which described the collection as a "truly unique and inspiring archive of interviews (that) deserve to be heard by everyone who loves The Beatles and John. Lennon ".

Beatles John Lennon