Long-lost Lennon interview reveals hope of making music for another six decades

An interview with John Lennon, rediscovered in a basement by the DJ who conducted it 50 years ago, is being aired on the eve of what would have been the singer's 85th birthday.

- Caroline Davies

The former Beatle told Capital Radio's Nicky Horne of his fears that Richard Nixon's US government was tapping his phone.

Horne, who was 24 and an up-and-coming DJ in London, had been invited to the star's New York apartment for a wide-ranging interview, part of which was broadcast in 1975.

Horne found the original reel-to-reel tapes in a dusty box at home and thought: “This is gold dust.”

Lennon, who sued the US government over wiretapping and surveillance amid his battle to avoid deportation, spoke of his suspicions that he was being monitored because of his antiwar activism.

He also explained he had wanted to “just throw away” his fourth solo studio album, Walls and Bridges, until friends persuaded him not to.

And he expressed now poignant hopes that his best music was yet to come and that “apart from acts of God, I will be around for another 60 years and doing it until I drop”.