Unreleased John Lennon tapes allegedly surface

By Joe Bosso
published

Is the 13-minute recording really John Lennon? Sure sounds like him
Is the 13-minute recording really John Lennon? Sure sounds like him (Image credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)

Never-before-heard audio tapes of John Lennon warming up during the making of the Double Fantasy album have reportedly surfaced.

The website Lennontapes.com has begun selling the 13-minute recording, which it claims was tracked on 19 August 1980, at The Hit Factory in New York City.

The snippets that we heard appear to be authentic. They contain Lennon warming up in the sound booth on covers that were possibly recorded by never released: Bobby Darin's Dream Lover, the doo-wop classic Stay and Elvis Presley's hit Mystery Train.

Although the rights to the audio would presumably belong to Yoko Ono, Lennontapes is selling the recording. To hear snippets and read the backstory, click here.

Joe Bosso
Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.