Peace of Lennon worth £300K

2008-04-30 16:05

London - Lyrics to the song Give Peace A Chance, handwritten by John Lennon, are expected to sell for up to £300 000 in July, auctioneers Christie's said on Tuesday.

The song was written by Lennon during his 1969 "bed-in" in Montreal when he and wife Yoko Ono checked into suite 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and stayed in bed for eight days in a peace protest.

The Beatles star, who was shot dead in New York in 1980, gave the lyrics to Gail Renard, then a 16-year-old girl who dodged heavy security at the hotel to sneak in and request an interview for her college magazine.

Renard ended up staying for a week and becoming friends with the couple. The lyric sheet, along with photographs from the time, will be auctioned at Christie's in London on July 10 on her behalf.

Give Peace A Chance was recorded on the final evening of the "bed-in" with guests including poet Allen Ginsburg, psychedelic writer Timothy Leary and members of a Canadian Hare Krishna temple.

Credited to the Plastic Ono Band, the song reached number 14 in the US charts and was the first solo work released by a Beatle. The band split in 1970.

It became an anthem for peace campaigners, particularly those opposed to the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

- AFP