John Lennon's heartbreaking comment in an unearthed interview five years before his death

8 October 2025, 11:33

A "gold dust" John Lennon interview from 1975 is found.

John Lennon gave a clutch of fantastic, long-form interviews in the decade between the end of The Beatles and his tragic death in 1980.

As well as his pored over talks with Rolling Stone and Playboy, Lennon spoke with then-24-year-old Nicky Horne for DJ with London's Capital Radio in 1975.

• The Beatles: Why John Lennon said their success had nothing to do with talent
• John Lennon and Paul McCartney's post-Beatles vicious diss tracks explained
• Listen to the Gold Radio Greats Live Playlist on Global Player, the official Gold app

Some parts of that interview were aired on the radio back then, but now the full original reel-to-reel tapes have been unearthed by Horne.

"This is gold dust," Nick told The Guardian about the discovery.

As well as talking about his well-founded fears that his New York phone was being tapped, Lennon also spoke about how he was tempted to bin his fourth solo album Walls and Bridges, before eventually releasing it in 1974.

Lennon said that he played it to some friends, with their reaction helping shift his opinion on the record.

#9 DREAM. (Ultimate Mix 2020) John Lennon w The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band (official music video 4K)

"They said, 'Hey, it's all right.' So I said, 'It's all right. Oh it's not bad at all. I quite like some of it myself. Okay, let's put it out."

But the most heartbreaking moment was an aside when John spoke about his future plans to continue making music until he was an old man.

"Apart from acts of God, I will be around for another 60 years and doing it until I drop," Lennon said.

As it went, Lennon only released two more albums during his lifetime.

First there was the covers album Rock 'n' Roll in 1975, at which point he took a five year gap to raise his son Sean, before he made a comeback with 1980's Double Fantasy.

That album was released just a month before Lennon was murdered outside The Dakota in December 8, 1980.

Lennon's music scaled the charts in tribute after his passing, and in 1984 Yoko Ono compiled the posthumous Milk and Honey album, which included work from Lennon's sessions taped after Double Fantasy and newer material by Ono.

It's impossible to know how much music Lennon might have released had he not been killed, but his old Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney has put out over 20 solo and collaborative albums between 1980 and the present day.