Lennon's Peace lyrics to be sold

Give Peace A Chance reached number 14 in the US Billboard chart Enlarge Image

John Lennon's lyrics for Give Peace a Chance are to go under the hammer at a London auction.

The lyrics were handed to comedy writer Gail Renard, who was then 16, at Lennon and Yoko Ono's Montreal "bed-in" in 1969, along with other mementoes.

The collection, including photos which have never been seen in public before, is expected to fetch up to £300,000.

Christie's will sell the collection at a rock and pop memorabilia auction on 10 July.

Renard was a student in Montreal when Lennon and Ono visited the city to stage their "bed-in", billed as a protest for peace after they had been denied access to the US.

'Worth something'

She sneaked into the Queen Elizabeth Hotel with a friend, knocked on the door and asked the couple for an interview for their university magazine.

The photos have never been seen in public before

Renard ended up spending the rest of the week with the couple and struck up a life-long friendship.

Lennon gave Renard a few mementos at the time, including the lyrics, telling her "one day they will be worth something".

The climax of the event was when Lennon led the five minute recording of Give Peace a Chance sung by himself and the 50 guests in the room that night.