John Lennon recording telling Hull art students in 1964 he had friends do his exams for him goes under the hammer

Says who? John Lennon actually - in a remarkable tape-recorded interview that has come to light almost 60 years after a young Hull Art College student blagged his way into a press conference ahead of a performance in the city.

The eight-and-a-half minute conversation recorded by John Hill, then 18, on October 16 1964, goes under the hammer at Scarborough auctioneers David Duggleby on Friday, along with the tape recorder and photographs taken whilst they were talking.

Auctioneer Graham Paddison said: “One of the most striking things about the recording is just how relaxed the two of them were together, just two art college students chatting.”

Asked if the Beatles saw themselves primarily as musicians or entertainers, Lennon mused: “I suppose . . . we don’t count ourselves as good musicians, so I suppose we’re entertainers . . . but we don’t entertain much ‘cos we just stand there...”

Lennon speaks about writing songs and the fight they had to record their own material.

“We were told at the beginning to record other stuff but it was us who forced the issue to record our own songs. We nearly recorded ‘How Do You Do it’, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and some other crap they gave us.”

Mr Paddison said: “It was of course another age. Some of John’s comments would give the PR teams that surround modern stars heart failure. He says that he wanted to be rich, disclosed that he had friends do his art college exams for him when he was away touring with the group in Scotland, revealed that he never told the college he was going to Germany because he ‘wanted his grant’ and declined to send a message to the art students of Hull to keep working because ‘I never did much myself’.”

Mr Hill, a retired Leeds University lecturer sold the recording to its current owner in 2014. That collection is now up for sale.