A folk singer who once complained that success and wealth could ruin his songwriting has revealed a letter John Lennon sent him to calm his fears.

Steve Tilston was just 21 in 1971 when the star read the interview he had done with now defunct ZigZag magazine.

In the hand-written letter, now revealed for the first time, John Lennon told the young musician not to worry about becoming wealthy because it would not change what he felt inside.

He wrote the letter – signed from him and Yoko Ono - just months after the Beatles split up in 1970.

He sent it to the youngster and the reporter who interviewed him, Richard Howell, at the magazine’s offices.
But for some reason the letter never reached the musician.

Astonishingly, the first time he saw it was in 2005 when an American collector contacted him for verification.
“It was so frustrating because John Lennon even included his home phone number on the top of the letter,” said the 60-year-old, who has just published his first novel All For Poor Jack.

“I know it’s silly but I wanted to ring him up across the ages. It was really poignant for me. It was a really helpful letter from a young bloke because he was only 30 at the time - I am old enough to be his dad now.

“I would have phoned him and taken my guitar round because he had just got into finger picking, I would have shown him a few things.”

The letter is written on a sheet of cruise liner paper with a pen self-portrait and a five-line sketch of Yoko.

The megastar wrote: “Being rich doesn’t change your experience in the way you think.

“The only difference, basically, is that you don’t have to worry about money – food and roof. But all other experiences – emotions – relationships – are the same as anybodies, I know, I’ve been rich and poor, so has Yoko (rich - poor - rich) so whadya think of that.

“Love John and Yoko.”

At the top of the letter John Lennon had written “zigzag” and coloured it in.

At the bottom he wrote: “Buy ‘God Save Us’ and save Oz,” which was a message of support to the co-editors of Oz magazine who were on trial at the time, but later acquitted, of corrupting public morals.

Mr Tilston has recorded more than 20 albums and will mark his 40-year career with a concert at Bristol St George’s Hall next month.

He said of the letter, which is estimated to be worth about £7,000: “I felt rather angry to start with to think that someone had just sold the letter rather than passing it on to me but you have to let these things go.”

During the next two-and-a-half years, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe played nearly 300 shows.