IT has been 40 years since one of the world’s most famous musicians, John Lennon, was shot and killed.
As many reflect on how his music touched many lives across the globe, here’s what you should know about the Beatles member.
On December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot and killed by a fan at his residence in Manhattan, New York.
Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife Yoko Ono.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Roosevelt Hospital, after getting four major gunshot wounds.
John Lennon was 40-years-old when he was rushed in a police car to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
He was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England and would have been 80-years-old today.
Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder of Lennon and was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment.
He has remained in prison ever since, having been denied parole ten times due to campaigns against his release after he became eligible in 2000.
Chapman, a Beatles fan who had idolised Lennon, allegedly started planning to kill him three months before he committed the murder.
He turned against Lennon after making his religious conversion, and was angry about Lennon’s well-publicised 1966 comment that Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.”
John Lennon’s most famous song is Imagine which was released in 1971.
The song was number one in the UK for four weeks and was followed by two more No1 hits, (Just Like) Starting Over and Woman in the 80s.
He had other solo success with Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Instant Karma and Nobody Told Me.
These included Yesterday, Yellow Submarine, Lady Madonna and Help!
The band – also featuring George Harrison and Ringo Starr – had chart success with the Lennon/McCartney tracks From Me To You, Ticket To Ride and All You Need Is Love.
After their success, they became widely regarded as the most influential music band in history.
The Beatles have been acclaimed as the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 800 million physical and digital albums worldwide.
They have had more number-one albums in the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.
They are also best-selling music artists in the United States, with over 183 million certified units.
