John Lennon death: Beatles legend shot dead 35 years ago today

Music fans and the world at large today relived the sadness and shock that broke many hearts 35 years ago when The Beatles’ John Lennon was gunned down outside his home in NY.

Brandon Flowers was among a host of stars who paid tribute to John Lennon in NY over the weekend as part of a 75th-birthday benefit gig for the late Beatle.

In recent years it appears there have been countless mass shootings taking the lives of innocents in the United States – most recently a pair of killers shot up a disability centre in San Bernardino, California on 2 December (15), leaving 14 people dead and 21 injured. “I am sorry for causing that type of pain”, Chapman said. “I am sorry for being such an idiot and choose the wrong way for glory”.

Just months earlier Lennon had made a return to the public eye with the previously mentioned album, following a five year hiatus to spend time with his son Sean.

These words would be chilling at the best of times, were they not uttered by John Lennon in his last ever interview prior to his murder.

We continue to mention Lennon’s name throughout the years, keeping his memory alive. Lennon staggered up a few steps into the building and collapsed, he said.

“Record shops in Newcastle were expecting a big increase in sales of Lennon’s records _ both as a solo performer and with The Beatles”. I should have cried, but I didn’t. Miss Ono was taken to the hospital in another auto, he said.

The rest of the day saw Lennon in the recording studio, where he and Yoko spent four-and-half-hours working on the song Walking on Thin Ice.

Fans of the legendary singer-songwriter will gather Tuesday at Strawberry Fields in Central Park to celebrate his life.

At Roosevelt Hospital, Dr. Lynn announced that Lennon was dead shortly after midnight.

The 40-year-old was shot several times as he entered the Dakota, his luxury apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, opposite Central Park, at 2300 local time.

Born in Liverpool, England in 1940, Lennon formed his first band, The Quarrymen, in 1957, which went on to become The Beatles the following year with the addition of Paul McCartney and George Harrison.