8 December 1980: John Lennon is murdered
ADVERTISEMENTOn the evening of 8 December 1980, former Beatle John Lennon was shot and fatally wounded in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City.
The killer was 25-year-old Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan who said he was inspired by the fictional character Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’
Amateur photographer Paul Goresh (above, left), who describes himself as a life-long fan of Lennon, took the last photo of the rock star when he was alive.
The last professional photo of Lennon was taken by Annie Leibovitz, who took a portrait of Yoko Ono and John Lennon hours before he was fatally shot. Leibovitz was photographing for Rolling Stone Magazine when she shot the iconic image of Lennon curled up against Ono.
The event that shocked the music world 43 years ago still reverberates today. The scale of the Beatles’ influence hasn’t diminished in the decades since the band’s most forthright member was murdered.
Just this year, Euronews has run multiple stories on the late Beatles legend.
From Culture Re-Views that look back over the day Lennon met his bandmate Paul McCartney and formed their bountifully creative partnership to the release of their beloved film Yellow Submarine and the anniversary of their final rooftop performance.
We’ve also covered the release of the first new Beatles track to be released in the 21st century. ‘Now and Then’ was created by McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr through the use of AI tools to enhance a demo Lennon recorded in the 70s.
Using the same restoration techniques that filmmaker Peter Jackson utilised to create his expansive documentary series ‘The Beatles: Get Back’, listeners sampled a brand new Lennon song which rocketed to the top of the charts.
There have also been auctions of Lennon’s possessions, including a 17,000-tile pool mosaic from the songwriter’s 1960s Kenwood home.
