John Lennon

As I’m sure you are all aware today marks the 30th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. I was only 5 when he was murdered but I vaguely remember the day. I was playing at a friend’s house when his Mum came running into the room in tears and told his Dad the news. My little friend and I had no idea who John Lennon was and after his Mum had calmed down we carried on playing with our toy cars. Other than that I have no real recollection of the day.

Anyone reading my Blog won’t be surprised to hear that Lennon is one of my heroes. Lennon wasn’t perfect, he had problems with Heroin addiction and he can also be criticised for the way Julian Lennon was treated (it would be unfair to say it’s all Yoko’s fault) but his music both as a solo artist and with the Beatles is remarkable. Lennon wrote some of the most inspiring music ever recorded. Imagine, Give Peace a Chance and Working Class Hero are personal favourites from his solo career. I also admire him as a peace campaigner and political activist. It is easy to mock the ‘bed-in’ and ‘bag-in’ protests but they did garner massive publicity for the peace movement.

The Beatles changed music and popular culture forever. The impact their music has had on millions of people across the world has never been matched. McCartney may have been the Beatles’ musical brain but Lennon was its musical heart.

John Lennon - “I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people.”