John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the day of Lennon’s murder in 1980 (Picture: AP)

It has been 34 years since the the violent murder of John Lennon, assassinated on the streets of Manhattan on December 8, 1980.

As fans are gearing up to remember the former Beatle and political activist in ceremonies around the world, they can only imagine what the then 40-year-old would have achieved had his life been spared by deranged gunman Mark David Chapman.

At the time of his death Lennon’s interest in music had been reinvigorated, and he was still a potent force as an envoy for peace.

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He would have had passionate views on the continuing conflict hotspots around the world, the terrorist attack on his beloved New York in 2001, and the resulting ‘war on terrorism’ in Iraq and Afghanistan.

John Lennon signs an autograph for Mark Chapman on the night Chapman shot him dead(Picture: Paul Goresh/ITV)

The impact on what he called his ‘war for peace’ is immeasurable. Anti-war songs such as Give Peace A Chance and Imagine are still performed in his absence at anti-war rallies, and Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is probably playing on a radio station somewhere in the world as you read this article.



He undoubtedly would have had an opinion on the current state of the music industry – especially on how it has become a vehicle for reality television.

After a period of being what he called a ‘house husband’, Lennon was recording material for at least two albums – Double Fantasy and Milk And Honey – when he was shot dead out the front of his apartment at the Dakota Building across the road from Central Park (a good example of the music he was recording at the time of his death is at the bottom of this story).

Mark Chapman was sentenced to life for Lennon’s murder, and – despite eight parole bids – remains in jail (Picture: AP)

He had been returning from a recording studio just before 11pm when Chapman, who had been standing around the front of the Dakota , shot Lennon in the back four times at the entrance to the building.

Lennon was taken to Roosevelt Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival less than 20 minutes after the shooting.

International reaction was one of shock and and grief. As George Harrison said in an interview after Lennon’s death, it was the first time that assassination had dropped below a political level and claimed someone in the entertainment world.

Tourists visit the tile ‘Imagine’ mosaic at the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park (Picture: Reuters)

The day after Lennon’s death, a devastated Yoko Ono issued a statement saying there would be no public funeral for Lennon. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in a part of Central Park that has now been converted into the Strawberry Fields memorial park.

Chapman, arrested at the scene of the assassination, has never disputed the fact that he was the shooter – and, despite claims of diminished responsibility through mental illness, he was sentenced to 20 years to life for second-degree murder. He remains in prison, having been denied parole eight times – probably for his own safety.