John Lennon died on December 8, 1980, after he was fatally shot outside his New York City home by Mark Chapman. In his recent autobiography, Me: Elton John, Rocket Man hitmaker Elton John spoke out about a special request he had received from Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono following his death.

“She said she needed to see me, it was urgent, I had to come to New York right away. So I got on a plane,” John wrote.

“She told me she’d found a load of tapes with unfinished songs John had been working on just before he died. She asked me if I would complete them, so they could be released.”

However, the musician, who had been good friends with Lennon before he died, said he “absolutely didn’t want” to complete the songs The Beatles star had been working on prior to his death, feeling it was “too soon”.

“Actually, I didn’t think the time woud ever be right,” he added. “Trying to work out how to finish songs John Lennon had started writing — I wouldn’t be so presumptuous.”

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