John Lennon

JOHN LENNON d1980. English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. He together with Paul McCartney, formed one of the most successful song-writing partnerships of the 20th century. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Ever Britons voted him eighth. In 2008 Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. After being born and raised in Liverpool, John Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager with his first band The Quarrymen (later evolving into The Beatles in 1960). The Beatles were to become the catalysts in 1963 for a worldwide musical and cultural revolution and their public appearances were often met with such frenzy that this phenomenon became known as "Beatlemania". By the middle of the decade the group had become increasingly studio based and reclusive, beginning the disintegration that led to their breakup in 1970. He himself launched a solo career that would span the next decade, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums including ; John Lennon Plastic One Band and Imagine (spawning iconic songs such as "Give Peace A Chance" and "Imagine"). He throughout his career revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit within his music. His writing on film and in interviews was often highly controversial through his manner as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by the US government to deport him whilst his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. He disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote more time to his family, later re-emerging re-energised in October 1980 with a new single and a comeback album "Double Fantasy". After famously signing a copy for him just hours before, he was tragically murdered aged just 40 outside The Dakota building in New York on 8th December 1980 by Mark Chapman. Ironically he had sacked his personal bodyguard just three weeks previously