'He brought joy to the world': Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remember John Lennon on the 40th anniversary of his death
How ITV News reported the death of John Lennon
The surviving Beatles have paid tribute to their bandmate and friend John Lennon to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.
Sir Paul McCartney, who wrote numerous hits with Lennon including Eleanor Rigby, Help! and Love Me Do, said on Twitter: "A sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world."
Sharing a picture of him with Lennon, taken by his late wife Linda McCartney, he added: "I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser! X love Paul"
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr suggested radio stations should play the Strawberry Fields Forever in tribute to Lennon.
He said: "Tuesday, 8 December 1980 we all had to say goodbye to John peace and love John.
"I’m asking every music radio station in the world sometime today play Strawberry Fields Forever. Peace and love."
Lennon, 40, was shot four times on the evening of December 8, 1980 outside his Manhattan apartment, as his wife Yoko Ono looked on.
Mark David Chapman had travelled from Hawaii to New York to carry out the assassination after allegedly planning it for months.
Hours before his death, Lennon was pictured signing an autograph for Chapman on one of his albums.
Chapman, now 65, is serving a 20-years-to-life sentence at Wende Correctional Facility, east of Buffalo, New York.
He has said previously that he feels “more and more shame” every year for the crime.
"I was too far in," Chapman told a parole board in 2018. "I do remember having the thought of, ‘Hey, you have got the album now. Look at this, he signed it, just go home.’ But there was no way I was just going to go home.”
In August, he was denied parole for an 11th time. His next parole hearing is scheduled for August 2022.