The Beatles

[When Jokers Attack]

I'm Jealous...What a setlist

[Kowalski]

I'm Jealous...What a setlist

No Frog Song though!

[Cardboard Box City]

Were you by any chance a little drunk when you bumped this thread at half two yesterday morning?

[Kowalski]

Were you by any chance a little drunk when you bumped this thread at half two yesterday morning?

Funnily enough I'd been at a xmas party where the entertainment was a Beatles tribute act!

[Cardboard Box City]

Funnily enough I'd been at a xmas party where the entertainment was a Beatles tribute act!

Which one?

[Kowalski]

Which one?

Nobody knows what they were called, it was a "Christmas with the Beatles" night and they were definitely from Liverpool, as "Lennon" spoke and sang in a scouse accent They weren't great.

[Cardboard Box City]

Nobody knows what they were called, it was a "Christmas with the Beatles" night and they were definitely from Liverpool, as "Lennon" spoke and sang in a scouse accent They weren't great.

Was Ringo some fat lad?

[Kowalski]

Was Ringo some fat lad?

Erm...not sure. "Lennon" looked like Lennon but didn't sound like Lennon. McCartney didn't look like McCartney but sounded like McCartney. Played mostly early stuff, nothing from Sgt Pepper, and only 1 from Abbey Road (Here Comes The Sun).

[Cardboard Box City]

John Lennon was an English rock musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism. He was shot dead by Mark David Chapman at the entrance of the building where he lived, The Dakota, on Monday, 8 December 1980; Lennon had just returned from the Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.

Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where it was stated that nobody could have lived for more than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. Shortly after local news stations reported Lennon's death, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of The Dakota. He was cremated on 10 December 1980, at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; the ashes were given to Ono, who chose not to hold a funeral for him.

On the morning of 8 December 1980, photographer Annie Leibovitz went to Ono and Lennon's apartment to do a photo shoot for Rolling Stone. She had promised Lennon a photo with Ono would make the cover, but initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone. Leibovitz recalled that "nobody wanted [Ono] on the cover". Lennon insisted that both he and his wife be on the cover, and after shooting the pictures, Leibovitz left their apartment. After the photo shoot Lennon gave what would be his last ever interview to San Francisco DJ Dave Sholin for a music show on the RKO Radio Network. At 5:00 p.m., Lennon and Ono left their apartment to mix the track "Walking on Thin Ice", an Ono song featuring Lennon on lead guitar, at Record Plant Studio.

As Lennon and Ono walked to their limousine, they were approached by several people seeking autographs, among them Mark David Chapman. It was common for fans to wait outside the Dakota to see Lennon and get his autograph. Chapman, a 25-year-old hospital worker from Honolulu, Hawaii, had first come to New York to kill Lennon in November but changed his mind and returned home. He silently handed Lennon a copy of Double Fantasy, and Lennon obliged with an autograph. After signing the album Lennon politely asked him, "Is this all you want?" Chapman nodded in agreement. Photographer and Lennon fan Paul Goresh snapped a photo of the encounter.

Police artist's drawing of the murder The Lennons spent several hours at the Record Plant studio before returning to the Dakota at about 10:50 p.m. Lennon decided against eating out so he could be home in time to say goodnight to five-year-old son Sean before he went to sleep. They exited their limousine on 72nd Street, even though the car could have been driven into the more secure courtyard.

The Dakota's doorman, Jose Perdomo, and a cab driver saw Chapman standing in the shadows by the archway. Ono walked ahead of Lennon and into the reception area. As Lennon passed by, Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets at Lennon from a Charter Arms .38 Special revolver. Numerous radio, television, and newspaper reports claimed at the time that, before firing, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon" and dropped into a "combat stance", but this is not stated in court hearings or witness interviews. Chapman has said he did not remember calling out Lennon's name before he shot him. One shot missed, passing over Lennon's head and hitting a window of the Dakota building. However, two shots struck Lennon in the left side of his back and two more penetrated his left shoulder. All four bullets inflicted severe gunshot wounds, with at least one of them piercing Lennon's aorta. Lennon staggered up five steps to the security/reception area, said, "I'm shot," and collapsed. Concierge Jay Hastings covered Lennon with his uniform, and removed his glasses; he then summoned the police.

The entrance to the Dakota building where Lennon was shotOutside, doorman Perdomo shook the gun out of Chapman's hand then kicked it across the sidewalk. Chapman then removed his coat and hat in preparation for the police arrival to show he was not carrying any concealed weapons and sat down on the sidewalk. Doorman Perdomo shouted at Chapman, "Do you know what you've done?", to which Chapman calmly replied, "Yes, I just shot John Lennon." The first policemen to arrive were Steve Spiro and Peter Cullen, who were at 72nd Street and Broadway when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers found Chapman sitting "very calmly" on the sidewalk. They reported that Chapman had dropped the revolver to the ground, and was holding a paperback book, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman had scribbled a message on the book's inside front cover: "To Holden Caulfield. From Holden Caulfield. This is my statement." He would later claim that his life mirrored that of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the book.

Side view of Dakota entryway showing steps Lennon climbed before collapsing in the lobbyThe second team, Officers Bill Gamble and James Moran, arrived a few minutes later. They immediately carried Lennon into their squad car and rushed him to Roosevelt Hospital. Officer Moran said they placed Lennon on the back seat. Moran asked, "Do you know who you are?" There are conflicting accounts on what happened next. In one account, Lennon nodded slightly and tried to speak, but could only manage to make a gurgling sound, and lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival in the emergency room at the Roosevelt Hospital at 11:15 p.m. by Dr. Stephan Lynn. The cause of death was reported as hypovolemic shock, caused by the loss of more than 80% of blood volume. Dr. Elliott M. Gross, the Chief Medical Examiner, said that no one could have lived more than a few minutes with such multiple bullet injuries. As Lennon was shot four times with hollow-point bullets, which expand upon entering the target and severely disrupt more tissue as they travel through the target, Lennon's affected organs were virtually destroyed upon impact. Ono, crying "Oh no, no, no, no... tell me it's not true," was taken to Roosevelt Hospital and led away in shock after she learned that her husband was dead. The following day, Ono issued a statement: "There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean."

[Wooderson]

At times I've felt his loss as an actual physical pain in my chest.

I was just turned 4 when he died and clearly never knew him but I miss him.

RIP

[Kowalski]

Crikey, that was a sad read CBC, especially when I watched the clip!

A sad day.

Cue some twat coming on and claiming he's only loved as much as he is because he was assassinated.

[ampersand]

he's only loved as much as he is because he was assassinated.

this!

[Cardboard Box City]

this!

...

The word twat has various functions. It is a vulgar synonym for the human vulva, vagina, or clitoris,[1] but is more widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially when describing gobshites.

[ampersand]

aah, so what you're saying is that it's just coincidence that the best musicians/songwriters are all dead? now i get it!

[Kowalski]

aah, so what you're saying is that it's just coincidence that the best musicians/songwriters are all dead? now i get it!

Hence why Mick Hucknall is still alive.

[When Jokers Attack]

29 Years since the legend has passed.

RIP

[The Nal]

Would be interesting to see what the man would be doing if he was alive now (if anything).

[ampersand]

Would be interesting to see what the man would be doing if he was alive now (if anything).

it was inevitible he would have made some cheddar in the next ten years after that date. and probably the ten following that too.

[Langdale Wolf]

Would be interesting to see what the man would be doing if he was alive now (if anything).

Campaigning for stuff, I'd wager!

Though it's sad to think of the many great songs he would have written if he'd have lived. 29 years is a long time for a prolific songwriter like Lennon. Especially seeing as he wrote so many amazing songs in less than 20 years in the business.

I don't doubt that we've missed out on a lot of very well known compositions that would have been loved all over the world.

(Incidentally - I've found out that my wife's uncle went to school with him in Liverpool and was in his year. He couldn't stand him and got into a fight with him once. For years in the 60's his favourite chat up line was 'Do you want to hold the hand that punched John Lennon?' )

[The Nal]

Though it's sad to think of the many great songs he would have written if he'd have lived. 29 years is a long time for a prolific songwriter like Lennon. Especially seeing as he wrote so many amazing songs in less than 20 years in the business.

Dunno, he was a lazy bastard.

[Tugger2k]

Dunno, he was a lazy bastard.

plus there would have been the inevitable 80's coke phase. not sure how many classics he'd have written through that.

[Langdale Wolf]

Dunno, he was a lazy bastard.

Yes he was. He was just making a comeback after a few years being a house husband when he was shot. But he still managed to make some cracking music as a solo artist even though he was far from prolific.

I think he'd have made some brilliant tracks somewhere down the line, even though he wouldn't have shelled out songs like Paul (who has basically produced more songs every year than Madonna has produced children).

[Katster]

I'm seeing the Bootleg Beatles on Saturday. Thanks to Nightcrawler13 for an early Christmas present

[ampersand]

I'm seeing the Bootleg Beatles on Saturday. Thanks to Nightcrawler13 for an early Christmas present

i was going to go to that tonight, until the brothers succubus got the night off

[Cardboard Box City]

I'm seeing the Bootleg Beatles on Saturday. Thanks to Nightcrawler13 for an early Christmas present

They're a bit too populist for my taste

They only really play 1 and thats about it, which is good, but I like less common stuff. Saw them at Glastonbury over going to see the Who, never regretted it.