Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born, the only child of John Lennon by Yoko Ono. John Lennon retired from music for five years to become a house-husband. Sean went on to become a singer, songwriter, musician and actor.
Marking what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opened the three and a half acre garden at the Strawberry Fields site in New York’s Central Park. The area was planted with trees, shrubs and flowers gathered from across the world and with a $1m donation from Yoko.
On what would have been John Lennon’s 60th birthday, the book Lennon Remembers, The Complete Rolling Stone Interviews is released, containing material too controversial to publish years earlier.
The John Lennon museum opens in Japan on what would have been his 60th birthday. Yoko Ono allows it to operate for 10 years before terminating the agreement, as she feels Lennon’s spirit should stay in motion.
The Imagine Peace Tower was officially unveiled in Kollafjorour Bay near Reykjav’k, Iceland. The memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, consists of a tall “tower of light”, projected from a white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages.
A 1976 Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a car boot sale sold for £4,000 at an auction. The ‘Black and Blue’ LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as members of the Rolling Stones. The seller obtained the album after haggling the cost down from £3.
Paul McCartney, (a vegetarian for 30 years), was said to be furious when he heard that a Liverpool branch of McDonald’s restaurant displayed his picture, accusing them of using it to attract customers. Sir Paul was quoted as saying “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles fans are?”
The real Eleanor Rigby died in her sleep of unknown causes at the age of 44. The 1966 Beatles’ song that featured her name wasn’t written about her, as Paul McCartney’s first draft of the song named the character Miss Daisy Hawkins. Eleanor Rigby’s tombstone was noticed in the 1980s in the graveyard of St. Peter’s Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, a few feet from where McCartney and Lennon had met for the first time in 1957.