John Lennon remembered 40 years after being shot to death in New York

Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of the day music legend John Lennon was murdered on the street outside his home in New York City.

Sometimes something happens that is so shocking, you will always remember exactly where you were when you heard the news.

For those who loved the Beatles and Lennon and his music, the day he was gunned down in cold blood was just such an event.

A crazed fan was waiting for him on the sidewalk outside the Dakota Apartments in Manhattan. When Lennon came out, the fan asked for his autograph, got it, thanked the rock star and then shot him twice in the back.

In court, he said he had done it because he wanted to be famous, which is why millions of Lennon fans worldwide still refuse to say his name to this day.

Lennon was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Dec 8 continues to be a sad day for music fans across the globe, with many fans gathering to remember the man and his music at Strawberry Fields, a section dedicated to his memory in New York City’s Central Park. It is named after the Beatles’ song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, written by Lennon and named after a garden he used to play in as a child in Liverpool.

Paul McCartney, whose songwriting collaboration with Lennon in the Beatles was one of the most successful of all time, tweeted that he was remembering happy times. “It’s a sad day but I’m remembering my friend John and the great joy he brought to the world,” he wrote.

The other surviving Beatle, Ringo Starr, asked “every music radio station in the world to play ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’  and every fan to sing along”.

His murderer is still in prison having been repeatedly denied parole.