8th December 1980

Twenty seven years ago today in an action that has never been explained in terms other than those of a crazy young kid (see other assorted high school and shopping mall shootings), the world was robbed of a unique talent.

At 5pm on that day John Lennon and Yoko Ono left their apartment in the Dakota Building in New York to work on Yoko's musical album, outside the building they signed autographs for a handful of fans, among them the 25 year old Mark Chapman who had his photograph taken whilst Lennon signed his copy of the new Lennon and Ono album "Double Fantasy".

When the Lennons returned to the Dakota at 10.50pm both the doorman and the cab driver saw Chapman waiting in a nearby doorway, as Lennon exited the cab Chapman called his name out once, Lennon turned to face Chapman who had already pulled a gun and dropped to a "combat" stance whereupon he fired five shots, one missed, two hit Lennon in the left shoulder, two in the left side of his back, all the hollow point bullets caused serious internal damage rupturing an aorta, Lennon staggered up the entrance steps to the Dakota Building where he was held by their doorman who had summoned emergency help, in a famous statement the doorman called out to Chapman who by now was sitting motionless on the pavement, "Do you know what you have done ?" to which Chapman calmly repled "I've just shot John Lennon", Lennon died in the emergency room at Roosevelt Hospital at 11.15pm.

The video for "Woman" was described by Lennon as being a "grown up version of the Beatles song "Girl"" and was released early in 1981, it was a #1 hit.

There is no doubt that Lennon would have still been involved in the music scene if he had still been alive and whilst, like most artists, he had produced some dross, the Double Fantasy album had been marked as a highlight in his solo career, who knows what would have followed ?

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

December 1st
Christmas starts here.
But Christmas never starts here in my head until I've heard this song on the radio.
So I play it today, Christmas starts here.

Its the song that caused so much arse-ache to John Lennon, the song and the protest movement that came within a whisker of having Lennon deported from the USA by the Nixon administration, this Christmas 1971 song and the 1969 anthem "Give Peace a Chance" highlighted the anti-Vietnam War movement to the rest of the world in a way that only popular music and an enigma like Lennon can do.

Ultimately they could not gag Lennon and ultimately Nixon's administration self-destructed, Lennon won his green card in 75 and in recent years the full story of the US Governments battle to enforce the 60 day order to leave the country (which Lennons lawyer repeatedly appealed against - for two years they extended it every 60 days) has been properly told under the Freedom of Information Act .

Happy Xmas (War is Over) is a Christmas anthem and it fits the time today in the same way as it did in 1971, it would be a #1 hit in any year if it was re-released, its words still hold meaning, War is Over - If You Want It.