Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Remember John Lennon on the 40th Anniversary of His Murder

The Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Sean and Julian Lennon, remember their bandmate and father on the day when, 40 years ago, John Lennon was shot and killed in front of his New York City apartment, in what news outlets at the time called “an unspeakable tragedy.”

A deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, killed the former Beatle with two gunshots. Lennon’s Yoko Ono was by his side at the time and the singer was only 40. In 2020, Chapman was denied parole for the 11th time; he’ll next be eligible in 2022.

On social media, McCartney said, “a sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world.”

Photographer Bob Gruen, who took the iconic photo of Lennon in the “New York City” T-shirt in front of the Statue of Liberty,  said “reaction to his death was world wide,” noting the awful irony that a man who promoted peace died so violently.

Drummer Starr asked “every music radio station in the world sometime today to play “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

On Twitter, Lennon’s eldest son, Julian, shared a picture of his father, captioning it, “As time goes by.”

“The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 40 years, Sean, Julian and I still miss him,” Ono wrote in a tweet.

And on Instagram, Sean Ono Lennon posted a family snapshot of himself; his half-brother, Julian; and his father and mother.