Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Remember John Lennon on 40th Anniversary of His Death

On Tuesday, the 40 th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, his former bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as his wife Yoko and other family members took to social media to share messages in remembrance of the great singer and songwriter. Lennon died on Dec. 8, 1980, after being fatally shot in from of his New York City home. He was only 40 years old.

“A sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world,” wrote McCartney, who met Lennon when he was 14 years old. “I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser.”

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Starr shared a message of “peace and love” for Lennon, also making a request directed to a wide-scale audience. “I’m asking every music radio station in the world sometimes today play ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,” he posted.

The request references one of the band’s 1967 tracks. It was written by Lennon based on memories surrounding Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children’s home with a garden he used to play in.