Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono led the way Tuesday in remembering legendary musician John Lennon on the 40th anniversary of his shocking murder.
“A sad sad day but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world,” McCartney said in a Twitter tribute.
“I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser!” he wrote, referring to the nickname given to people from Liverpool.
Lennon and McCartney were co-founders and lead songwriters of the wildly influential British band The Beatles, which they formed in 1960 with late guitarist George Harrison.
Starr became a member of the Fab Four in 1962.
“Tuesday, 8 December 1980 we all had to say goodbye to John,” Starr tweeted Tuesday along with a vintage photo.
“Peace and love John. I’m asking Every music radio station in the world sometime today play Strawberry Fields Forever. Peace and love,” he wrote.
“The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience,” Lennon’s widow Ono wrote in her Twitter tribute that included the famous photo she took of Lennon’s blood-splattered glasses.
“After 40 years, Sean, Julian and I still miss him. ‘Imagine all the people living life in peace,’” she said, quoting from her husband’s iconic song.
Lennon was gunned down on Dec. 8, 1980, in Manhattan by Mark David Chapman outside his Upper West Side apartment building, The Dakota.
He and Ono were married with a young son, Sean, at the time, and Ono witnessed the slaying.
“Over 1,436,000 people have been killed by guns in the U.S.A. since John Lennon was shot and killed on Dec. 8, 1980,” her Twitter post said.
Ono funded the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park where devoted fans left flowers and photos on Tuesday.
