On John Lennon's 75th Birthday, Yoko Ono Reveals Promise He Made, Plus Vintage Pictures

On John Lennon's 75th Birthday, Yoko Ono Reveals Promise He Made
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On the day the late Beatle John Lennon would have turned 75 years old, his widow Yoko Ono reveals how he promised her he'd always be with her, and she believes he still is.

Yoko speaks out on the day her son with John, Sean celebrates his 40th birthday, making him the same age as his father when he died so shockingly, shot dead by deranged fan Mark Chapman in December 1980.

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Yoko will commemorate her husband John Lennon’s 75th birthday today with the annual lighting of Imagine Peace Tower on the island of Videy, Reyjkavik, Iceland.

Imagine Peace Tower is a conceptual tower of light emanating from a stone base into which the words ‘Imagine Peace’ are carved in 24 languages. It was unveiled by Ono in 2007 and she has visited Reyjkavik every year since then to initiate and participate in the lighting ceremony. This year is the ninth year.

Imagine Peace Tower is lit every year on 9 October and darkened on 8 December, the day of Lennon's death.

Yoko was at the side of husband John when he was killed.

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono together had their hair cut short in 1970

Despite witnessing the trauma of her husband's death, she says now she believes Lennon's spirit is still alive...

Today will be a day of reflection for Lennon's millions of fans, many of whom congregate annually in New York's Central Park near his home to remember him - the area has been re-christened Strawberry Fields in tribute - and his friends and peers in the music industry.

This week, veteran entertainer Tom Jones remembered the first time he encountered the outspoken Liverpudlian...

In his 40 years, John Lennon became as famous for his acerbic wit and social activism as he did for his unique contribution to music, creating with Paul McCartney arguably the world's most celebrated songwriting partnership, and telling the press in 1966, "we're bigger than Jesus."

Even among the Beatles, though, his bandmates recognised John as being special, with McCartney saying in 1987, "He was like our own little Elvis ... We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest."

John Lennon - Vintage Shots
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John Lennon at the Saville Theatre after receiving his MBE from the Queen, 1965.
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JOHN LENNON OF 'THE BEATLES', REHEARSING IN LIVERPOOL, 1963.
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OCTOBER 1963 PAUL MCCARTNEY AND JOHN LENNON SINGING TOGETHER DURING A RECORDING SESSION FOR THE BBC RADIO PROGRAMME "EASY BEAT"
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Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, left, at an airport at an unknown location.
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Beatle John Lennon waves his marriage certificate as his bride, Japanese artist Yoko Ono, stands at his side after their wedding at the Rock of Gibraltar. They are about to board a chartered jet to Paris where they will honeymoon.
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Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, leave the U.S. Immigration hearing. Lennon was given 60 days to leave the country voluntarily or be deported as an undesirable alien at the hearings.
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Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono are shown talking to newsmen outside the U.S. Immigration offices in New York on Wednesday in March, 1972. At the hearing on his deportation, the defense submitted a petition containing 16,000 signatures, including that of New York Mayor John Lindsay, on behalf of Lennon. (AP Photo)
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John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Lennon was given 60 days to leave the country voluntarily or be deported as an undesirable alien at the hearings. Lennon is being deported as part of the U.S. President Nixon's effort to silence him as a critic of U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. To this end the FBI has assembled approximately 300 pages of files on Lennon from 1971-72.
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Former Beatle John Lennon performs at New York's Madison Square Garden.
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Beatles John Lennon continues to play the guitar as he evades a young fan who wants Lennon's yachting-style cap as a souvenir during the Beatles concert in Rome, Italy, June 28, 1965.
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Beatle John Lennon, right, and Yoko Ono are shown circa 1969 at an unknown location. (AP Photo)
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A t-shirt owned by John Lennon stands on display, 2005.
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The title of John Lennon's anti-war anthem "Give Peace a Chance" on a placard outside St George's City Hall in Liverpool when thousands gathered to pay tribute to the former Beatle, 1980.
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Emotional youngsters outside St George's City Hall when thousands gathered in Liverpool to pay tribute to one of the city's most famous sons, pop superstar John Lennon. Chaos broke out at the concert to commemorate the former Beatle who was shot dead in New York, USA.
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The scene when Liverpool paid tribute to one of its most famous sons, pop superstar John Lennon. Thousands gathered outside St George's City Hall for a concert to commemorate the former Beatle, who was shot dead in New York last week. More than a 100 younsters - mainly girls - were given first aid when chaos broke out.
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Ringo Starr (left) and John Lennon nip smartly into London's Marylebone Station, just in front of a horde of fans closing in on them rapidly.
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John Lennon's original orange-tinted spectacles on show at the Beatles Story Museum at The Albert Dock in Liverpool. The glasses, which he wore between 1970 and 1973 became his trademark image are valued at more than 1 million. He wore the spectaclewhen he wrote his hit Imagine. 18/07/02 : John Lennon's original orange-tinted spectacles at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, which go on show to the public. The orange-tinted spectacles, valued at more than 1m, were worn by the musician between 1970 and 1973 and became part of his trademark image.
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The childhood home of John Lennon in Liverpool, which has been bought by Yoko Ono, his widow, and donated to the National Trust.
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(L-R) John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles walk towards their plane at London Airport to return to Paris after a 24 hour visit home.
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George Harrison and John Lennon from the Beatles pictured to looking at some of the hundreds of fans who turned up to see them leave London Airport for their trip to America.
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Julian Lennon (front) with his father John Lennon (right) of the Beatles, Japanese actress Yoko Ono (left) and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones (back) at a rehearsp of the Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus at the Intertel Studio, Wembley, London.
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(Front row left to right) Japanese actress Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon and his father John Lennon (of the Beatles) at the rehearsal of the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, at the Intertel Studios, Wembley, London. John will be one of the guest stars, which will also feature Sir Robert Fossetts Circus. Also shown (back row) are Pete Townshend (left) and Keith Moon (2nd right) from The Who, Bill Wyman (2nd left), Charlie Watts (centre) and Brian Jones (right) of the Rolling Stones.
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Musician and artist Yoko Ono, widow of Beatles singer John Lennon, holds aloft a picture of her late husband, when he was a youngster in Liverpool.
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Yoko Ono, widow of singer John Lennon from the Beatles, visiting Liverpool Airport, which is to be named after her late husband when its new terminal opens to the public in Spring 2002. * The new logo for the airport includes the famous self-portrait by John Lennon and the strapline 'Above Us Only Sky' taken from the lyrics of Imagine. A full-sized statue has been commissioned by local sculptor Tom Murphy and will be displayed in the airport's new terminal.
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John Lennon, holds Kyoko Cox, the 6 year old daughter of his Japanese wife, Yoko Ono, on the child's arrival at Heathrow airport, where she had flown in from New York.
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John Lennon - Heathrow Airport - London - 1971.
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John Lennon with wife Cynthia Lennon at Heathrow Airport in London on arrival from Spain
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John Lennon with wife Cynthia Lennon at Heathrow Airport in London
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MARCH 20TH : On this day in 1969 Beatle John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. They followed this with a honeymoon "bed-in" for peace in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam, where their message was " Make love not war". John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono arrive at Heathrow Airport in London from New York for tommorow's publication of Yoko's paperback book "Grapefruit" by Sphere Books
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10/12/69 :IN FRONT OF A POSTER THAT READS "BRITAIN MURDERED HANRATTY", JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO TALK WITH MR. AND MRS. JAMES HANRATTY, PARENTS OF THE DEAD MAN, AT A PRESS CONFERENCE IN LONDON TO DISCUSS THE FILM IT IS PLANNED TO MAKE CONCERNING THE A6 MURDER CASE. JAMES HANRATTY WAS EXECUTED AT BEDFORD PRISON ON APRIL 4TH 1962 AFTER HE HAD BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF THE MURDER OF PHYSICIST MICHAEL BREGSTEN ON THE LONELY A6 ROAD NEAR BEDFORD
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JOHN LENNON LEADS IN THE FOREGROUND AS "THE BEATLES" WALK OUT OF THE LONDON AIRPORT LEAVING THE QUEEN'S BUILDING (BACKGROUND) ON THEIR RETURN FROM FILM-MAKING IN THE BAHAMAS, 1965.