JOHN LENNON

Born as wartime bombs were falling on Liverpool, John Lennon endured a difficult childhood to grow up a rebellious, charismatic young man with a strong artistic streak.

Forming skiffle group The Quarrymen after meeting Paul McCartney at a church fete in 1957, the pair bonded over a shared love of rock n' roll. As the Quarrymen metamorphosed into The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney developed a formidable partnership which when coupled with the band's powerhouse rock n' roll honed in the clubs of Hamburg and Liverpool, landed them a deal with Parlophone records. Working with Paul, Lennon's song-writing and distinctive, powerful voice helped propel the band to the top of the charts, triggering critical and commercial success on a scale pretty much unseen in post-war popular music.

Beatlemania begins
As 'Beatlemania' swept the globe, Lennon diversified into literature with In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works, books which ably demonstrated a love of the absurd. Behind the loveable mop-top image however, Lennon was troubled by an unhappy marriage to childhood sweetheart Cynthia Powell. Marathon tours and a life besieged by screaming fans also took their toll, and in 1966 the band withdrew from live performances. Lennon took time off to appear in the surreal anti-war film How I Won The War before reconvening with the Beatles to produce their psychedelic landmark album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Lennon then began an affair with conceptual Japanese artist Yoko Ono and became interested in the teachings of Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. His relationship with Ono saw a growing emotional rawness in his work; Julia from double album The Beatles saw him touch on the hurt he had experienced as a child following the death of his mother.

Global ambassador of peace and love
Divorced from Cynthia in 1968, Lennon began to grow apart from the rest of the band amid a growing heroin habit and deepening bond with Ono. The band's tangled business affairs would also drive a further wedge between Lennon and McCartney - their song-writing partnership had effectively ended with the McCartney-dominated Sergeant Pepper. By 1969, John resolved to quit the band, though was persuaded to defer his departure until the completion of aborted album Let It Be. When the band eventually dissolved in April 1970, Lennon began a solo career, became a peace activist and immersed himself in a world of campaigning. His feud with McCartney remained until a mid-1970s semi-reconciliation in New York, where John and Yoko had decamped in 1971. Solo highlights include his paean to global harmony Imagine, considered by many to be the greatest song of all time. Though this song sealed for many his image as a "global ambassador of peace and love", Lennon was also a man who could demonstrate a cruel temper, outbursts of violence and abuse of alcohol and drugs.

By 1975, John seemed exhausted and his output dwindled. Entering a period of semi-retirement as a 'househusband' to Ono and their infant son Sean, he shunned the limelight and would not record or perform for nearly five years. In 1980 Lennon seemed poised to enter a new period with comeback album Double Fantasy until disturbed fanatic Mark Chapman shot him dead on the steps of his apartment in the Dakota Building. Millions mourned his death; 26 years later it is his song writing that has endured and guaranteed him status as possibly the most iconic figure of the 1960s.