A rediscovered 1975 interview with Lennon tells new clues

John Lennon met Mark Chapman – the man who was to kill him – twice on the day he died, 8 December 1980.

The first time was at around 5pm. Having finished a radio interview in their apartment in the Dakota building in New York to promote their new album, Double Fantasy, the musician and his artist wife Yoko Ono headed out on to the street. Mark Chapman approached Lennon to ask if he could sign a copy of the new LP. The album was later used as evidence in Chapman's trial, and reportedly went on to sell in a private auction for $1.5m in 2020.

Julia died at 44 years old on July 15, 1958, just months shy of John’s 18th birthday. She was hit by a car while crossing the street, leaving John traumatized and inspiring him to dedicate the songs “Julia” and “Mother” to her memory.

John lost contact with his father for some time before the two reunited at the height of the Beatles' fame in the 1960s. In 1968, John told a journalist that he had practically forgotten his father, saying, “It was like he was dead,” per Bob Spitz’s biography The Beatles – The Biography.

John Lennon would be 83 years old today if he had lived. Fans find it hard to imagine a senior citizen Lennon. Would he still be politically active, or would time have mellowed the crusading Beatle?

We can never know.

Now, some 43 years later, all we do know for sure is what happened on that day.

Yoko Ono, a Japanese immigrant who was an accomplished artist and outspoken about human rights. Ono was granted permanent residency in 1973.

Others include Dakota doorman Jay Hastings — who speaks to PEOPLE about his memories in this week’s issue — as well as Chapman’s defense lawyer David Suggs and Dr. Naomi Goldstein, the psychiatrist who first assessed Chapman.

The series dives deep on the investigation and conviction of Chapman, as his attorneys and prosecutors debated his mental state. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, and was denied parole for the 12th time in 2022. He has since said that he killed Lennon for fame, and called his actions “selfish.”

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