John Winston Lennon was born on 9 October 1940 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital in Oxford Street. His parents were Julia and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. Britain was at war with Germany.

After his parents separated, Lennon moved in with his aunt Mimi and uncle George Smith at Mendips in Woolton, Liverpool. His mother remained involved in his life and encouraged his interest in music.

In the 1950s, Lennon formed the Quarrymen, a skiffle group. In July 1957, he met Paul McCartney at a church fête in Woolton, where the group was performing. McCartney joined the Quarrymen, and George Harrison joined in 1958.

The group eventually became the Beatles. Lennon and McCartney became its principal songwriters. The band released its first single, ‘Love Me Do’, in 1962, and achieved national success the following year.

Lennon remained a principal singer and songwriter with the Beatles throughout the 1960s. After the group separated in 1970, he continued recording as a solo artist. His later work included the 1971 song ‘Imagine’.