Imagine all the people influenced by Lennon

NEW YORK — John Lennon fans tried to imagine what might have been.

On the 25th anniversary of his murder, fans brought flowers, candles and their own bittersweet memories Thursday as they gathered in Central Park's Strawberry Fields — and in the former Beatle's hometown of Liverpool, England.

"With the country at war, his work and philosophy seem more poignant and more desperately needed than ever," said Kim Polson, 50.

Polson, who said she fell in love with the Beatles when she saw them on television at age 8, was an early visitor to Strawberry Fields, the section of Central Park opposite the Dakota apartment building where Lennon, 40, was gunned down Dec. 8, 1980, by Mark David Chapman.

About 75 fans, some of them born after Lennon's death, gathered on the cold morning.

The scene Thursday was much the same in Liverpool, where scores of fans from around the world remembered him with white balloons, flowers and prayers. The balloons, carrying tributes to Lennon, were released into the sky.

"I just wrote 'Merry Christmas John' on my balloon," said James Andrews, 9 of Bournemouth, England. "I love the Beatles, and especially John Lennon."

In New York, locals mingled with tourists in Central Park. One woman sat with a scrapbook she had assembled over the years. Among the floral offerings were white roses and a bough of holly.

In a rare public appearance with fans, Yoko Ono laid a bouquet of white peonies on the "Imagine" mosaic in the park and blew kisses to the crowd.

"That's the first time I've seen her come, especially in a big crowd. That took a lot for her to do," said a man who gave his name only as Tommy and who has come to the park to commemorate Lennon's birth and death every year since 1980.

Ono spent several minutes looking at tributes to her late husband, laid her flowers, whispered a few words and walked back to her apartment across the street.

Tom Leighton, one of the organizers of an ad-hoc memorial committee, said people attend the vigil for different reasons, but "primarily it's to pay our respects and share our grief collectively."

Fans held a moment of silence at 10:50 p.m. — the time Lennon was shot — and at 11:15 — the time he is believed to have died.

Chapman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, remains in New York's Attica State Prison, where his third request for parole was denied in October. He comes up for parole again next year.

Material from Reuters is included in this report.