NEW YORK -- More than two decades after John Lennon was gunned down by a deranged fan, devoted fans of the ex-Beatle gathered Saturday to mourn on the anniversary of his death.
Hundreds of people surrounded the Imagine mosaic in Strawberry Fields, an area of Central Park dedicated to Lennon after he was shot in 1980 by Mark David Chapman in front of the nearby Dakota, the luxury apartment building where he lived.
They sang Beatles tunes, bobbed their heads to the beat of a band, burned candles and remembered the singer who meant so much to them.
"It's a weird thing. It's been your whole life, the Beatles," said Larry Martin, a professional guitarist. "I had older brothers, so from the time I was three or four my earliest memories are of the Beatles."
Martin said his decision to attend this year was influenced by the death of George Harrison, who succumbed to lung cancer Nov. 29.