The instant expert: the life and career of John Lennon



THE BASICS Born John Winston Lennon 70 years ago today in Liverpool, England, during a German air raid, and shot dead in New York in 1980 by a crazed fan.

THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM The most influential pop musician of all time. Artist, philanthropist, peace activist, genius. With Paul McCartney, he made up half of the most enduring songwriting partnership of all time, and had a successful solo career after the Beatles split in 1970.

THE DISSENTING OPINION While critics and fans alike have hailed Imagine (1971) as his greatest song, others have dismissed it as musically and lyrically simplistic, as well as a tad hypocritical. For a rich man to "imagine no possessions" is rather tricky, they argue.

THE CONVERSATION The jury's out on whether Lennon was the working class hero his fans think he was. He actually had a rather comfortable, if rigid, upbringing with his middle-class Aunt Mimi. His anti-establishment streak led him to tell the audience at a Royal Variety Performance to rattle their jewellery, to return his MBE to the Queen, to spend a week in bed in Amsterdam for "peace", and to mix with American radicals in the early Seventies. However, his first wife, Cynthia Powell, has said that if he were still around and were offered a knighthood like Sir Paul, he would accept it with pride.

Brief scoreline:

Wolves 3

Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2

Arsenal 1

Papastathopoulos 80'

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'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

Teams

India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

GP3 race, 12:30pm

Formula 1 final practice, 2pm

Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm

Formula 2 race, 6:40pm

Performance: Sam Smith