Lennon

BBC report on John Lennon's death, 30 years ago tonight.
By Tom Brook, BBC

On the evening of 8 December 1980 I was a young inexperienced journalist living in New York who'd recently arrived from London. I was totally unprepared for the drama that would unfold.

It began with a late night phone call from pop impresario Jonathan King, who was then a columnist for BBC Radio 1 living in New York. He told me he'd heard reports of a shooting outside the Dakota, Lennon's home, and that the former Beatle was possibly the victim.

Before long I was racing up 8th Avenue in a taxi and I arrived at the Dakota sometime after 11.00 pm bearing a tape recorder and notepaper.

There was an eerie silence - the street had been cordoned off - there were a couple of police cars outside the entrance to the Dakota - a few people had begun to gather.

Tom Brook returned this week to the scene of the tragedy
Minutes before I arrived at the building, Lennon had been rushed to nearby Roosevelt Hospital - hauled over the shoulder of a policeman. Dr Stephan Lynn and his team at the emergency room worked frantically to try to bring him back to life.

For the entire story on BBC, including the archived radio clip- click HERE.