I was a huge fan of The Beatles when I was a teenager and Lennon was my favorite. I once asked my father what it was like to be alive when John Lennon was alive. A friend reminded of this conversation a year ago on Facebook. A year ago it was the 30th anniversary of Lennon's passing so there's was a lot of attention around it.
Once when I was in 10th grade in Aarhus, Denmark I sang "Across The Universe" in front of the whole school at a Christmas event. 16 years old or something. That was special.
Around the same time I asked my grandfather what he thought about The Beatles. He was already in his forties when The Beatles became a worldwide phenomenon. He didn't have any strong opinions on their music but he thought it was rather silly that they got medals from the Queen of England. I kind of agree with that.
Lennon returned his medal to Buckingham Palace in 1969 saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." (from here).
The above version of "Across The Universe" is from the No One's Gonna Change Our World charity compilation. It features some nice sitar drones. The Phil Spector produced version from Let It Be is lusher and more orchestrated. Some people don't like it. I like it:
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