Key facts
John Lennon (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) co-founded the Beatles in Liverpool in 1957 and formed the Lennon-McCartney duo, credited on roughly 180 songs, including "Come Together" and "Strawberry Fields Forever". The band split in April 1970; Lennon released "Imagine" in 1971 and was murdered in New York in 1980, aged 40. His wax figure stands at the Wax of Legends, in Colmar.
A guitar, a slightly nasal voice stretching the syllables, and that way of saying things as if they were obvious. John Lennon opens a very particular door onto the legend of the Beatles. Co-founder of the band, author of "Imagine" and husband of Yoko Ono, he helped turn four boys from Liverpool into one of the most listened-to bands in history. At the Wax of Legends in Colmar, his wax figure places him within reach, as if you had joined him on stage.
This article looks back at John Lennon's role in the Beatles, what he brought to the band, the reasons behind the split and his legacy, right up to the projects bringing him back to the screen today.
| Marker | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 October 1940, Liverpool |
| Died | 8 December 1980, New York, aged 40 |
| Band founded | Quarrymen (1957), Beatles (1960) |
| Founding members | Lennon, McCartney, Harrison (Starr joins 1962) |
| Songs credited to Lennon-McCartney | roughly 180 (1962-1970) |
| Official Beatles split | April 1970 |
| Beatles studio albums | 12 (1963-1970) |
| Beatles record sales | more than 1 billion units worldwide |
| Cavern Club performances | nearly 300 (1961-1963) |
| "Imagine" release | September 1971, more than 100 covers recorded worldwide |
| Marriage to Yoko Ono | 20 March 1969 |
| Sons | Julian (b. 1963), Sean Ono Lennon (b. 9 October 1975) |
John Winston Lennon (1940-1980) co-founded the Beatles in Liverpool in the late 1950s. A songwriter, singer and guitarist, he formed the Lennon-McCartney writing duo with Paul McCartney, one of the most prolific of the 20th century. After the band split in 1970, he pursued a solo career marked by "Imagine" and by his life alongside Yoko Ono. His wax figure is on show at the Wax of Legends, in Colmar.
In the beginning, there is John Lennon. In 1956, he puts together a small skiffle group, the Quarrymen. Paul McCartney joins him in 1957, while still a teenager, before introducing him to George Harrison, then 14 years old. Ringo Starr completes the line-up in 1962. The Beatles therefore take shape around John.
He is both the driving force and one of the voices. Rhythm guitarist and lead singer on much of the repertoire, he co-writes most of the songs with McCartney under the shared Lennon-McCartney credit, a partnership credited on roughly 180 songs between 1962 and 1970. The two men often compose separately, then play drafts to each other, refine them and push one another further. Out of that give-and-take come "A Hard Day's Night" (1964), "Help!" (1965), "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967), "Come Together" (1969) and "A Day in the Life" (1967). Lennon signs some of the sharpest and most experimental tracks in the catalogue.
He also brings a tone. Where McCartney leans towards melody, Lennon introduces irony, provocation and doubt. Very early on, his voice gives the Beatles their depth: that of a pop band that thinks.
| Marker | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth of the band | 1957 (Quarrymen), Beatles in 1960 |
| Founding members | Lennon, McCartney, Harrison (Starr joins in 1962) |
| Songs credited to Lennon-McCartney | roughly 180 |
| Official split | April 1970 |
| Beatles studio albums | 12 (1963-1970) |
| Beatles record sales | more than 1 billion units worldwide |
Who was John Lennon?
A British songwriter, singer and guitarist, born in Liverpool on 9 October 1940. Co-founder of the Beatles, half of the Lennon-McCartney writing partnership, then a solo artist. A peace activist, he remains one of the most quoted figures in 20th-century popular music.
At first, yes, though the answer needs nuance. He founds the band, recruits its members and sets the course during the Hamburg years (1960-1962) and the Cavern Club period in Liverpool, where the Beatles perform nearly 300 times between 1961 and 1963. The band's very name, a pun on "beat" and "beetles", comes from his taste for wordplay.
Then things change. As McCartney takes charge of the band's organisation, particularly after the death of their manager Brian Epstein in August 1967, leadership becomes shared. Lennon remains the figurehead, the conscience of the band and the one journalists turn to when a line needs to land. But at their peak, the Beatles work as four heads, each bringing his own colour.
John Lennon founded the Beatles and remained its soul without ever being its sole boss. That tension, leader and peer at once, runs through his whole history within the band.
There was no spectacular break, but a slow drift. By the late 1960s, each of the four was following his own direction. Tensions built up around money, the running of the Apple label (founded in 1968) and artistic choices. John gradually moved away from the band's framework to explore other forms with Yoko Ono: happenings, experimental records, political engagement.
In September 1969, he told the other members he was leaving. The split was made official in April 1970 by a public announcement from Paul McCartney. Contrary to a persistent belief, Yoko Ono's presence in the studio was not "the cause" of the end of the Beatles; above all, it accompanied a movement already under way, that of four artists who had grown up and no longer needed the same creative framework. Lennon later put it plainly: the band had done everything it could do together.
Did you know?
The tensions of that period left their mark even in the songs. On his 1971 solo album, John Lennon signs "How Do You Sleep?", a scathing track aimed at Paul McCartney in the middle of their post-Beatles feud. The two men would partly reconcile in the years that followed, notably during a meeting in New York in 1974-1976.
John Winston Lennon is born on 9 October 1940, with a middle name inherited from Winston Churchill, in the middle of the war. Raised by his aunt Mimi after his parents left, he grows up in Liverpool and shows an early talent for drawing, words and music. In his teens, a rebelliousness takes hold that will never leave him.
His meeting with the Japanese artist Yoko Ono, in November 1966, changes the course of his life. They marry on 20 March 1969 and John officially adds "Ono" to his name. He becomes John Ono Lennon, at a time when spouses rarely blended their identities in this way. Their son, Sean Ono Lennon, is born on 9 October 1975; a musician himself, he today watches over his father's legacy. John had already had a first son, Julian, born in 1963 from his previous marriage to Cynthia Powell.
The couple formed by John and Yoko became a symbol of artistic and pacifist commitment, from the "bed-in" of March 1969 to the campaigns for peace.
Freed from the band's framework, John Lennon releases in September 1971 one of the most-covered tracks in history: "Imagine". Over a bare piano melody, a few lines imagine a world without borders or possessions. The song becomes a universal anthem, ranked by Rolling Stone magazine among the greatest songs ever written.
The rest of his career mixes solo albums, a withdrawal from the scene between 1975 and 1980 to raise Sean, then a return with the album "Double Fantasy" in November 1980. His life comes to an abrupt end in New York on 8 December 1980, at the age of 40. Since then, his music has kept circulating: his albums are regularly reissued in carefully crafted versions for collectors, while fresh listening projects, such as the meditation mixes around "Love" offered on streaming, extend his world.
For the record
"Imagine" (1971) remains the most emblematic song of John Lennon's solo period. Written at the piano, it took hold far beyond the rock audience, becoming a standard covered all over the world, with more than 100 covers recorded by international artists.
Lennon's name is back in the news with the biopic project on the Beatles being prepared by director Sam Mendes, whose release is announced for 2028, with one film per band member. British actor Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.
Harris Dickinson has been among the most closely watched young English actors since the mid-2010s. He has appeared in big-budget productions as well as in more demanding films. Also working behind the camera, he has been praised for his directing. His name has circulated too, like that of many young British leading men, in the speculation around a future James Bond. His portrayal of John Lennon will be watched especially closely.
At the Wax of Legends, the wax figure represents John Lennon, the musician, not the actor who will play him on screen. Harris Dickinson will portray him in the cinema; along the museum trail in Colmar, it is Lennon you find, life-size.
At the Wax of Legends, John Lennon is not frozen behind glass. He stands at eye level, staged alongside other great names of music. You can walk right up to him, stand beside him and take a photo.
Lennon was first of all a voice: so start with yours. In a studio, the microphone is waiting for you to sing beside the wax figures of Mick Jagger or Édith Piaf. Music stays in the spotlight all around: Mozart and Louis Armstrong are just a few steps away, two more artists who marked their century with their notes. The trail does not stop there. A little further on, you take a seat at a roulette table, with Brad Pitt and George Clooney as fellow players. Elsewhere, a paintbrush awaits to introduce you to cubism alongside Picasso. And if you prefer the blackboard to the stage, Einstein gives a lesson, chalk in hand, while you step into the role of the pupil.
Visit info
Allow 1 to 1.5 hours to discover the 60 statues, 30 listening points and 15 interactive experiences. Doors open every day from 10am to 6pm, public holidays included, with a last entry at 5pm. Six-language audioguide included in the ticket.
A visit to the Wax of Legends can carry on at Choco-Story and Vino-Storia. The three museums are at the same address, right in the heart of Colmar: you can move from one world to another without getting back on the road.
After the last chorus, Choco-Story takes over: there you trace the history of cocoa, while chocolate is tasted as much as it is told. Vino-Storia offers a discovery trail through the wines of Alsace that ends with a tasting of three of them. For those who do not drink alcohol, a juice-based version brings back the same aromas as the selected wines. The experience is designed for both lovers of the terroir and children.
Good to know
Two combined passes lighten the bill: the two-museum pass gives -20%, while the one bringing all three together reaches -33%. Each remains usable for seven days after the first entry, which lets you spread your visits across several stops, and can be booked online.
John Lennon is the co-founder of the Beatles. Rhythm guitarist and one of the lead singers, he co-writes most of the band's songs with Paul McCartney under the Lennon-McCartney credit, a partnership credited on roughly 180 songs. He signs some of the most introspective and experimental tracks in the catalogue, from "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) to "Come Together" (1969).
At first, yes: it is his band, the one he founds in 1957 and around which McCartney, Harrison and then Starr gather in 1962. Over time, leadership became shared, with McCartney taking a growing part in the organisation after 1967. Lennon remained the figurehead and the most recognisable voice of the band, without being its sole boss.
Through wear and divergence, more than as a result of a single argument. By the late 1960s, the four members were following different artistic paths, against a backdrop of tensions around the running of the band and the Apple label. John announces his departure in September 1969; the split is made official in April 1970. His work with Yoko Ono accompanied this movement, without being its only cause.
"How Do You Sleep?", released in September 1971 on his solo album "Imagine". Written in the middle of the post-Beatles feud, the track takes direct aim at McCartney. The two men later eased their relationship over the course of the 1970s.
The Lennon-McCartney duo is credited on roughly 180 songs between 1962 and 1970, most of them recorded by the Beatles. It is one of the most prolific and most successful writing partnerships in the history of popular music.
British actor Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon in the Beatles biopic project led by director Sam Mendes, conceived as a series of four films devoted to each band member, expected in 2028. At the Wax of Legends, it is John Lennon, the musician, who is staged, not the actor.
John Lennon was murdered on 8 December 1980 in New York, outside the building where he lived, at the age of 40, just a few weeks after the release of his album "Double Fantasy".
Yes. John Lennon's wax figure is on show along the Wax of Legends trail, in Colmar, alongside the other great voices of music. You can stand beside it to take a photo. The museum is open 7 days a week, from 10am to 6pm, with a last entry at 5pm.
John Lennon was 40 years old when he was murdered on 8 December 1980 in New York, just weeks after releasing his final studio album, "Double Fantasy" (November 1980).
Information verified by the Wax of Legends team (July 2026).
Cover photo : © Serge NIED — Wax of Legends
