See some of The Beatles best soundbytes...
jason gregory

15:08 8th October 2010

Music fans around the world are marking what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday weekend.

The former Beatle, who was shot dead in 1980, would have celebrated his landmark birthday on the October 9.

To mark the event, Gigwise has put together a collection of some of Lennon's most memorable quotes.

From his iconic call to give peace a chance to his controversial statement about Jesus, Lennon always knew how to inspire good copy - whether he meant it or not.

You can see our selection below, alongside some special photos of people and places associated to the late Fab Four star.

MORE: Remembering John Lennon At 70: Musicians Influenced By The Beatles.

  • John Lennon on Jesus: Christianity will go.. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me. (Evening Standard, 1966)

  • On the fallout from his Jesus comments: “I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion.” (News conference, Chicago, 1966)

  • On being offered an M.B.E: “We thought being offered the M.B.E. was as funny as everybody else thought it was. Why? What for? We didn't believe it. It was a part we didn't want. We all met and agreed it was daft.” (The Beatles, 1968)

  • After meeting Elvis in 1965: “Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles.” (The Beatles: The Authorized Biography, 1968).

  • On peace: “We're trying to sell peace, like a product, you know, and sell it like people sell soap or soft drinks.” (The David Frost Show, 1969)

  • At The Beatles' infamous rooftop gig: “I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition.”

  • On The Beatles' split: “People keep talking about it like it's The End of The Earth. It's only a rock group that split up, it's nothing important.” (Scene and Heard, 1971)

  • On dreams: “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”

  • About the song 'I'm A Loser': “Part of me suspects that I'm a loser and the other part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.” (Playboy interview, 1980)

  • On The Beatles' humour: “That's part of our policy, is not to be taken seriously, because I think our opposition, whoever they may be, in all their manifest forms, don't know how to handle humour.” (BBC interview, 1969)

  • On the 1960s: “It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.” (KFRC RKO Radio, 1980)

  • Speaking about his future music on the day of his death: “I've always considered my work one piece and I consider that my work won't be finished until I am dead and buried and I hope that's a long, long time.” (RKO Radio, 1980)

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