On the day John Lennon was shot in New York, sales of the Evening Chronicle soared by more than 10,000 copies - a feat rarely surpassed. Lennon was shot dead outside his apartment block, Dakota Building, by crazed fan Mark Chapman on December 8, 1980. He was 40. He had earlier signed a copy of his Double Fantasy album for Chapman, who waited for him to return home before shooting him four times. Chapman remains in New York's Attica state prison. His third request for parole was denied in October. Earlier this year Newcastle council chiefs snubbed the Beatles when they decided to drop the idea of including them in the city's Hall of Fame. Commemorative plaques have been proposed in memory of Gladstone Adams, who invented the windscreen wiper; John Gilroy, who created Guinness' Toucan advertising posters; Sir Israel Brodie who became Chief Rabbi; and Marie Hall, a world renowned violinist. But the idea of honouring the Beatles, who played at the former Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle in 1963, has been ditched. While they were here, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the smash hit She Loves You in a Newcastle hotel bedroom. It's more than two years since the idea of a commemorative plaque was first considered by members of the city council conservation committee. At first, heritage officials said they were unable to establish for sure which hotel the Beatles stayed in - the former Royal Turk's Head in Grey Street or the Imperial in Jesmond. Now the idea has been dropped completely, despite the Beatles' worldwide fame. A council spokesman said: "We are aware of the iconic status of the Beatles and of the importance of She Loves You, but Newcastle, as a major cultural centre, has been host to most of the great bands, artists and stars of the last 50 years. If we put a plaque up for every band or artist that has stayed in the city we'd be awash with them." Richard Porter, of the British Beatles Fan Club, says She Loves You was written at the Turk's Head according to a book by Beatles biographer Steve Turner. "It would be nice if the council could commemorate it in some way. She Loves You was the Beatles' best selling UK single," he said. Page 2: How the Chronicle reported Lennon's murder back in 1980 | 
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