Mar 24, 2018: McCartney Pays Tribute to Lennon at Rally

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Paul McCartney at a March For Our Lives rally to end gun violence on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, March 24, 2018

Among the many celebrities attending the March For Our Lives rallies held on March 24, 2018, across the U.S. to protest gun violence, was Paul McCartney. Not far from where John Lennon was shot in front of his apartment building at 72 St. and Central Park West on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the former Beatle marched in solidarity with the crowd. He honored his friend by saying: “One of my best friends was shot not far from where we are now.”

McCartney, who at the time owned an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was with his wife, Nancy Shevell. Each wore t-shirts that read: “We Can End Gun Violence.”

After the fourth Nor’Easter in recent weeks, New Yorkers took advantage of the beautiful Saturday weather to march in solidarity.

March For Our Lives rallies were held in many cities coast-to-coast around the country, including one in Parkland, Fla., site of the mass shooting at a high school that sparked the furor. None apparently was larger than the estimated several hundred thousand who attended the one in Washington, DC. Hundreds of similar gatherings—some estimates put the number at 800—were being reported around the world in such cities as Rome, Berlin.

“Get out and vote,” McCartney said. “You can make the change. It’s up to you.”

Lennon was slain on December 8, 1980 in front of his residence, The Dakota.

Watch McCartney at the NYC rally

Paul McCartney says go vote. Vote! #MarchForOurLives NYC pic.twitter.com/uLRVBanCqm

— Lorna Mae Johnson (@lornamaejohnson) March 24, 2018

And from CNN…

“One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here, so it’s important to me,” says Paul McCartney, remembering his Beatles bandmate John Lennon at the March for Our Lives in New York City https://t.co/u4aBKWC1Jb pic.twitter.com/8Jnjn8A3xH

— CNN (@CNN) March 24, 2018

Adriana Grande, who was performing in Manchester, U.K. on May 22, 2017, when a terrorist bombed the Manchester Arena, was one of those performing at the Washington, DC March For Our Lives event.

The gathering at March For Our Lives on March 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for March For Our Lives; used with permission)