A JOHN Lennon plaque is to be erected in Edinburgh where his aunt lived to mark his many summers spent in Scotland’s capital.
The plaque is set to be placed at the foot of Ormidale Terrace in the Murrayfield area, where the Beatles star regularly spent time with his aunt and cousin until the age of 17.
Lennon is said to have penned the song Rain, the B-side to 1966’s Paperback Writer, in the cupboard under the stairs at his aunt's house.
The plaque is set to be unveiled with an event in Roseburn Park featuring Beatles music, with organisers looking into securing a tribute band.
Along with details about his association with the city, the plaque will include lyrics from the hit All You Need Is Love.
Lennon’s summers in the city are said to have been among his happiest childhood memories and he described Edinburgh as one of his favourite places having enjoyed the festival, the Tattoo and rugby at Murrayfield.
The plaque has been secured thanks to the work of Murrayfield community councillor Pete Gregson, who got the backing of Abinger Gardens Residents Association to have it attached to the organisation’s wall at the foot of Ormidale Terrace.
He told The National: “I am really pleased we have secured this as it’s taken a long time. We tried to get something on the parish church a few years ago as John liked to have a cigarette outside the church, but the elders didn’t agree to it.
“The housing association were really up for it. The family used to have a croft up in Durness and they have a John Lennon garden up there so I thought, why shouldn’t we have something?
“I’ve always been a Beatles fan and grew up with John Lennon’s music but only learnt of his association with the area I live in about eight years ago.
“It’s a funny story really because when John was about five his dad went away to New Zealand and the kids were left with their mum, but she struggled to cope so they ended up with her sister. So he spent a lot of time in Edinburgh between the ages of five and 17.
“We’ve already erected about seven plaques as a community council but nothing quite like this.
“We really wanted to mark his contribution to the place. He just enjoyed what everyone else enjoyed about Edinburgh.”
