29 Sep 2009

Death of woman who inspired song for Beatles

10:10 am on 29 September 2009

A woman who inspired a hit song for the Beatles has died in Britain, from an auto-immune disease. Lucy O'Donnell was 46.

She was at school with John Lennon's son, Julian, when she was three.

It was his picture of her in 1966 that inspired the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

According to various biographies of The Beatles and Ms O'Donnell herself, Julian took the picture home to his father and explained: "It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds."

The song caused controversy at the time because of its psychedelic theme and supposed reference to the drug LSD through its initials.