PICK OF THE DAY

John Lennon Night

BBC4, from 8pm

Had John Lennon (right) survived he’d be celebrating his 80th birthday: to mark the occasion here’s a dedicated feast of shows. The evening begins with AHard Day’sNight (8pm), the 1964 screen debut of The Beatles that gave full vent to Lennon’s acerbic comic persona.

Presented by DJ Steve Wright, TOTP2: John Lennon Special (9.30 pm) features solo songs including Instant Karma, Imagine and his cover of Stand By Me. In Lennon: The New York Years (10 pm ), Alan Yentob looks back on the star’s life with Yoko Ono in the city where he died in 1980.

The Beatles: Made In Merseyside (11.20pm) recounts the band’s origins in Liverpool. Finally, Sandie Shaw, Shirley Bassey, Joe Cocker and Oasis are among the artists’ providing interpretations of the Fab Four’s songs in …SingsThe Beatles (12.45am). ★★★★