Portal:North West England

Sale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Its neighbouring towns are Stretford, which lies to the north, and Altrincham, which is to the south. Sale itself is 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Manchester City Centre. The Bridgewater Canal runs through the centre of the town, and the River Mersey passes just to its north.

Historically part of Cheshire, Sale dates back to at least the 12th century and possibly to pre-Norman times. Until the 18th century, the mainstays for the small community were farming and weaving. However, transportation improvements—notably the 1765 completion of the Sale section of the Bridgewater Canal and the 1849 opening of Sale's first railway station—transformed it into a commuter town for Manchester workers. It remains such for many Sale residents, who have seen the town economy shift to its current focus on retail, real estate and business services.

Two of the town's main attractions are the Sale Water Park and the Waterside Arts Centre. Although the community had a Premiership rugby union club (the Sale Sharks) and witnessed the founding of the Sale Harriers-Manchester Athletics Club, both have now relocated to other Greater Manchester areas. Prominent past and present residents include physicist James Joule, singer David Gray, and Sale Harriers athletes Darren Campbell and Diane Modahl.

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980), was an English songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist, author and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles. Lennon and Paul McCartney formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful partnership writing songs for The Beatles and other artists. Lennon, with his cynical edge and knack for introspection, and McCartney, with his storytelling optimism and gift for melody, complemented each other. In his solo career, Lennon wrote and recorded songs such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".

Lennon revealed his rebellious nature and irreverent wit on television, in films such as A Hard Day's Night (1964), in books such as In His Own Write, and in press conferences and interviews. He channelled his fame and penchant for controversy into his work as a peace activist, artist, and author.

He had two sons, Julian, with his first wife Cynthia, and Sean, with his second wife, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York City on 8 December 1980 as he and Ono returned home from a recording session. In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon into eighth place. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Lennon number 38 on their list of "The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time" and ranked The Beatles at number 1.