Meet the real Lucy in the sky

Lucy Vodden, the real-life inspiration for the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," suffers from lupus, is not a fan of the song, and made only £500 as a result of it, The London Evening Standard reports.

Mrs Vodden, now 46, was Lucy O'Donnell when she was a classmate of Julian's at Heath House nursery school in Weybridge, Surrey, when she became the unknowing muse for the psychedelic classic.

She said: "It was a long time ago and I don't remember that particular drawing, but I'm told Julian went back and told his dad 'it's Lucy my friend in the sky with diamonds', and it stuck."

Many fans believe the song was the result of the band's experiments with LSD and acid with its surreal imagery but Mrs Vodden believes she was the inspiration.

But she said: "I can't stand the song. I don't feel I can relate to it. I just don't like it. I don't see a four-year-old kid running around with kaleidoscopic eyes, it doesn't make sense."

She said she has never claimed any sense of "ownership" towards the song but she said that the small amount of fame it brought has been used wisely.

"I only made £500 for a photograph of me which I gave to author Steve Turner for his book A Hard Day's Write a few years ago, and I gave all of it away to charity.