Julian Lennon

Julian Lennon
Background information
Birth name John Charles Julian Lennon
Also known as Jules
Born (1963-04-08) 8 April 1963
Liverpool, England
Genres Rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, artist, photographer, philanthropist
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, drums, harmonica, banjo
Years active 1984–present
Labels Atlantic, Music from Another Room, Charisma, Virgin
Website www.julianlennon.com

John Charles Julian Lennon (born 8 April 1963) is a British musician and photographer. He is the first child of John Lennon with his first wife, Cynthia. The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon, and a stepsister, Kyoko Chan Cox. Lennon was named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon.[1][2]

Lennon was the direct inspiration for three Beatles' songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Hey Jude" and "Good Night". He is devoted to philanthropic endeavors, most notably his own White Feather Foundation[3] and the Whaledreamers Organization,[4] both of which promote the co-existence of all species and the health and well-being of the Earth.

Early life and relationship with his father

Julian Lennon was born in Liverpool. Initially, the fact that John Lennon was married and had a child was concealed from the public, in keeping with the conventional wisdom of the era that female teenage fans would not be as enamoured of married male pop stars. Lennon inspired one of his father's most famous songs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", whose lyrics describe a picture the boy had drawn, a watercolour painting of his friend Lucy O'Donnell from nursery school[5] surrounded by stars. Another composition of his father inspired by him was the lullaby "Good Night", the closing song of the White Album. In 1967, he attended the set of the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour.

Following his father's infidelity with Yoko Ono, Lennon's parents divorced when he was five. Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to console him over the divorce; originally called "Hey Jules", McCartney changed the name because he thought that "Jude" was an easier name to sing.[6] After his parents' divorce, Lennon had almost no contact with his father until the early 1970s when, at the request of his father's then short-term girlfriend, May Pang (Yoko Ono and Lennon had temporarily separated), he began to visit his father regularly. John Lennon bought him a Gibson Les Paul guitar and a drum machine for Christmas 1973, and encouraged his interest in music by showing him some chords.[7][8]

Following his father's murder, Lennon voiced anger and resentment toward him, saying,

I've never really wanted to know the truth about how dad was with me. There was some very negative stuff talked about me ... like when he said I'd come out of a whiskey bottle on a Saturday night. Stuff like that. You think, where's the love in that? Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit ... more than Dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad.[9]

Lennon was also irked by hearing his father's peace-loving stance perpetually celebrated. He told the Daily Telegraph, "I have to say that, from my point of view, I felt he was a hypocrite", he said, "Dad could talk about peace and love out loud to the world but he could never show it to the people who supposedly meant the most to him: his wife and son. How can you talk about peace and love and have a family in bits and pieces—no communication, adultery, divorce? You can't do it, not if you're being true and honest with yourself."[10]

Lennon was excluded from his father's will. However, a trust of £100,000 was created by his father to be shared between all of his children (both Julian and Sean).[11][12] Julian sued his father's estate and in 1996 reached a settlement agreement reportedly worth £20 million.[11] By 2009, Lennon's feelings toward his father had mellowed. Recalling his renewed relationship with his father in the mid-1970s, he said,

Dad and I got on a great deal better then. We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general when he was with May Pang. My memories of that time with Dad and May are very clear — they were the happiest time I can remember with them.[13]

In 2007, Lennon sold a "significant" share of his stake in his father's catalogue of work[14] in exchange for an undisclosed sum with an agreement that the purchasing company, Primary Wave, would market and promote his new material. The stake entitles Primary Wave to a portion of all royalties on the catalogue.

Education

Lennon was educated at Ruthin School,[15] a boarding independent school near the town of Ruthin in Denbighshire in North Wales.

Career

Music career

Lennon made his musical debut at age 11 on his father's album Walls and Bridges playing drums on "Ya-Ya", later saying, "Dad, had I known you were going to put it on the album, I would've played much better!"[16] In the 1980s, he “parlayed a remarkable vocal similarity to his father into a successful singing career.” [17]

Lennon enjoyed immediate success with his debut 1984 album Valotte, produced by Phil Ramone, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1985, spawning two top ten hits, the title track "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes". Lennon promoted the album with music videos for the two hits made by movie director Sam Peckinpah and producer Martin Lewis. The song "Valotte" has remained a staple on adult contemporary radio stations since its release.

After the release Paul McCartney sent him a telegram wishing him good luck. Later that year the two met backstage at the New York studios of the television show Friday Night Videos.

His second album, 1986's The Secret Value of Daydreaming, was panned by critics, but reached No. 32 on the Billboard magazine's album chart, and produced the single "Stick Around", which was his first No. 1 single on the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart.

He recorded the song "Because", previously recorded by The Dave Clark Five, in the UK for Clark's 1986 musical, Time. Lennon never reached the same level of success in the U.S. post-Valotte, but he hit No. 5 in Australia with the 1989 single "Now You're In Heaven", which also gave him his second No. 1 hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart in the USA.

On 1 April 1987, Julian Lennon appeared as The Baker in Mike Batt's musical The Hunting of the Snark[18] (based on Lewis Carroll's poem). The all-star lineup included Roger Daltrey, Justin Hayward and Billy Connolly, with John Hurt as the Narrator. The performance, a musical benefit at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the deaf, was attended by Prince Andrew's then wife, the Duchess of York.[19]

In 1991, George Harrison played on Lennon's album Help Yourself but was not directly credited. A song off the album, "Saltwater", reached No. 6 in the UK and topped the Australian singles charts for four weeks. Also during this time he contributed a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" to the soundtrack of the television series The Wonder Years.

By the end of the year, Lennon left the music business for several years. He followed his interests in cooking, sailing, and sculpting during his leave from the music industry. After he began his performing career there was occasionally unfounded media speculation that Julian would undertake performances with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. However, in the Beatles Anthology series in 1996, the three surviving Beatles confirmed there was never an idea of having Julian sit in for his father as part of a Beatles reunion, with McCartney saying, "Why would we want to subject him to all of this?"

In May 1998, Lennon released the album Photograph Smile to little commercial success. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album as “well-crafted and melodic,” concluding it to be “the kind of music that would receive greater praise if it weren't made by the son of a Beatle.” [20] In 2002, he recorded a version of the Beatles' classic "When I'm Sixty-Four", a song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, for an Allstate Insurance commercial.

In 2006 he ventured into Internet businesses, including MyStore.com with Todd Meagher and Bebo founder Michael Birch.[21] In 2009 Lennon created a new partnership with Todd Meagher and Michael Birch called theRevolution, LLC. Through this company, Lennon released a tribute song and EP, "Lucy", honoring the memory of Lucy Vodden (nee O'Donnell), the little girl who inspired the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", with 50 percent of the proceeds going to fund Lupus research.[22][23][24]

In October 2011, Lennon released a new album called Everything Changes.

In 2012 Lennon worked with music film director Dick Carruthers on the feature length video documentary "Through The Picture Window", which followed Lennon's journey in the making of his album Everything Changes and includes interviews with Steven Tyler, Bono and Paul Buchanan from The Blue Nile. "Through The Picture Window" was also released as an App in all formats with bespoke videos for all 14 tracks from the album.[25][26][27]

Film

Lennon's first-ever tour in early 1985 was documented as part of the film Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon — a film profile started by Sam Peckinpah, but completed by Martin Lewis after Peckinpah's death. Lennon has appeared in several other films including The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996, but shot in 1968), Cannes Man (1996), Imagine: John Lennon (1988), Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987) and a cameo in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) as a bartender. Julian provided the voice for the title role in the animated film David Copperfield.[28] He was also the voice of the main character Toby the Teapot in the animated special The Real Story of I'm a Little Teapot (1990).

Julian Lennon is also the producer of the documentary called WhaleDreamers[29] about an aboriginal tribe in Australia and its special relationship to whales. It also touches on many environmental issues. This film has received many awards[30] and was shown at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Photography

After photographing his half-brother Sean's music tour in 2007, Lennon took up a serious interest in photography.[31]

On 17 September 2010,[32] Lennon opened an exhibition of 35 photographs called "Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon" with help from long-time friend and fellow photographer Timothy White. Originally scheduled to run 17 September through 10 October,[33] the Morrison Hotel Gallery extended it a week to end 17 October.[34] The photographs include shots of his half-brother Sean, actress Kate Hudson, and U2 frontman Bono.[31]

On 3 October 2010, CBS Sunday Morning aired an in-depth interview with Lennon that covered much of his life, including his relationship with his parents and sibling, his career, and his experience growing up as the son of one of the world's most famous celebrities.[35]

Lennon's "Horizons" series is featured at the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery, NYC, 12 March – 2 May 2015.[36]

Book

Shortly after the death of his father, Lennon began collecting Beatles memorabilia. In 2010, he published a book of his collection, Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection.[37]

Charity work

Lennon founded The White Feather Foundation in 2009. Its mission "embraces environmental and humanitarian issues and in conjunction with partners from around the world helps to raise funds for the betterment of all life, and to honour those who have truly made a difference."[38] Its name came from a conversation Lennon once had with his father. "Dad once said to me that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be OK – that we were all going to be OK – the message would come to me in the form of a white feather. ... the white feather has always represented peace to me."[39]

Personal life

Lennon has been quoted as having a "cordial" relationship with Ono while getting along very well with her son, his half-brother Sean. Lennon saw Sean perform live for the first time in Paris on 12 November 2006 at La Boule Noire [40] and he and Sean spent time together on Sean's tour in 2007. In commemoration of John Lennon’s 70th birthday and as a statement for peace, Lennon and his mother, Cynthia, unveiled the John Lennon Peace Monument in his home town of Liverpool, England, on 9 October 2010.[41]

Lennon has been engaged twice – to socialite Lucy Bayliss and actress Olivia d'Abo - but both engagements were called off.[42] He now resides near Monaco.

Lennon remains friends with his father's former bandmate, McCartney, though they experienced a public falling out in 2011 when Lennon was not invited to McCartney's wedding to Nancy Shevell.[43]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[44]		 US
[45]		 AU
[46]		 CA
[47]		 DE
[48]		 JP
[49]		 NZ
[50]		 SE
[51]
1984 Valotte 20 17 8 12 60 41 15 15
1986 The Secret Value of Daydreaming 93 32 65 22 — — — 25
1989 Mr. Jordan — 87 18 46 — — — —
1991 Help Yourself 42 — 5 — — — — —
1998 Photograph Smile 78 — 28 — 94 70 — —
2011 Everything Changes[55] 106 — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Compilation albums
Year Title
2001 VH-1 – Behind the Music – The Julian Lennon Collection

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[44]		 US
[56]		 US AC
[56]		 US Rock
[56]		 AU
[46]		 CA
[57]		 DE
[58]		 IE
[59]		 NZ
[50]		 SE
[51]
1984 "Too Late for Goodbyes" 6 5 1 11 13 6 26 5 24 17 Valotte
"Valotte" 55 9 4 2 75 9 — — 10
1985 "Say You're Wrong" 75 21 6 3 31 30 — — — —
"Jesse" — 54 — 24 — — — — — —
"Because" 40 — — — 66 — — 30 — — Dave Clark's Time Soundtrack
1986 "Stick Around" 86 32 — 1 79 31 — — — — The Secret Value of Daydreaming
"Time Will Teach Us All" — — — — — — — — — — Dave Clark's Time Soundtrack
"This Is My Day" — — — — — — — — — — The Secret Value of Daydreaming
"Want Your Body" — — — — — — — — — —
"Midnight Smoke" — — — — — — — — — — Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark
1989 "Now You're in Heaven" 59 93 — 1 5 39 — — — — Mr. Jordan
"You're the One" — — — — 68 — — — — —
"Mother Mary" — — — — — — — — — —
1991 "Saltwater" 6 — — — 1 98 58 5 — — Help Yourself
"Help Yourself" 53 — — — 30 — 53 — — —
"Rebel King" — — — — — — — — — —
"Listen" — — — 31 — 69 — — — —
1992 "Get a Life" 56 — — — — — — — — —
1993 "Children of the World" — — — — — — — — — — Coo – Soundtrack
1995 "Cole's Song" — — — — — — — — — — Mr. Holland's Opus – Soundtrack
1998 "All Alone" (with Bald) — — — — — — — — — — Bald
"Day After Day" 66 — — — — — — — — — Photograph Smile
"I Don't Wanna Know" 125 — — — 64 — — — — —
"Photograph Smile" — — — — — — — — — —
2009 "Lucy" — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
2011 "Lookin' 4 Luv" — — — — — — — — — — Everything Changes
"Children of the World"[60] — — — — — — — — — — Shine On! Songs Volume One
2012 "Hope" (Nick Wood)[61] — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"All That You've Wanted" (with Matt Backer)[62] — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
2013 "Someday"[63] — — — — — — — — — — Everything Changes

Other releases

Films

Producer

References

  1. ↑ "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds LSD". snopes.com. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "VH1 Behind the Music: The Julian Lennon Collection: Julian Lennon: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "Home – For the Conservation of Life – White Feather Foundation". Whitefeatherfoundation.com. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  4. ↑ "The Return of the Whale Dreamers". I-sis.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  5. ↑ "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds: woman who inspired Beatles song dies". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  6. ↑ Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 465. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
  7. ↑ "Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection". Lennon.net. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  8. ↑ Lennon (2006) p345
  9. ↑ "Scotsman.com News". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  10. ↑ Grice, Elizabeth (1 April 2015). "'Dad was a hypocrite. He could talk about peace and love to the world but he could never show it to his wife and son'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Celebrity Legacies". Trial and Heirs. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "John Lennon: The Last Will And Testament: Rockmine On-Line". Rockmine.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  13. ↑ Brooks, Richard (13 June 2009). "Julian Lennon gives family peace a chance". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "Lennon's son sells Beatles stake". BBC News. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  15. ↑ Robert Dex (2 April 2015). "John Lennon's first wife Cynthia dies after cancer battle". Wales Online. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Pang, Loving John, Warner, 1983
  17. ↑ "Julian Lennon | Music Biography, Streaming Radio and Discography". AllMusic. 1963-04-08. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  18. ↑ "Mike Batt feat. Julian Lennon – The Escapade (from The Hunting Of The Snark/ TV 1987)". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  19. ↑ Julian Lennon website, biography section. Accessed 12 March 2012.
  20. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Photograph Smile – Julian Lennon | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  21. ↑ "Imagine! Julian Lennon Invests In MyStore - Forbes.com". 4 December 2007.
  22. ↑ The track can be purchased at www.therevolution.com.
  23. ↑ "Julian Lennon Honors Lucy in the Sky".
  24. ↑ "Lucy Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  25. ↑ GALO interview 7 May 2014
  26. ↑ BBC Radio 6 Music interview 7 November 2014
  27. ↑ CBS News 22 November 2013
  28. ↑ Dahl, Roald. "David Copperfield". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  29. ↑ "at". Whaledreamers.com. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  30. ↑ "Whaledreamers News". Whaledreamers.com. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  31. 1 2 Doyle, Patrick (17 September 2010). "Julian Lennon On His New Photos of U2, Kate Hudson". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  32. ↑ Cheney, Alexandra (17 September 2010). "Julian Lennon's Photo Exhibit: 'Dad was never a photographer'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  33. ↑ "Julian Lennon Show at the Bowery". Morrison Hotel Gallery. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  34. ↑ "Julian Lennon Show at the Bowery". Morrison Hotel Gallery. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  35. ↑ "Julian and Sean Come Together". CBS Sunday Morning. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  36. ↑ "Exhibitions". Emmanuelfremingallery.com. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  37. ↑ Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection (9781847960184): Brian Southall, Julian Lennon: Books. Amazon.com. ISBN 1847960189.
  38. ↑ "The White Feather Foundation Mission". Whitefeatherfoundation.com. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  39. ↑ "The White Feather Foundation – How It All Started". Whitefeatherfoundation.com. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  40. ↑ Hoyle, Ben (29 September 2009). "Reallife Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds dies at 46". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  41. ↑ The Telegraph (9 October 2010). "Monument to John Lennon unveiled in Liverpool on his '70th birthday'". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  42. ↑ Nicole Lampert (2011-11-05). "John Lennon's son Julian fears Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney are trying to obliterate him from history | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  43. ↑ Willman, Chris (7 April 2013). "Julian Lennon At 50: It's Never 'Much Too Late' For Lennon Family Discord | Stop The Presses! (NEW)". Music.yahoo.com.
  44. 1 2 Peak chart positions for albums and singles in the United Kingdom:
  45. ↑ "Artist Chart History (albums) – Julian Lennon". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  46. 1 2 Peak chart positions in Australia:
    • Top 100 (Kent Music Report) singles and albums peaks until 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 176. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.
    • Top 50 (ARIA Chart) singles and albums peaks from 26 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
    • "You're the One" (ARIA Chart) peak: "25 Years Ago This Week: July 9, 1989". chartbeat.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
    • Top 100 (ARIA Chart) singles and albums peaks from January 1990 until December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  47. ↑ Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
  48. ↑ "charts.de: Suche nach "Julian Lennon"" (ASP). charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  49. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  50. 1 2 "charts.org.nz – Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  51. 1 2 "swedishcharts.com – Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  52. ↑ "British certifications – Julian Lennon". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  53. ↑ "American album certifications – Valotte". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  54. ↑ "American album certifications – The Secret Value of Daydreaming". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  55. ↑ IT (14 January 2006). "Julian's MySpace profile". Myspace.com. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  56. 1 2 3 "Artist Chart History (singles) – Julian Lennon". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  57. ↑ Peak chart positions for singles in Canada:
  58. ↑ "charts.de: Suche nach "Julian Lennon"" (ASP). charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  59. ↑ "Search the Charts" (enter "Julian Lennon" into the "Search by Artist" box, then select "Search"). Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  60. ↑ "Julian Lennon, Tin Cup Gypsy, Donna Burke, Mark Ballas, Maxi Priest, Wendy Parr, Monday Michiru, Amber Lily, Tierney Sutton, Rie Fu and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band – Shine On! Songs Volume One". Discogs. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  61. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Hope (feat. Julian Lennon, Tetsuya Komuro, Beyond Tomorrow Students) – Single by Nick Wood". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  62. ↑ "All That You've Wanted – Official Julian Lennon Website". Julianlennon.com. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  63. ↑ "'Someday', worldwide release confirmed for 8th April 2013 – Official Julian Lennon Website". Julianlennon.com. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  64. ↑ "Julian Lennon Sings Summertime with Meninos do Morumbi".
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