“Love Don’t Let Me Down,” Julian Lennon, Sunday, September 15, 2024
In 2022, Julian Lennon returned to music after an eleven-year hiatus with the album Jude. The album’s title references the nickname Paul McCarthy gave him after his father John Lennon and mother Cynthia divorced in 1968. Originally, McCarthy wrote the song “Hey Jules” to use the boy’s actual nickname, but McCarthy said that “Hey Jude” sounded better in the song. Julian began his musical career playing drums on his father’s album, Walls and Bridges on the song “Ya-Ya.” Following his father’s murder in 1980, Julian released his first album in 1984, titled Valotte, to critical acclaim and commercial success. Subsequent releases were not as well received, but Julian has been an active artist in music, photography, writing, and filmmaking. He has also done a lot of philanthropic work in Australia, Africa, and America for Indigenous groups and humanitarian aid.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO FEEL ALONE? Julian Lennon, the first-born son of John Lennon didn’t have an easy life. John had an affair with the Japanese multi-media artist Yoko Ono and divorced his wife Cynthia. After the divorce, Julian was estranged from his father until John briefly separated from Yoko and started dating his publicist May Peng. Julian has spoken openly about the emotional distance he felt from his father and the pain of growing up without much involvement from him. He described John as someone who was inconsistent—alternating between being loving and supportive during rare moments and cold or unavailable most of the time. John’s public image as a peace-loving figure sometimes contrasted with the reality of his private relationship with Julian, which caused Julian confusion and hurt. He has mentioned feeling overshadowed by John's later focus on his second son, Sean Lennon, who John had with Yoko Ono. Despite the difficult relationship, Julian has expressed understanding of his father's struggles with fame, personal identity, and fatherhood. Over the years, Julian has also said that he’s come to terms with the complex legacy of being John Lennon’s son. While the two never fully reconciled before John died in 1980, Julian has continued to honor his father’s memory, even though their relationship remained unresolved.
OPEN YOUR HEART AND YOU’LL GO FAR. When John Lennon was murdered in 1980, Julian gave an interview with Playboy talking about how distant he was from his father. Julian was part of his father’s post-divorce life because his girlfriend May Peng asked to see the boy. Julian even used Peng’s photograph of him at age 11 as the cover of his latest album Jude. Julian remained close to Paul McCartney. He told The Washington Post in 2015 “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.” McCartney’s mentorship helped Julian throughout his life, except for an accidental snub at Paul’s wedding to Nancy Shevell in 2015. While Julian has critcized his father for his hypocrisy--preaching love and peace but not acting on it, Julian’s public life has been, in some ways, a fullfilment of his father’s ideals put into practice with philanthropy and even reconciliation with his father’s widow Yoko Ono after Julian sued for a more equitable part of John’s estate. Although Julian had a complicated relationship with his father, he not only shares genetics with the late prophet of rock music but his legacy as well.
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