Julian Lennon
On the 8th of April 1963, a boy named John Charles Julian Lennon entered the world at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool. His father was John Lennon, a member of The Beatles, and his mother was Cynthia Powell. The child carried the name of his paternal grandmother Julia, who had passed away five years prior to his birth. Brian Epstein served as his godfather. This young boy would become the muse for three songs by his father's band. He painted a watercolour picture of his friend Lucy O'Donnell surrounded by stars. That painting inspired the lyrics of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" released in 1967. Later he inspired the lullaby "Good Night", which closed out The White Album in 1968. When he was four years old, he attended the set of the film Magical Mystery Tour. At age five, his parents divorced following his father's infidelity with Yoko Ono. 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 easier to sing.
Julian Lennon made his musical debut at age 11 on his father's album Walls and Bridges playing drums on the song "Ya-Ya". He later said that if he knew it would be on the album, he would have played much better. His first solo album Valotte arrived in 1984 and produced two top 10 hits. The title track and "Too Late for Goodbyes" earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1986. Music videos for these songs were directed by Sam Peckinpah and Martin Lewis. Paul McCartney sent a telegram wishing him good luck after the release. His second album The Secret Value of Daydreaming came out in 1986 and reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 chart. It produced the single "Stick Around", which became his first number-one hit on the US Album Rock Tracks chart. In 1987 he appeared as the Baker in Mike Batt's musical The Hunting of the Snark at London's Royal Albert Hall. His 1989 single "Now You're in Heaven" peaked at number five in Australia. The single "Saltwater" topped the Australian charts for four weeks in 1991. He released Photograph Smile in May 1998 on his own label. Everything Changes followed in October 2011. Jude was released on the 9th of September 2022, on BMG. Goldmine magazine called it an introspective masterwork from a diversely talented artist.
After photographing his half-brother Sean's music tour in 2007, Julian Lennon took up a serious interest in photography. On the 17th of September 2010, he opened an exhibition of 35 photographs titled Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon. The Morrison Hotel Gallery extended the run to end on the 17th of October. The collection included shots of his brother Sean and U2 frontman Bono. His Alone collection was featured at Art Basel Miami Beach Show from the 6th to the 9th of December 2012. The Horizon series appeared at Emmanuel Fremin Gallery in New York City between March 12 and the 2nd of May 2015. The Cycle exhibit showed at Leica Gallery in Los Angeles during the fall of 2016. In 2021, he became the first fine-arts photographer featured at the new gallery in Aston Martin Residences Miami. A series titled ATMOSPHERIA appeared at William Turner Gallery in Santa Monica, California, in 2023. He released a book of his photographs entitled Life's Fragile Moments in 2024 through the German publisher teNeues. Shortly after his father's death, he began collecting Beatles memorabilia. In 2010, he published a book describing this collection called Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection. He completed a trilogy of books Touch the Earth, Heal the Earth and Love the Earth by 2019. On the 9th of November 2021, he published a graphic novel for middle-grade children named The Morning Tribe with co-author Bart Davis.
Lennon's first tour as a solo musician was documented in the film Stand by Me: A Portrait of Julian Lennon. Sam Peckinpah started the project but Martin Lewis completed it after Peckinpah's death. He provided the voice for the title role in the animated film David Copperfield released in 1993. He also voiced Toby the Teapot in the animated special The Real Story of I'm a Little Teapot from 1990. His cameo appearance in Leaving Las Vegas came out in 1995. He produced Whaledreamers about an Indigenous Australian tribe and their connection to whales. This film received several awards and showed at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. In 2018, he served as executive producer on Women of the White Buffalo. That documentary focused on Lakota women from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was released in 2022. He was also an executive producer of Kiss the Ground, an award-winning documentary about regenerative agriculture narrated by Woody Harrelson. The film appeared in 2020. He shared his memories of May Pang and his father in Pang's 2022 documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story.
A conversation with his father once led Julian to believe that if he passed away, a message would come in the form of a white feather representing peace. While touring Australia, he received a white feather from two Indigenous elders of the Mirning tribe in Adelaide. They asked him to help give them a voice. In response, he produced the documentary Whaledreamers about their tribe. He founded The White Feather Foundation in 2007. Its mission embraces environmental and humanitarian issues. The foundation partners with charities worldwide to raise funds for clean water projects. It supports the preservation of Indigenous cultures. It works on environment initiatives and education programs. In 2008, Prince Albert II of Monaco presented TWFF with the Better World Environmental Award. After the Nepal earthquake in 2015, TWFF contributed $106,347.52 to Music for Relief's aid fund. Lennon visited Kenya, Ethiopia and Colombia in 2014 to witness these initiatives. Following his mother's death, he named the scholarship program after her as The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls. The Foundation has awarded over 50 scholarships to girls across Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. In September 2020, he was honoured with the CC Forum Philanthropy Award in Monaco.
Following his father's murder on the 8th of December 1980, Julian voiced anger and resentment toward him. He said that there was some very negative stuff talked about him like when his father claimed he came out of a whiskey bottle. Paul McCartney used to hang out quite a bit more than John did. Julian chafed at hearing his father's peace and love stance celebrated while his family remained in pieces. He told The Daily Telegraph that he felt his father was a hypocrite who could never show love to his wife and son. His father excluded him from his will but created a trust of £100,000 shared between Julian and Sean. Julian sued his father's estate and reached a settlement agreement in 1996 worth reportedly £20 million. In an interview with CBS News in 2009, he stated that he realized if he continued feeling anger, it would be a constant cloud hanging over his head. After recording the song Lucy, he felt right to fulfill the circle and forgive his dad. He unveiled the John Lennon Peace Monument in Liverpool on the 9th of October 2010, along with his mother Cynthia. He legally changed his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon in 2020.
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Common questions
When was Julian Lennon born and where did he enter the world?
Julian Lennon entered the world on the 8th of April 1963 at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool. His father was John Lennon, a member of The Beatles, and his mother was Cynthia Powell.
What songs by The Beatles were inspired by Julian Lennon?
The child carried the name of his paternal grandmother Julia and became the muse for three songs by his father's band. He painted a watercolour picture that inspired the lyrics of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds released in 1967 and later inspired the lullaby Good Night which closed out The White Album in 1968.
Which albums has Julian Lennon released since his debut Valotte in 1984?
His first solo album Valotte arrived in 1984 and produced two top 10 hits. He followed this with The Secret Value of Daydreaming in 1986, Photograph Smile in May 1998, Everything Changes in October 2011, and Jude on the 9th of September 2022 on BMG.
When did Julian Lennon open his photography exhibition Timeless?
On the 17th of September 2010 he opened an exhibition of 35 photographs titled Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon at the Morrison Hotel Gallery. The collection included shots of his brother Sean and U2 frontman Bono and ran until the 17th of October.
What is the mission of The White Feather Foundation founded by Julian Lennon?
He founded The White Feather Foundation in 2007 to embrace environmental and humanitarian issues. The foundation partners with charities worldwide to raise funds for clean water projects and supports the preservation of Indigenous cultures through environment initiatives and education programs.
Why did Julian Lennon change his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon?
Following his father's murder on the 8th of December 1980 Julian voiced anger and resentment toward him before eventually forgiving his dad after recording the song Lucy. He legally changed his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon in 2020.