Julian Lennon

Julian Lennon, 2015

John Charles Julian Lennon (born April 8, 1963 in Liverpool , England ) is a British musician , composer and photographer . He is the son of John Lennon from his first marriage to Cynthia Powell . Julian Lennon is the half-brother of Sean Lennon , whose parents are John Lennon and Yoko Ono .

Life

childhood

Julian Lennon attended Ruthin School near the town of Ruthin in Denbighshire in North Wales .

Julian Lennon's mother married three more times after divorcing John Lennon. Julian Lennon says he never got to know a harmonious family life, as his father left the family in 1968 and from then on lived with Yoko Ono, whom he married in March 1969. His childhood was also marked by changing partnerships with his mother and disappointments from his father. However, John Lennon sought contact with his growing son from his first marriage since 1973, while living with his partner May Pang during this time. During the visits, but Julian had in the United States go because his father lived since September 1971 in the USA and he got 1,972 problems with the residency in the US a year, it was threatened with expulsion, reason was the growing fears of the CIA before a "radicalizing" artist John Lennon. So John Lennon could not leave the USA during this time. But even after receiving the green card in October 1975, John Lennon no longer went to Great Britain.

During a visit in the summer of 1974, when Julian was eleven at the time, he played drums on a 30-second version of Ya Ya while his father sang and played the piano. The song was released on John Lennon's album Walls and Bridges .

Julian Lennon last saw his father in April 1979 while on vacation together in Palm Beach , Florida . Shortly before John Lennon's murder in 1980, the (telephone) contact was particularly intense, according to Julian Lennon's information.

In retrospect, Julian Lennon was critical of his relationship with his father in 2000 and 2010.

Beatles inspirations

Julian Lennon inspired two well-known Beatles titles . His father John wrote Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in 1967 after Julian showed him one of his drawings and explained it to him as "Lucy in the sky with diamonds ...". This background information was distributed not least to counter the obvious interpretation that the initials of the song title alluded to LSD . In 1968 Paul McCartney wrote Hey Jude . The idea for the title came to him while he was on his way back from visiting Cynthia Lennon. The play was supposed to be a consolation for Julian, since his parents had just divorced. Hey Jude was first called Hey Jules . Years later, Julian Lennon bought Hey Jude's original manuscript .

Good Night , a track on The Beatles album , is a song written by John Lennon to his son Julian, although it was sung by Ringo Starr .

Own musical career

In October 1984 Julian Lennon released the album Valotte under the leadership of well-known producer Phil Ramone . The single Too Late for Goodbyes reached number six in the British single charts and number five in the USA, while the single Valotte also reached the top ten in the USA. The album sold 1.5 million times worldwide.

Julian Lennon played guitar, drums, percussions, bass and keyboards on his debut album. What impressed the audience was his looks and voice, both of which are very reminiscent of his father. There were rumors that there could be a Beatles reunion - with Julian Lennon as a substitute. His former school friend Justin Clayton played guitar on the album Valotte and future albums up to and including 2011 and was also co-composer on some of the songs.

In November 1985 the single Because , sung by Julian Lennon, was released , it was released from the musical Time by Dave Clark , the further single Time Will Teach Us All with Lennon as singer was released in May 1986.

After a successful North American tour in 1985, Lennon released his second album The Secret Value of Daydreaming in March 1986 , but was only able to place one single in the US Top 40, the album achieved gold status in the USA . Another North American tour followed in 1986, the European tour was canceled due to insufficient ticket demand.

He then retired to Switzerland to calmly reflect on his career. In November 1986 the single Midnight Smoke from the Mike Batt musical The Hunting of the Snark was released, also here Julian Lennon was a guest singer.

The third album Mr. Jordan from March 1989 was the first attempt to emancipate himself from his father. Critics drew comparisons to David Bowie , but his record company was unhappy with the product. Due to the lack of promotion, hardly anyone noticed the album. From July 1989, Julian went on a short tour of Great Britain and the USA. In October 1989, the soundtrack for the television series Wonderful Years appeared , on which Julian Lennon was represented with a cover version of the Rolling Stones play Ruby Tuesday .

In August 1991 Lennon released his next album Help Yourself . The single Saltwater was a commercial success, with the exception of the USA. The single reached number 1 in Australia. Marked by years of alcohol and drug consumption, Lennon first moved to northern Italy and then to southern France to gain distance from the music business. For years he didn't touch an instrument and occupied himself with architecture and cooking. In December 1995 the soundtrack album Mr. Holland's Opus was released , in which Lennon contributed the song Cole's Song .

In May 1998, his fifth album, Photograph Smile , was released, for which he founded the Music from Another Room label . “I didn't want my last few albums to be my legacy to the music industry. They just weren't good enough. I wanted to make an album that I could be proud of. One that I was in control of, ”he explained in a 1999 interview. A club tour in North America followed in 1999.

Julian Lennon at the unveiling of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Liverpool on October 9, 2010

Then he withdrew again into private life. An album announced at the beginning of the new millennium did not appear. In August 2001, the compilation album VH1 Behind the Music: The Julian Lennon Collection was released.

After three years, Lennon went back to his website in September 2005 to say he was rejecting any interview requests on the 25th anniversary of his father's death. “My dad was a great talent whose music and ideals inspired millions of people. Still, I have mixed feelings about him. He was the father I loved, but he let me down in so many ways. Who knows how our relationship would have developed if he hadn't been murdered [...] ”, he explained there.

In 2006, the duet with Gregory Darling New Dream appeared on Darling's album Shell . When Lucy Vodden, Lennon's former school friend and inspiration for the Beatles' title Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, died in 2009, Lennon released the charity single Lucy in memory of Vodden under his name after an eleven year break . Further releases in 2011 were on the compilation album Shine on! Volume One with the song Children of the World and another duet December Sky with Tomi Swick.

On October 3, 2011, Lennon's sixth studio album Everything Changes was released in the UK. Some of the songs on the album were previously available as raw mixes on Lennon's Myspace profile. Starting in June 2013, the album was also released internationally with two additional songs. On April 8, 2013, on his 50th birthday, the single Someday , a duet with Steven Tyler , was released. Between 2012 and 2014 the following duets were released that are not on his album: Hope (with Nick Wood), All that You've Wanted (with Matt Backer), Luv XXX (with Aerosmith ), Rain in England ( with Tony Mortimer ), Let You Go and Fallin In Love (with Dave Harris), Do You Think I'm A Joke? (with Andrew Cole) and High Road (with Brent Bourgeois). In 2014 Julian Lennon contributed the song Goodbye to the soundtrack Price Of Desire . In December 2016, 25 years after it was first published, Julian Lennon released a new recording of the song Saltwater under the title Saltwater 25 .

Further artistic activities

Julian Lennon, 2018

Julian Lennon's first tour in 1985 was documented in the film Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon by Sam Peckinpah and, after his death, by Martin Lewis. In the concert film Chuck Berry : Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll from 1987 had Julian Lennon a guest appearance. In the John Lennon documentary Imagine: John Lennon from 1988 there are several interview sequences with Julian Lennon. Julian Lennon had a minor supporting role as a barman in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas . In 1996 he played Man himself in Cannes . In the 1996 film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus , which was recorded in 1968, he was briefly seen.

Julian Lennon is the producer of Kim Kindersley's 2006 documentary, Whaledreamers, about an Aboriginal tribe and their special relationship with whales, which also touches on many environmental issues. This film won several awards and was shown at the Cannes Festival . For the film, Lennon re-recorded his song Saltwater , and incorporated Aboriginal and whale chants. Greenpeace has meanwhile made the piece its anthem.

Julian spoke the title character in the animated film David Copperfield . In 1990 he also voiced the main character Toby the Teapot in the animated film The Real Story of I'm a Little Teapot .

After photographing his half-brother Sean Lennon's tour in 2007 , Julian Lennon also became interested in photography. From 2010, exhibitions of his photographic work followed. On September 17, 2010 he opened his exhibition of 35 photographs under the title “Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon”. His exhibition “Horizons” was shown in the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery in New York from March 12 to May 2, 2015. His exhibition "Cycle" has been running since 2016 and made a guest appearance in Frankfurt am Main in 2018 .

After his father's death, Julian Lennon began collecting Beatles memorabilia , his collection being documented in the book Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection published in 2010 . In 2006 he had already written the foreword to his mother Cynthia Lennon's book John .

In April 2017 Julian Lennon published the children's book Touch the Earth with Bart Davis and Smiljana Coh . The second book, Heal the Earth, followed in April 2018 . A third book is planned for 2019, as well as an animation series for his books.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

• 1984 Valotte
• 1986 The Secret Value of Daydreaming
• 1989 Mr. Jordan
• 1991: Help Yourself
• 1998: Photographer Smile
• 2011: Everything Changes (2013 with two additional songs and as an acoustic version, 2015 as an instrumental version)

compilation

• 2001: VH1 Behind the Music: The Julian Lennon Collection (released in US only)

Singles

• 1984, September: Too Late for Goodbyes / Big Mama / Well I Don't Know (12 ″, Germany, GB: here also as a picture disc single)
• 1984, October: Valotte / Well I Don't Know (USA)
• 1984, December: Too Late for Goodbyes / Let Me Be (USA)
• 1984, December: Too Late for Goodbyes (Extended) / Too Late for Goodbyes / Well I Don't Know (12 ″, USA)
• 1984, December: Valotte / Let Me Be (Germany, GB: here also as a picture disc single)
• 1984, December: Valotte / Let Me Be / Bebop (12 ″, Germany / GB)

• 1985, February: Say You're Wrong / Bebop (GB)
• 1985, February: Say You're Wrong / Bebop / Too Late for Goodbyes (Extended) (12 ″, Germany)
• 1985, April: Say You're Wrong / Big Mama (USA)
• 1985, July: Jesse / Bebop (USA)
• 1985, September: Too Late for Goodbyes / Well I Don't Know (Germany / GB)
• 1985, November: Because / Because (Instrumental) (GB)

• 1986, March: Stick Around / Always Think Twice
• 1986, March: Stick Around (Extended) / Stick Around (Single Mix) / Always Think Twice (12 ”)
• 1986, April: Want Your Body / Everyday (USA)
• 1986, May: Time Will Teach Us All / Time Will Teach Us All (Instrumental)
• 1986, May: Time Will Teach Us All (Extended) / Time Will Teach Us All / Time Will Teach Us All (Instrumental) (12 ”)
• 1986, May: This Is My Day / Everyday
• 1986 May: This Is My Day (Extended) / This Is My Day (Album Version) / Everyday (12 ″)
• 1986, November: Midnight Smoke / The Vanishing (GB)
• 1986, November: Midnight Smoke (Full Version) / The Vanishing (Full Version) (12 ″, GB)

• 1989, February: Now You're in Heaven / Second Time
• 1989, February: Now You're in Heaven (Extended) / Now You're in Heaven / Second Time (12 ″)
• 1989, February: Now You're in Heaven (US-Remix) / Now You're in Heaven (7 ″ Mix) / Now You're in Heaven (Dub Mix) / Second Time (12 ″) (USA)
• 1989, February: Now You're in Heaven (7 ″ Mix) / Too Late for Goodbyes (Extended) / Now You're in Heaven (Orbit Mix) (CD)
• 1989, June: You're the One / Sunday Morning
• 1989, June: You're the One / Sunday Morning / Stand By Me (Live) (12 ″ -CD, GB)

• 1991, August: Saltwater / Rebel King (Edit)
• 1991, August: Saltwater / Rebel King (Edit) / Creo Que Voy A LLorar (Saltwater) / Mother Mary (12 ″ -CD)
• 1991, November: Help Yourself (Edit) / Take Me Home
• 1991, November: Help Yourself (Edit) / Take Me Home / Angilette (CD)
• 1991, November: Help Yourself (Edit) / Take Me Home / Angilette / Saltwater (live at the Steve Wright Show) (CD)
• 1991, November: Help Yourself (Remix Edit) / Help Yourself (Remix) (CD)
• 1991, November: Get a Life (Radio Mix) / Get a Life (Bungee Mix)

• 1992, April: Get a Life (Radio Mix) / Get a Life (Bungee Mix) / Get a Life (Album Version) / Ruby Tuesday (CD, GB)
• 1992, April: Get a Life (Radio Mix) / Get a Life (Bungee Mix) / Saltwater / Ruby Tuesday (CD, GB)

• 1998, May: Day After Day / Don't Let Me Down (not the Beatles song) / Good to Be Lonely (CD)
• 1998, August: I Don't Wanna Know / Kiss Beyond the Catcher / Day After Day (Video) (CD)
• 1998, August: I Don't Wanna know / I Need you / I Don't Wanna Know (Original Version) / I Don't Wanna Know (Video) (CD)

• 2009, December: Lucy (Studio Version) / Sober / Lucy (Acoustic Version) / Beautiful (Julian Lennon and James Scott Cook)

• 2011, October: Lookin '4 Luv (download single)

• 2012, April: Guess It Was Me (2012 Remix) (download single)

• 2013, April: Someday (download single)

• December 2016: Saltwater 25 (download single) ; Saltwater 25 / Creo Que Voy A LLorar (7 ″ single pressed on clear vinyl)

• 2017, July: Hold on (Remixed by Tim Ellis) (download single)

Promotion singles

These are advertising singles that (see above) did not appear as regular sales singles.

• 1989: Mother Mary (Edit) / Mother Mary (LP Version) (CD, USA)
• 1989: Angilette / Make It Up To You (LP version) (7 ″) (USA)
• 1991: Rebel King (Edit) / Get A Life (LP Version) / New Physics Rant (CD, USA)
• 1991: Listen (AOR Edit) / Listen (LP Version) (CD, USA)
• 2011: Lookin '4 Luv (CD promotion single, UK - otherwise only released as a download single)
• 2012: Guess It Was Me (2012 Remix) (CD promotion single, UK - otherwise only released as a download single)
• 2013: Someday (CD promotion single, UK - otherwise only released as a download single)

PhD albums

• 1986: A Candid Conversation (Interview album) (USA)
• 1989: Mr. Jordan According To Mr. Lennon (A Candid Conversation) (Interview album) (USA)
• 1999: Lennon… And Proud Of It: A Conversation with Julian Lennon (Interview album)

Other publications

• 1974: John Lennon - Walls and Briges - Ya Ya (Drums)
• 1985: Raf Ravenscroft - Lifeline - Song for a Guy
• 1986: The Hunting of the Snark - Midnight Smoke, The Escapade (Duet), The Vanishing (Duet)
• 1986: Playing for Keeps: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Stand by Me (live)
• 1986: Dave Clark's TIME The Album - Time will Teach Us All, Because, If You only Knew
• 1987: The Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (Soundtrack) - Johnny B. Good (Duet)
• 1987: The Hunting of the Snark - video recording of the concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London;
• 1990: Toy Matinee - Turn It On Salvador, Things she said (Background Vocals)
• 1991: The Smithereens - If You Want the Sun to Shine
• 1993: Children of the World / Children of the World (Instrumental) (CD, Japan)
• 1995: Mr. Holland's Opus - Cole's Song
• 1995: Bald - Bald's - Message of Love - All Alone (Duet)
• 1996: Duos Taratata Vol. 2 - Stand by Me (duet with Tears for Fears)
• 1999: KTCZ Cities Sampler - Good to be Lonely (acoustic version)
• 1999: KGSR Broadcasts Vol 7 - I Don't Wanna Know (acoustic version)
• 1999: No one but you (previously unreleased song played live at a live concert in Germany in 1999)
• 1999: British Rock Symphony - Black Bird (Guitar)
• 2000: Allstate Insurance Commercial - When i'm sixty-four
• 2003: Third World - Ain't Givin 'Up ... - Hold Tight (Duet)
• 2006: Gregory Darling - Shell - New Dream (duet)
• 2006: Matt Backer - Cold War (duet)
• 2009: Billie Rainbird - Catch the Sky - No Great Divide (Lead Vocals)
• 2010: HISSS - Sway (Mann Dole)
• 2010: Healthy Food for Thought - Jules In the Kitchen
• 2011: Shine on! Volume One - Children of the World
• 2011: Tomi Swick - December Sky
• 2011: The Old Gray Whistle Test Live - Stand by me
• 2012: Nick Wood - Hope (feat. Julian Lennon, Tetsuya Komuro, Beyond Tomorrow Students)
• 2012: Matt Backer - Idle Hands - All that You've Wanted (Duet)
• 2012: Aerosmith - Music from Another Dimension! - Luv XXX (duet)
• 2013: Dave Harris & Julian Lennon - Let You Go
• 2013: Tony Mortimer feat. Julian Lennon - Rain in England
• 2013: Absolutely Positively Getting Along - Celebrate You (Reading Poems)
• 2014: Price Of Desire (Soundtrack) - Goodbye
• 2014: Andrew Cole - Do You Think I'm A Joke? ' (Duet)
• 2014: Dave Harris & Julian Lennon - Fallin In Love, Let You Go
• 2014: Brent Bourgeois & Julian Lennon - High Road
• 2014: California Breed - Breathe
• 2014: Meninos Do Morumbi - Summertime
• 2014: Stephen Emmer & Julian Lennon - Sleep for England (X-Mas Version)
• 2014: The Smithereens - Blow Up - Live & Alternative Versions - If You Want the Sun To Shine (Pat Demo With Julian Lennon - Studio)
• 2015: The Dave Harris Project - Fallin 'in Love (feat. Phil Naro & Julian Lennon)
• 2016: Action Moves People United - Saltwater (Reggae Version)
• 2016: Cash Nyc - Lookin 4 Luv (Cash NYC Remix) feat. Julian Lennon & Sandflower
• 2017: Brian Byrne & James Joyce - Sleep Now (feat.Kristina Train & Julian Lennon)
• 2017: U2 - Songs of Experience - Red Flag Day (Backing Vocals)
• 2018: Glass Tiger - 31 - Thin Red Line (feat. Julian Lennon)

Chart placements

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1984	Valotte	DE60 (6 weeks) DE	-	-	UK20th silver (15 weeks)UK	US17 (46 weeks) US
1986	The Secret Value of Daydreaming	-	-	-	UK93 (1 week) UK	US32 (18 weeks) US
1989	Mr. Jordan	-	-	-	-	US87 (15 weeks) US
1991	Help yourself	-	-	-	UK42 (4 weeks) UK	-
1998	Photographer smile	DE94 (1 week) DE	AT40 (3 weeks) AT	-	UK78 (1 week) UK	-
2011	Everything changes	-	-	-	UK106 (1 week) UK	-

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1984	Too Late for Goodbyes Valotte	DE26 (10 weeks) DE	AT22 (6 weeks) AT	CH30 (1 week) CH	UK6 (13 weeks) UK	US5 (17 weeks) US
	Valotte Valotte	-	-	-	UK55 (8 weeks) UK	US9 (19 weeks) US
1985	Say You're Wrong Valotte	-	-	-	UK75 (2 weeks) UK	US21 (12 weeks) US
	Jesse Valotte	-	-	-	-	US54 (6 weeks) US
	Because Time (Cast recording)	-	-	-	UK40 (8 weeks) UK	-	from the musical "Time"
1986	Stick Around The Secret Value of Daydreaming	-	-	-	UK86 (2 weeks) UK	US32 (13 weeks) US
1989	Now You're in Heaven Mr. Jordan	-	-	-	UK59 (4 weeks) UK	US93 (4 weeks) US
1991	Saltwater Help Yourself	DE58 (10 weeks) DE	-	-	UK6 (13 weeks) UK	-
	Help Yourself Help Yourself	DE53 (11 weeks) DE	-	-	UK53 (2 weeks) UK	-
1992	Get a Life Help Yourself	-	-	-	UK56 (3 weeks) UK	-
1998	Day After Day Photographer Smile	-	-	-	UK66 (2 weeks) UK	-
	I Don't Wanna Know Photograph Smile	-	-	-	UK99 (1 week) UK	-

Video albums / films

• 1985: Stand by Me - A Portrait of Julian Lennon (VHS 1985 only)
• 1987: Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock and roll
• 1988: Imagine: John Lennon
• 1995: Leaving Las Vegas (cameo)
• 1996: Cannes Man
• 2006: Whaledreamers (producer)
• 2013: Through The Picture Window (Documentation about the album Everything Changes with additional music videos)

literature

• Patrick Heidmann: My father's name still has an effect. In: Berliner Zeitung . January 12, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2017 (Julian Lennon on his film Whale Dreamers , new songs, and his family). 

Web links

• Official website of Julian Lennon
• Julian Lennon's MySpace profile with new songs and blog
• Biography of Julian Lennon ( Memento from November 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• Julian Lennon's YouTube channel
• Musical collaboration between Julian Lennon and other artists

Individual evidence

1. ↑ May Pang, Loving John , Warner, 1983, ISBN 978-0-446-37916-8
2. ↑ Keith Badman: The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-UP 1970-2001 , ISBN 0-7119-8307-0 , p. 230
3. ↑ Relationship with John Lennon from the perspective of Julian Lennon-2000
4. ↑ Relationship with John Lennon from the perspective of Julian Lennon - 2010
5. ↑ Children's drawing that inspired Lucy in the Sky…
6. ↑ Commercial success of the Valotte album and tour
7. ↑ Album The Secret Value of Daydreaming and Tour
8. ↑ Mr. Jordan album and tour
9. ↑ Help Yourself album
10. ↑ “I didn't want to leave the last couple of albums as my legacy in the music industry. It's just not good enough. I wanted to do an album I was wholly proud of, one that I had total control over. " Daniel Durchholz: The Other Son. In: Rolling Stone . February 24, 1999, archived from the original on May 9, 2006 ; accessed on May 10, 2017 . 
11. ↑ North America Club Tour 1999
12. ↑ Someday with Steven Tyler
13. ↑ Saltwater 25
14. ↑ Whaledreamers Official Website
15. ^ Whaledreamers (2006) Full Cast & Crew on the IMDb
16. ↑ Whaledreamers Review ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: At The Movies  
17. ↑ My father's name continues to work . In: Berliner Zeitung , January 12, 2008; Julian Lennon in an interview with Patrick Heidmann
18. ^ Photo works by Julian Lennon
19. ^ Children's book Touch the Earth
20. ↑ Album: A Candid Conversation
21. ↑ Album: Mr. Jordan According To Mr. Lennon (A Candid Conversation)
22. ↑ Album: Lennon… And Proud Of It: A Conversation with Julian Lennon
23. ↑ ^{a b} chart sources:
    • Julian Lennon in the German charts on OfficialCharts.de
    • Julian Lennon in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at
    • Julian Lennon in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
    • Julian Lennon in the Official UK Charts (English)
    • Julian Lennon on Billboard 's US charts
24. ↑ Awards:
    • Certified Awards of BPI (search)