Julian Lennon
| Julian Lennon | |
|---|---|
 Paul McCartney (left) and Julian Lennon in 2006 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Charles Julian Lennon |
| Also known as | Jules |
| Born |
8 April 1963 Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, writer, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, bass, piano, drums, harmonica |
| Years active | 1984-present |
| Labels | Atlantic, Music From Another Room, Charisma, Virgin |
| Website | julianlennon.com |
John Charles Julian Lennon (born 8 April 1963) is an English musician and songwriter, and the first son of John Lennon. He is the only child of Lennon's first marriage to Cynthia Powell, and his godfather was Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. He was named after John Lennon's late mother, Julia.[1][2]
Contents |
Early childhood
Julian Lennon was born in Liverpool. Initially, John Lennon concealed the fact that he was married and had a child, in keeping with the conventional wisdom of the era that female teenage fans would not be as enamoured of married male pop stars. However, when the British media discovered that John Lennon was a married father, it did not affect his popularity with fans.
Julian attended the set of The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour and directly inspired one of his father's most famous songs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", whose lyrics describe a picture Julian drew, a watercolour painting of a girl (a classmate named Lucy O'Donnell[3]) surrounded by stars.
When he was five, Julian's parents divorced after John Lennon's infidelity with Yoko Ono. He once again inspired another Beatles classic. Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" as a way of consoling him over the divorce. Originally called "Hey Jules", McCartney changed the name because he thought "Jude" was an easier name to sing.[4]
He had almost no contact with his father after the divorce, until the early 1970s, at the instigation of John Lennon's then girlfriend May Pang. Julian began to see his father more regularly. John bought Julian a Gibson Les Paul guitar and a drum machine for Christmas in 1973, and encouraged Julian's interest in music by showing him some chords.[5][6]
Julian made his musical debut at age 11 on his father's album Walls and Bridges playing drums on "Ya-Ya." His reaction was, "Dad, had I known you were going to put it on the album, I would've played much better!"[7]
Following his father's murder, Julian 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."[8]
He was not included in the will drawn up by Yoko Ono, and was annoyed that he had to buy mementos of his father at auctions. A settlement was eventually reached wherein Julian was given "a large but undisclosed sum".[9] 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.”[10]
He has been quoted as having a "cordial" relationship with Ono while getting along very well with her son, his half-brother Sean, even spending time together on Sean's tour in 2007.[11]
Musical career
Julian Lennon has had an inconsistent career as a musical artist. He enjoyed immediate success with his debut 1984 album Valotte. The album was produced by Phil Ramone, who also produced albums for Billy Joel. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1985, and produced 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 up backstage at the New York studios of the TV show Friday Night Videos.
His second album, 1986's The Secret Value of Daydreaming was panned by critics, but reached number 32 on the Billboard Magazine's album chart, and produced the single "Stick Around", which was his first #1 single on the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart. He recorded the song "Because", which was made famous by The Dave Clark Five, in the UK for Clark's 1986 musical, Time (the single is out of print). Lennon never reached the same level of success in the U.S. post-Valotte, but he hit number five in Australia with the 1989 single "Now You're In Heaven", which also gave him his second #1 hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart in the USA.
In 1991, George Harrison played on Lennon's album Help Yourself but was not directly credited. A song off the album, "Saltwater", reached number six 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. After 1991, 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 that 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 2002, Julian 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.
He has also ventured into Internet businesses, including MyStore.com with Bebo founder Michael Birch.
Upon hearing of the death of his childhood friend Lucy Vodden, he released a tribute song, "Lucy", a duet with one of his company Revolution's new artists, James Scott Cook with 50% of the proceeds going to fund Lupus research. The track can be purchased at www.therevolution.com.[12][13]
His sixth album, Everything Changes, is complete and will be released in early 2011.
Film
Lennon's first-ever tour in the spring of 1985 was documented as part of the film Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon — a film profile started by Sam Peckinpah, but directed by Martin Lewis after Peckinpah's death.
Lennon has been seen in several 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 had a cameo in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) as a bartender. Julian provided the voice for the title role in the animated film David Copperfield (1993) and was also the voice of 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[14] 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[15] and was shown at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Sale of father's work
In 2007 Julian sold off a "significant" stake of his share in his father's catalogue of work,[16] in exchange for an undisclosed sum, and the agreement that the purchasing company, Primary Wave, would market and promote Julian's new material. The stake entitles Primary Wave to a portion of all royalties on the catalogue.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [17] |
UK [18][19] |
AUS [20] |
NZ [21] |
GER [22] |
SWE [23] |
JAP | |||
| 1984 | Valotte | 17 | 20 | * | 15 | * | 15 | – | Platinum (US) |
| 1986 | The Secret Value of Daydreaming | 32 | 93 | * | – | * | 25 | – | Gold (US) |
| 1989 | Mr. Jordan | 87 | – | 18 | – | * | – | – | |
| 1991 | Help Yourself | – | 42 | 5 | – | * | – | – | |
| 1998 | Photograph Smile | – | 78 | 28 | – | 94 | – | 70 | |
| 1999 | Lennon... and Proud of It - A Conversation with Julian Lennon | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2001 | VH-1 - Behind the Music - The Julian Lennon Collection | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2011 | Everything Changes | TBA[24] | |||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 [25] |
US Adult Contemporary [25] |
US Mainstream Rock [25] |
US Modern Rock [25] |
UK [18][19] |
AUS [20] |
NZ [21] |
GER [22] |
SWE [23] |
|||
| 1984 | "Valotte" | Valotte | 9 | 4 | 2 | – | 55 | 75 | 10 | – | – |
| 1985 | "Too Late For Goodbyes" | 5 | 1 | 11 | – | 6 | 13 | 24 | 26 | 17 | |
| "Say You're Wrong" | 21 | 6 | 3 | – | 75 | 31 | – | – | – | ||
| "Jesse" | 54 | – | 24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Because" | Dave Clark's Time Soundtrack | – | – | – | – | 40 | 66 | – | – | – | |
| 1986 | "Stick Around" | The Secret Value Of Daydreaming | 32 | – | 1 | – | 86 | 79 | – | – | – |
| "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" | Mr. Jordan | 93 | – | 1 | 27 | 59 | 5 | – | – | – |
| "You're The One" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Mother Mary" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1991 | "Saltwater" | Help Yourself | – | – | – | – | 6 | 1 | – | 58 | – |
| "Help Yourself" | – | – | – | – | 53 | 30 | – | 53 | – | ||
| "Rebel King" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Listen" | – | – | 31 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 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" | Photograph Smile | – | – | – | – | 66 | – | – | – | – | |
| "I Don't Wanna Know" | – | – | – | – | 125 | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Photograph Smile" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2009 | "Lucy" (with James Scott Cook) | non-album single | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Other releases
- Dave Clark's Time: Original Soundtrack (1986)
- Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark (1986)
Films
- Producer
- WhaleDreamers (2008)
References
- ↑ "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds LSD". snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/music/hidden/lucysky.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ↑ "VH1 Behind the Music: The Julian Lennon Collection: Julian Lennon: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/VH1-Behind-Music-Julian-Collection/dp/B00005N83A. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ↑ "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds: woman who inspired Beatles song dies". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2009-09-28. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6239311/Lucy-In-The-Sky-With-Diamonds-woman-who-inspired-Beatles-song-dies.html. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ↑ Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 465. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ↑ "Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection". Lennon.net. http://www.lennon.net/memorabilia/blackguitar.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
- ↑ Lennon (2006) p345
- ↑ Pang, Loving John, Warner, 1983
- ↑ "Scotsman.com News". News.scotsman.com. 2009-01-13. http://news.scotsman.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=2328156. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ↑ Imagine, 1988, Warner
- ↑ Brooks, Richard (2009-06-13). "Julian Lennon gives family peace a chance". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6492509.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ↑ Hoyle, Ben (2009-09-29). "Reallife Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds dies at 46". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/beatles/article6852494.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/julian-lennon-honors-lucy-in-the-sky-63938332.html
- ↑ Lucy Songfacts
- ↑ http://www.whaledreamers.com/
- ↑ "Whaledreamers News". Whaledreamers.com. http://www.whaledreamers.com/news.php. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ↑ "Lennon's son sells Beatles stake". BBC News. 2007-04-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6553113.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ↑ "Artist Chart History (albums) - Julian Lennon". Allmusic. http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jifrxqe5ldde~T50. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Chart Stats - Julian Lennon". ChartStats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=4201. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L. - LZ Love". zobbel.de. http://zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_L.HTM. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "australian-charts.com - Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Julian+Lennon. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "charts.org.nz - Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Julian+Lennon. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Musicline.de - Chartverfolgung - Julian Lennon". Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/LENNON%2CJULIAN/single?sort=entry. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "swedishcharts.com - Discography Julian Lennon". Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Julian+Lennon. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
- ↑ Julian's MySpace profile
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Artist Chart History (singles) - Julian Lennon". Allmusic. http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jifrxqe5ldde~T51. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
External links
- The watercolour painting that inspired Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
- Julian's official website
- Julian's official webstore
- Julian Lennon at the Internet Movie Database
- Rare 1999 interview with Retro Rewind
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