Julian Lennon comes to terms with family legacy with 'Jude' album, 'Imagine' cover
Julian Lennon comes to terms with family legacy with 'Jude' album and 'Imagine' cover. Lennon tells Yahoo Entertainment that he was "Breaking through any fear and anxiety" that he used to have.
Video Transcript
LYNDSEY PARKER: Well, I'm happy to see you. There's a lot to catch up on because you tend to take a lot of time between albums-- 11 years, 13 years. I think it's been-- This is the first album, "Jude," that's about to come out in 11 years.
JULIAN LENNON: I honestly thought the last album was going to be my last album. I'd kind of had enough of the business. In all honesty, I don't stop doing music, whether you see it publicly or not. That's not the thing, but it's just that it's-- As far as an album album is concerned, there's a lot of heft and a lot of weight and a lot of emotion that goes into that because I don't feel like the usual kind of pop artist. I consider myself a serious songsmith. And for me songs take time and especially if you want to have the right lyrics, the right melodies, the right mood, the right emotions, and the right connection with people.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Well, speaking of emotion and heft and connection and all that, I'm going to ask the obvious. I mentioned that this album that's been more than a decade in the awaiting is called "Jude." What's the significance of naming an album after that song at this point in your life and career?
JULIAN LENNON: For me, "Jude" was all about the coming of age in many respects because it was hearkening back to some of the comments and lyrics in "Hey Jude." It only really sort of meant something to me much later in life when I was listening to what he had written. What he was hoping for me is to take the weight off my shoulders, the world off my shoulders, and to find love and to be happy in life. And so I very much took all of those moments on board, all of those comments. So that's why it's so relevant.
And recently in 2020 I decided also that I was going to change my name because originally my name was John Lennon-- John Charles Julian Lennon. Anyway, I decided that in 2020 after going through another learning process in life that I wanted to become Julian. I was sick and tired of being someone else's John. And so by deed poll, I changed my name to Julian-- Julian Charles John Lennon. And that was all related to Jude and Jules, which is my nickname on a daily basis. So it just made sense to me-- And also with what was going on with the Beatles and "Get Back" and my feelings about that, too. So it was all intermingled.
LYNDSEY PARKER: I was going to ask you about that. So since you brought up how your father was portrayed, how the band in general and their dynamic was portrayed, how the marriage with Yoko was portrayed, I'm very eager to hear all your thoughts. I watched "Get Back," all eight hours of it at least twice.
JULIAN LENNON: It's a lot to process, but there's parts that Sean and I had never seen before. But for me, it was really-- It really reminded me of the way Dad used to be when we were together when I was a kid. You know, he was funny, goofy, sarcastic, talented, moody, broody, but fun, goofy-- The list goes on. And that was all the things that he was to me when we lived together. And it made me fall in love with him again, which was really lovely. It made me appreciate him again and reminded me of how he was before everything went a bit pear-shaped, you know?
I'd already kind of forgiven him many years ago for all the stress that happened not only in my life but mom's life, too. Certainly we tried to embrace each other's company and tried to learn about each other again before he passed, and it was an enjoyable experience. You know? It was great. And I was longing to hang out with him even more. But sadly, what happened happened. And what are you going to do, you know?
So this was just a way of remembering who he was and seeing the human side of him again. And that inspired me, and I love that. And it just gave me a different take on him again, as an adult, seeing that. And I walked away from it loving it, so that tied in to also the idea of the album being "Jude" as well. So it was coming from a lot of angles, and it just felt like the right title and the right thing. And owning it, that was a different thing-- is being Julian, being Jules, being Jude, who I am.
So that for me, it's about also breaking through any fear and anxiety that I used to have about the Beatles, about dad, about everything.
LYNDSEY PARKER: And then the other kind of full circle thing I want to talk about is that you recently covered "Imagine," which for the Global Citizen Stand Up for Ukraine Social Media Rally, and I never thought I'd see the day.
JULIAN LENNON: Yeah, well, you know, I never thought I'd sing it either.
(SINGING) Imagine all the people living for today.
| had no idea what kind of reaction I was going to get. I really didn't-- I didn't know if I was-- people were going to come down on me or not. But I have to say I've had more respect from doing that than I've ever done anything else in my life. People, the way they talk to me, the way they look at me, and the way they treat me now is completely different than before I did "Imagine," which I was surprised about.
| think what has happened because of "Imagine," though, is people have been directed to not only the work that's coming up, "Jude," but earlier works as well that just didn't know about earlier work before, because I still get comments, especially from people in America, that haven't known that I've had five albums in between "Valotte" and now. It's like really?
LYNDSEY PARKER: Tell me about why, especially for this worthy cause, why it felt like the right time to play one of your father's most iconic songs.
JULIAN LENNON: It's just like OK I know what I've got to do. How to do it once saying yes was the difficult thing. It has to be honest. It has to be real. It has to be from the heart. It can't be a polished version. It was about keeping it raw on every level. And I heard it back, and I was tearful. And it felt like my own. You know? So I believed in it. And I just said, OK, let's put it out.
The weirdest thing is it's been the biggest weight off my shoulder because I guess I'd always felt that it might come along one day, the idea of me having to do that, but it felt like the right time. It felt like with everything else that's been going on around the world, it felt like it was getting close to the end of the world. And I thought this is a time and the place to do this.
LYNDSEY PARKER: I think about your father's generation. I think about the '60s and the protests against war, songs about peace. I feel like that never happened, looking at where we are in the world today.
JULIAN LENNON: It shocks me every day, you know? I ask this question every day. We've been around for thousands of years, and we're still doing the same BS. I just can't get over this. I'm not a politician, nor would I ever want to be, but I certainly can do my best as a creative to do what I can in all the mediums that I work in, which is what I've done, whether it's the children's books, whether it's the documentaries, whether it's the photography, or whether it's the White Feather Foundation. I've been doing my bit, that's for sure, and will keep doing it with fingers crossed that someday something's going to change.
It's not about shoving things down people's throats. It's about starting those conversations in the hopes that there will be change to come.
LYNDSEY PARKER: Have you ever thought about what your father would think of the world today?
JULIAN LENNON: I think he'd be as pissed off as I am, really. I think we'd be in the same boat on this one.
LYNDSEY PARKER: This album is coming out in early September, September 9th, I believe.
JULIAN LENNON: Ninth on the DSPs. Vinyl, 10th, which is Mum's birthday. It's kind of special, and it's significant for me in that respect. I mean calling it "Jude" for a starter, we were both there then.
LYNDSEY PARKER: What do you think she'd think of this record?
LYNDSEY PARKER: I think she loved it. That's what I would think she would think. In fact, I can say that she loves it, so you know? I don't see any other signs that would suggest anything otherwise so--
