Julian Lennon: The Everywhere Man

Oct 16 2024

Musician, photographer, filmmaker, philanthropist and author Julian Lennon has forged his own path in the creative world while preserving the legacy of his late father, John Lennon.

As a creator in any art medium, it’s tough enough to make your way in the world and achieve success in your chosen discipline without having to overcome forces beyond your control. Imagine, then, achieving that success when your father just happened to be one of the most famous artists of the 20th century.

Julian Lennon is the son of John Lennon. As a young child growing up in that bubble, he was also surrounded by his “Uncle Ringo,” “Uncle Paul” and “Uncle George” — together they were the four most famous humans on the planet during the 1960s. Julian Lennon’s life story of emerging from that unimaginable spotlight to achieve his own worldwide fame in many different disciplines is one of determination, perseverance and dogged independence.

Now 61 and busier than ever, Lennon is a creative force in the world of the arts. He is a singer-songwriter and musician, photographer, documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, author of children’s books and a producer of an animated television series in which he brings his enchanting children’s tales to life. His guiding principle in balancing these many initiatives is to be true to himself.

“I am fully independent now, and with the majority of the things that I do, I try to follow my instincts in letting the work be organic,” says Lennon in a recent interview with Dolce Magazine. “In photography, I do landscapes and guerilla-style streetscapes and hope it’s good when I get back to the studio. They say as an artist you never really finish a painting or a song. I think that’s 99.9 per cent true, but you can learn to sign yourself off at some stage. Otherwise, you’ll just be stuck where you are forever. At some point you have to say ‘That’s what it is — I love it, and I hope everyone else does, too’.”

As a creative artist saddled with the last name “Lennon,” you’re not going to slip past anyone’s radar. It is even more difficult when you have been identified as the inspiration behind two of the Beatles’ biggest songs, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Hey Jude.” When Julian was four years old, he’d brought home a painting he had done that day at school. When his father asked him what it was, Julian had replied, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

When his parents, John and Cynthia, divorced when he was just five years old, Paul McCartney drove out to the Lennon country home to console their young son and came up with the song “Hey Jules” en route (“Jules” is what many people have always called him, and still, to this day). McCartney changed it to “Jude” because it was easier to sing. (When you’re Paul McCartney, you can compose “Hey Jude” while driving.)

Lennon began his musical career in 1984 with the release of the critically acclaimed album Valotte, best known for its worldwide hit lead single, “Too Late for Goodbyes,” and he has since released six more albums with plans to re-release some of this popular music this fall.

“With The Word ‘respect’ Also Comes Love. Respect And Love Are Two Of The Foundations Of Happiness.”

He has already been staging exhibition of his photography this year in San Francisco. Most recently, he showcased his exhibit “Whispers – A Julian Lennon Retrospective” at Marsilio Arte in Venice (August 28 to November 24th, 2024). To complement these exhibits, Lennon is planning to publish a coffee-table book filled with photographs from his extensive international travels for his philanthropic work on behalf of his White Feather Foundation, founded in 2007 to address environment and humanitarian issues.

As he has stated in earlier interviews for his foundation, the rather poignant name comes from a conversation he once had with his father. “Dad once said to me that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be OK—that we were all going to be OK— the message would come to me in the form of a white feather. So the white feather has always represented peace to me,” he recalled.

His travels for his foundation have taken him to exotic places to meet with extraordinary people, and he always immerses himself in the local cultures and customs. These experiences have allowed Lennon to offer some rather pointed advice for foreign travellers.

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“The easiest thing I can say is to shut up and listen,” says Lennon. “Just be respectful of the situation and position you are in. You are not in your own back garden, so respect where you are going, respect the people or tribes that you’re seeing, and listen to them and respect nature as well. Don’t bring your opinions on how they should live — observe their lives and listen to their lives, that’s how we all learn. You don’t have to agree with everything, but respect them — and with the word ‘respect’ also comes love. Respect and love are two of the foundations of happiness. Absorb and understand other cultures from around the world. It’s about them, it’s about the situation I’m finding myself in. Just take it all in. At the end of the day, what we all want is peace in our lives.”

Julian Lennon has been, and still is, an inspiration for any creative artist making their own way in the world, while emerging from perhaps the biggest artistic shadow that ever existed. Musician, photographer, filmmaker, author and philanthropist, he is a special everyman poised on the unbridled horizons of creativity with a bright, vibrant and engaging future ahead.

INTERVIEW BY MARC CASTALDO

julianlennon.com
@julespicturepalace

Julian Lennon: The Everywhere Man

Musician, photographer, filmmaker, philanthropist and author Julian Lennon has forged his own path in the creative world while preserving the legacy of his late father, John Lennon.

As a creator in any art medium, it’s tough enough to make your way in the world and achieve success in your chosen discipline without having to overcome forces beyond your control. Imagine, then, achieving that success when your father just happened to be one of the most famous artists of the 20th century.

Julian Lennon is the son of John Lennon. As a young child growing up in that bubble, he was also surrounded by his “Uncle Ringo,” “Uncle Paul” and “Uncle George” — together they were the four most famous humans on the planet during the 1960s. Julian Lennon’s life story of emerging from that unimaginable spotlight to achieve his own worldwide fame in many different disciplines is one of determination, perseverance and dogged independence.

Now 61 and busier than ever, Lennon is a creative force in the world of the arts. He is a singer-songwriter and musician, photographer, documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, author of children’s books and a producer of an animated television series in which he brings his enchanting children’s tales to life. His guiding principle in balancing these many initiatives is to be true to himself.

“I am fully independent now, and with the majority of the things that I do, I try to follow my instincts in letting the work be organic,” says Lennon in a recent interview with Dolce Magazine. “In photography, I do landscapes and guerilla-style streetscapes and hope it’s good when I get back to the studio. They say as an artist you never really finish a painting or a song. I think that’s 99.9 per cent true, but you can learn to sign yourself off at some stage. Otherwise, you’ll just be stuck where you are forever. At some point you have to say ‘That’s what it is — I love it, and I hope everyone else does, too’.”

As a creative artist saddled with the last name “Lennon,” you’re not going to slip past anyone’s radar. It is even more difficult when you have been identified as the inspiration behind two of the Beatles’ biggest songs, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Hey Jude.” When Julian was four years old, he’d brought home a painting he had done that day at school. When his father asked him what it was, Julian had replied, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

When his parents, John and Cynthia, divorced when he was just five years old, Paul McCartney drove out to the Lennon country home to console their young son and came up with the song “Hey Jules” en route (“Jules” is what many people have always called him, and still, to this day). McCartney changed it to “Jude” because it was easier to sing. (When you’re Paul McCartney, you can compose “Hey Jude” while driving.)

Lennon began his musical career in 1984 with the release of the critically acclaimed album Valotte, best known for its worldwide hit lead single, “Too Late for Goodbyes,” and he has since released six more albums with plans to re-release some of this popular music this fall.

“With The Word ‘respect’ Also Comes Love. Respect And Love Are Two Of The Foundations Of Happiness.”

He has already been staging exhibition of his photography this year in San Francisco. Most recently, he showcased his exhibit “Whispers – A Julian Lennon Retrospective” at Marsilio Arte in Venice (August 28 to November 24th, 2024). To complement these exhibits, Lennon is planning to publish a coffee-table book filled with photographs from his extensive international travels for his philanthropic work on behalf of his White Feather Foundation, founded in 2007 to address environment and humanitarian issues.

As he has stated in earlier interviews for his foundation, the rather poignant name comes from a conversation he once had with his father. “Dad once said to me that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be OK—that we were all going to be OK— the message would come to me in the form of a white feather. So the white feather has always represented peace to me,” he recalled.

His travels for his foundation have taken him to exotic places to meet with extraordinary people, and he always immerses himself in the local cultures and customs. These experiences have allowed Lennon to offer some rather pointed advice for foreign travellers.

Article Continued Below ADVERTISEMENT


SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

“The easiest thing I can say is to shut up and listen,” says Lennon. “Just be respectful of the situation and position you are in. You are not in your own back garden, so respect where you are going, respect the people or tribes that you’re seeing, and listen to them and respect nature as well. Don’t bring your opinions on how they should live — observe their lives and listen to their lives, that’s how we all learn. You don’t have to agree with everything, but respect them — and with the word ‘respect’ also comes love. Respect and love are two of the foundations of happiness. Absorb and understand other cultures from around the world. It’s about them, it’s about the situation I’m finding myself in. Just take it all in. At the end of the day, what we all want is peace in our lives.”

Julian Lennon has been, and still is, an inspiration for any creative artist making their own way in the world, while emerging from perhaps the biggest artistic shadow that ever existed. Musician, photographer, filmmaker, author and philanthropist, he is a special everyman poised on the unbridled horizons of creativity with a bright, vibrant and engaging future ahead.

INTERVIEW BY MARC CASTALDO

julianlennon.com
@julespicturepalace

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