British song writer, musician, singer and noted family, the son of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia. With an uncanny resemblance to his father, Julian has spent some years trying to get out from under his father’s musical shadow. Hidden in the background with his mother while his father became an international pop star with “The Beatles,” the young boy felt abandoned and rejected. He later said that he learned from his dad how not to be a father, speaking of all the pain he suffered from his father’s neglect when he was a child. In an interview, he talked about Paul McCartney’s kindness in visiting and playing games with him in the backyard when he was a kid while his dad remained absent with Yoko Ono. At one point, he said that McCartney felt more like a caring father than his own dad. McCartney wrote the song “Hey Jude” to Julian to help the kid cope with his parents marital break-up.
Julian grew up in Liverpool, Wales and London. His father exposed the tot to an odd assortment of musician friends and hanger-ons when he returned from the recording studio. Lennon missed his father terribly when “The Beatles” went on concert dates. At five, Lennon gave his son a drum set, the same year that his parents divorced. Julian visited his father on alternate weekends. At 11, he owned his first guitar.
Once John Lennon left to live in New York with his wife Yoko Ono, visitations to his son became sporadic. When Julian visited his father in America the two found common ground in playing music together. Father and son became closer after Julian showed his father his songwriting abilities.
Hearing the news from his mother about his father’s murder on 12/08/1980, Lennon was inconsolable. He wanted to hit and smash everything in his home. Visiting his stepmother and half-brother in New York, Lennon was overwhelmed by the outpouring of sentiments from the crowd keeping vigil outside the Dakota apartment building.
Dropping out of school and living with friends in London, Julian took up work as a waiter and appeared occasionally in the British tabloids as a rowdy social party-goer. His love for music remained strong as he sent demo tapes to record companies. Several companies turned him down in fear of exploiting the loss of John Lennon. He signed with a small British label, Charisma, in 1983. That same year, Atlantic Records picked up his contract and signed him to his first album to be produced by legendary star-maker, Phil Spector.
After his dad’s death, Lennon established his own rock and roll career. His first album and hit song, “Valotte” made the pop charts in 1984, going platinum, and his two top-10 hits received good reviews from rock critics. He played his first concert dates in 1985. Unfortunately, his second album, “The Secret Value of Daydreaming,” 1986, was a commercial and artistic setback, causing many in the music industry to question Julian’s talents and musical abilities. In 1989, his third album, “Mr. Jordan” and concert tours left the singer vulnerable to mixed reviews, comparing his artistry to his father’s work. His record company began to have doubts about his commercial success and Julian tried to separate himself from his father’s musical legacy. Paul McCartney advised Julian to move on to his own style.
Lennon has had a few relationships, but prefers to spend his time working on his music. He lives in New York and Los Angeles and visits his mom in England. He drives a 1957 green Austin-Healey Sprite. At 26, he shared a $250,000 trust fund with his half-brother Sean, which is separate from John Lennon’s estate. Though he dearly loves his half-brother, Sean, his relationship to his step-mother remains prickly. Yoko Ono owns the whole John Lennon estate and Julian believes his step-mother sees him as someone only concerned with getting his hands on his late father’s estate. He is concerned that John’s family are taken care of in Liverpool.
In 1999, his first album in seven years was released, “Photograph Smile,” dedicated to the man who raised and nurtured him, his late step-dad Roberto Bassanini.
Link to Wikipedia biography