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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZLENNON, Julian(b John Charles Julian Lennon, 8 April 1963, Liverpool) Son of Beatle John, the first Beatle progeny but the second to play professionally (after Zak Starkey), born three weeks after 'Please Please Me' became no. 1 in UK, touching off Beatlemania. When he was 4 years old he came home from school with a drawing of his friend Lucy O'Donnell which he said was 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds.' He was raised by his mother Cynthia away from the media spotlight after John left her for Yoko Ono. He signed with Charisma '83, issued Valotte '84 (on Atlantic in USA): named after the French studio where it was made, it was light pop/rock with session musicians, Julian on keyboards and guitar, showing remarkable vocal similarity to his father. Critics looked unfairly for similar depth of songwriting in a beginner, and the album did better in USA (top 20) than UK, including the catchy hit 'Too Late For Goodbyes' (harmonica solo by Toots Thielemans). The Secret Value Of Daydreaming '86 (produced like the first by Phil Ramone) was similarly unprepossessing. He inevitably revived rumours of Beatles reunion by providing a lookalike/soundalike substitute for John; unlike Paul McCartney's brother (late of Scaffold), who changed his name to Mike McGear to escape similar comparisons, Julian seemed prepared to live with it. His relations with Ono made headlines, but his music did not become more challenging: Mr Jordan '89 continued slipping down the charts; Help Yourself '91 did not make the top 200. He also sang on the original cast album of the London show Time '86. He made his peace with Ono, winning a £20m share of the estate, and was collecting mementos of his father. His new album Photograph Smile '98 faced stiff competition from his half-brother Sean's astonishingly assured debut Into The Sun. |