JULIAN LENNON: CREATING HIS OWN MUSICAL LEGACY
Yes, Julian Lennon was the inspiration for the Beatles songs “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Hey Jude” and “Good Night.” But, with integrity, sincerity and talent, the singer-songwriter has carved out his own place in rock history. His platinum debut, 1984’s “Valotte,” entranced the world. We spoke with Lennon upon the release of 1989’s “Mr. Jordan.” That was the follow-up to 1986’s “The Secret Value of Daydreaming.” Lennon released “Help Yourself” in 1991 and “Photograph Smile” in 1998. After focusing on his acclaimed photography, Lennon returned with the brilliant 2011 creation, “Everything Changes.” He has used his fame to promote philanthropic organizations, including his own White Feather Foundation. POP CULTURE CLASSICS: Was “Mr. Jordan” a change of direction for you? JULIAN LENNON: It was the first time I’ve had a chance to do what I really wanted to do. I felt to a degree, that when I first came into the business, that I was guided. There was a lot of input from producers and musicians the first time around. As far as the second album goes, I don’t really give a damn about that one, because I felt very pressured on that and I don’t think I had the opportunity to show people what I was capable of. And it was very much a record company business situation where you just hear - “Get an album out!” And I said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” And they said, “You’ve got this much time.” And I said, “You’ve got to be kidding!” Basically, I don’t think the second album represents anything. I mean, there are one or two ideas on there that could have been a lot better. Basically, I don’t like it. Finally, over the last couple of years, I’ve been taking charge of the business side of my career. And finally being the boss, the yes-no man. I oversee absolutely everything, which I didn’t do before. And it’s put me in the position where I can do what I want on an album, basically. And I look at this album as just a step to where I’m going. It’s a beginning for me, a fresh start to actually do what I wanted to do. And it’s just a hint of what the possibilities might be in the future. PCC: Can it also be frightening to have all the responsibility on your shoulders? LENNON: Oh, no, that’s fine by me. I’d rather have it that way than be doing things that I don’t think are right for me and be singing stuff or writing stuff that I don’t particularly care about, which is what happened on the second album. And that’s why I disappeared for so long, was to get away from all of those people that I don’t think were necessarily there to support me, but to take advantage of me. And I felt a lot of decisions that were being made were not being made in my best interest. And finally, learning all about this and discovering that the fame, and not-the-fame [chuckles] on the second album, and all that kind of stuff, really hit home. And it was time to say, if I’m going to be able to do anything about this, and play and write my own stuff, the way that I want it to be played, then I’m going to have to take charge of the business side so that I can push the business back, if I need to spend more time on the music, which is the most important thing. PCC: Do you find in conversation with other musicians that this is a common issue - giving up responsibility to so-called experts, ultimately to one’s own detriment? LENNON: Yes, but there are a lot of smart people out there who are trapped in contract situations, which is what I had been involved in. I was really tied down. And after the second album, I got really upset and angry and frustrated, because I was tied into this situation. And there was nothing I could do about it. And then, finally, I realized that there was a loophole in the contract and said, “Right, I can get out of this bloody thing and get on with it.” And, unfortunately so, most people do go through it. I’m just glad I went through it at an early stage, so I got it over and done with. Should it have happened 10 years down the line, it might have been a different situation altogether. I mean, I lost most of the money I earned from the first two albums, due to all of this. It really was a big deal. PCC: You mean due to all the legal wrangling? LENNON: Yeah, legal wrangling and just being ignorant and naive and not knowing what was going on, really. It was a question of the people I was working with taking advantage of that situation of me not knowing what was going on and using the benefits from it. And again, I believe that most people go through it. And you read and you learn about it and you understand what it’s all about, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. PCC: Do you worry about how much of a departure you can make, musically, in terms of the audience you’ve already built? LENNON: Well, obviously there has to be change, there has to be progression in any line of music, if you’re true to yourself. You can’t say, “This album did so well, because it was written this way, therefore, I should do it again.” I think the audience, if they’re with you, will follow the changes and progressions you go through. Some you may lose. But then again, with the progression and change, you might pick up people that never listened to you before. It’s just a question of getting it played and getting out there and playing myself, which will either make or break it. But whatever happens, I’m still going to out there, plugging away as much as I can. PCC: I had read that you were stepping up the concert appearances, because the initial response to the album commercially was less than overwhelming? LENNON: Well, to a degree. My views and my attitude have changed greatly in terms of the business. I hate to call it a business. But there is so much... I won’t go into detail [laughs]. It really is a drag. It’s difficult out there. It is a lot of politics. And it’s a pain in the ass. And if somebody else ain’t gonna do anything for you, then you’ve got to do something yourself. And the only way I can get across to the audience is by getting out and playing for them, which I don’t have a problem with. I love to get out and play. And I feel that’s the only way I’m going to get across to them, because I still believe that some of the people that I’m working with just aren’t behind me, by any means. And it’s really pissing me off. PCC: So taking the campaign directly to the people is the way to go. LENNON: Exactly! Exactly. I’ll just keep going and keep plugging. And then, when I feel, okay, well, listen, I’ve had enough of this, this album anyway, once I’ve done a round or two out on the road, I’m going to say, “Well, it’s time for me to move on. I want to write something else.” So I don’t know how long we’ll be out there. I really don’t. it’s going to be very week to week, day to day almost. We’ll see how long it goes. I want to be out there as long as I can, but as long as it feels good, you know? I’m not going to be out there, if it doesn’t feel right. So I’ll go until that point and then get back at home and start writing again. PCC: There’s more of an edge to the sound and to your voice, as well, on this album.
Yeah, well very much so. After the past tours, I realized, when I was out there on stage, it felt great. And I wondered why the albums didn’t sound as energetic as that. And this is all the build over the past two or three years of learning what it’s all about. And then finally saying, “Well, why don’t I get in there and put the band that I want together and put the live album down as best I can, with someone to oversee it all?” And Pat Leonard was a guy that I chose to stand there and be my third ear. PCC: Why was Pat Leonard the right guy for the job? The reason I chose Pat was not necessarily because of his work with Madonna, but because I knew he was capable of making something a tad more commercial than it otherwise might be. Because I don‘t like to write commercially by any means. I like to write for myself foremost. That’s what I do at home. I sit and write. Obviously I’ve got to like it. And Pat, when we finally met, I knew his commercial side, but I didn’t what other areas he delved into. And I finally listened to some other outtakes he’d done with Bryan Ferry, because apparently Pat didn’t have the final work on Bryan Ferry’s album, but I heard all the outtake stuff before it was all mixed and all that changed. And it was absolutely great. It was just live, powerful and straight to the point. It wasn’t over-produced . It was just bare and it sounded great. And I just said, “This is what I want to do. What do you think?” He said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” That was it. That’s how simple it was. PCC: Why do you think there’s been such a tendency in recent years to have over-production? All the reliance on technology? LENNON: Not necessarily with slighter older generations, but with the new kids, it’s just new stuff and they just want to try it and do it. And I think they’re tending to forget what music is really all about, which is the song itself and what it means. It’s all become too much what I call “business music,” to a degree, because the majority of it are people and bands and images that have been thrown together by record companies for the only purpose of selling as much as they can, which leaves the people who sit at home writing songs, or bands that work hard on writing real stuff or straight-from-the-heart stuff, it leaves them in the cold. It leaves them in the shadow. They don’t really have that much of a place anymore. But I think things will change. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with the stuff that’s out today. It’s just that there’s a lot of it. And it really is shadowing the rest of the music, as far as I can see. PCC: There does seem to be a movement by some young musicians to return to the feel of the 50s and 60s. LENNON: Well, yeah, hopefully. It’s sort of heading that way, which I think is great, compared to a lot of the stuff that’s out. There’s only so much I can take, I know that for sure. But I think there’s only so much the public can take, listening to the beats that are just there to dance to. I think a lot of it is very shallow out there today. There’s no guts behind it. There’s no real emotion. It really is a technical world out there. But I think, if people are going to progress, they need to take a step back a little bit and look at what they’re doing. PCC: Was the classic Robert Montgomery movie, “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” an inspiration for the album? LENNON: Well, no, basically that was an afterthought. While I was putting the album together, I saw the film and I thought, “That’s a great film.” I loved it. And a friend of mine was working on a sketch of a fallen angel before I’d seen the film. I thought, “How can I involve that sketch in the album?” And after I saw the film and loved it, I thought, “Well, there’s a connection, but how do I tie it in with the album?” And then, when I sat down and looked at the majority of the songs that I had, they all were related to love, life, death, dreams, hopes, beliefs, confusions, etc., etc., which is what most of the film deals with. So there was one definite tie. The other real tie is the fact that Mr. Jordan is the guy in the film, who is a musician, or whose hobby is music, anyway, who gets a second chance to start again and fulfill his dreams which he set out to do in the first place. And that’s the position I find myself in, with this album, having a fresh start, to do exactly what I want to do and fulfill my dreams. PCC: Having taken time off between the second and third albums, did you find that, when you got back into the music, your perspectives had changed at all? LENNON: Well, yeah, a lot of things I thought had changed. I really did spend a lot of time separating myself from the business, from all the people I was working with, and sort of really sat back for a year. I took one big look and went, “Oh, so this is what it’s all about.” I finally decided, if I’m going to do what I want and get on with it, I’ve got to jump headfirst into this and know what I’m talking about. So that’s what I’ve been doing over the last couple of years is changing my perspective and looking into what it’s really all about, instead of being led or guided, like I felt I was over the first two albums, I’m now in a position where I’m hopefully going to be leading. PCC: Was it more difficult in some ways, having had so much success with the debut album, feeling you had to match that the next time? LENNON: Well, again, the thing was, listen, I don’t think I would have had a problem matching it, if I’d had the time to match it. It was the record company and it was their pressure. It was really, “You have this much time.” I came straight off the road after the first album and it was really, ‘Well, this is what you’ve got.’ And again, I said, “It takes time to be creative. I’m not a bloody machine. I’m not one of your images or your bands that you throw together. Music means something to me. It’s my life. It’s not a throwaway.” And so, I felt really let down by the second album, because it wasn’t my fault. It really wasn’t my fault that that happened. And there’s some people out there that like the second album. But that’s okay. I don’t mind. But I really felt let down and upset, because there was nothing I could do and it was all business and if I’d had the time to do what I’d wanted, then, you may have seen something a little more creative or productive in that sense. You may have seen this new album as the second. PCC: How do you assess the advantages and disadvantages of coming onto the scene as the son of a legendary music artist? LENNON: Well, hmm. It’s been interesting, let’s put it that way. I mean, the only way I felt it helped in any way was to introduce me into the eyes of the public. But apart from that, it’s been nothing but a complete and utter nightmare. But I’ve taken the view that, listen, I can get on with my life and my music. The only thing that’s going to change anything is what the critics or the public say. And literally, those people, the critics, are the people that created the pressure of being ‘”the son of.” You know, I didn’t feel any pressure. I was just another guy writing some music. And yeah, okay, Dad done some great stuff in the past. Some wonderful stuff. And that was an influence to me. But still, I’m a different person. And, okay, so you say, “the son of.” What does that mean? For me, I’m just a regular guy who loves to play music and get out there and do it. And, basically, it was from the critics and from all that that the pressures came, saying, “How do you cope with it? How do you feel about it?” And I say, “I don’t feel anything about it. I’m just writing music and singing and doing the best I can, because that’s what I love to do.” And that’s my view today, still. I’ll just get up there and I’ll do the best I can do, not because of anybody, but because I’m a person that loves music and, okay, my last name’s Lennon, but it doesn’t make a difference to me. And it’s not that I’m being defensive in any way. It’s just that, if I’m going to get on with my life and get on with my own stuff, then I’ve got to, to a degree, separate myself from the past, because, if I don’t, then I’m going to be plagued by “the son of” and “the shadow.’” PCC: There are certainly second-generation artists who have fought through the expectations and skepticism to establish their own creative identities.
Well, I’m not fighting. It’s no a competition to me. Again, I just do the best I can and get out there and try and please myself and please whoever wants to be pleased [laughs]. It’s not a battle. Music is a pleasure. Music isn’t supposed to be a competition. It’s supposed to be a pleasure in life. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be serious. And it’s something that I’ve had the opportunity to do and I love to do it. It’s what I do all day. I used listen to critics all the time, but I’ve given up, because I just don’t think they really have anything, whether it’s good or bad, to say, it doesn’t matter, because I don’t think music should be criticized. It is a thing of pleasure. PCC: How early was it that you realized that this was what you wanted to do with your life? LENNON: Well, I’d already pissed around [chuckles], excuse my language, as a kid, since I was 11. But when I started to teach myself the piano, at about 16, was when I said, “Yes.” When I finally started putting tunes together, and I started realizing what emotions music can give you and what feelings it can give back to you, by just the way you played something, and then realized how it affected other people, I said, “Yeah, this is wonderful.” It wasn’t like a power trip. But it was like, “Yeah, I can see how people relate to it”’ And it was a wonderful experience, the first time it happened. And it still does happen. PCC: What about the writing? Was that a difficult craft for you to master? Or did it just naturally open up as an expressive outlet? LENNON: Yeah, pretty much so. I mean, again, when I started learning, I taught myself by ear. So I still don’t know how to read or write music. So it’s very much a natural thing. And putting songs together was very natural. It was like, “This fits. Oh, that sounds good.” And taking it from there. So it wasn’t a quest to write songs. Initially, I just wrote music. And they weren’t composed in a song formation either. It was just music, basically. And then after a while, I started writing lyrics and thought, “Well, who else is going to sing this and know what it’s meant to say or what emotion should be put into it? Who else is going to do it? Okay, let me give it a shot.” So I did. And slowly, but surely, things came around and everything started coming together. I was writing songs and lyrics and singing and playing and just took it from there. The next thing I knew, friends and relatives and people around me said, “Well, why don’t you get off your butt , instead of sitting at home and singing these songs to yourself all day?” So I did [laughs]. And this is where I am now. PCC: Did you get much feedback from your father and his musical mates? LENNON: Well, yeah, from Dad. Not necessarily from the rest of the guys. They were Dad’s friends. You know, maybe I’ll bump into them and say hi, but I don’t really know them that well. Maybe as a kid, when I was three or four, I got to hang out with them once in a while. That was the extent of that. But Dad, yeah, I used to send cassettes over to him of live shows that we were doing at like 13 years old. And then I’d go and sit over with him and he’d teach me how to play a couple more chords once in a while. He told me a couple of things. PCC: Anything in particular that you came away with, that made a big impression on you? LENNON: Well, the main thing that hit me, whether it was from him personally or through his music, was that the best way to do anything and to do it right is to be honest and truthful and say what you mean. And don’t deny it. If you say something, get on with it. And be as simple and as straight-forward as you can, because you don’t need to write a book to say, ‘I love you,’ to someone. PCC: From either talking with him or just observing, what did you gather about separating the fame element from the music itself? Well, the only thing Dad told me, he said, “Listen, The Beatles were great. It was a worthwhile thing to experience. But I’d never do it again.” And again, it’s an experience. It’s something that happens to you, because of what you do. And everybody’s got to deal with it in their individual way. Nobody can say, “This is best for you,” because you’re the only one that knows how to feel in a certain circumstance. So, however you deal with it, you’ve got to do it yourself. There’s no one else that can help you in that situation. PCC: So did it still come as somewhat of a surprise, that whole phenomenon of celebrity, when it hit you? LENNON: Well, it did, but when it happened, I just went, “Whoopee!” I said, “Well, this is great! I don’t know any different, so why should I feel any different? This is great. I love it.” So that was my view. I said, “I really don’t know any different. I haven’t traveled any other roads. It’s the first time this has happened to me and it’s the first album I’ve put out. Is this the way it’s supposed to feel? I guess it is.” And it just continued... until I started getting messed over by the business people and then the second album came out, which sucked the big weenie and now, again, finally, I’ve had the chance to get away from all the shit and get on with what I want to do. PCC: Going back to your musical roots, what made the biggest impressions? Were you listening to a wide range of styles? LENNON: Yeah, I listened to everything, not to learn from, but purely because I loved to sit there and listen to music. I was never a real fan of going to shows or gigs or anything. So I used to sit at home and listen to varied styles. Let me give you a mixture, a bundle, okay - Led Zep, Bowie, Keith Jarrett, Thelonious Monk, Steely Dan, The Police, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, on and on and on and on, some classical stuff, Gershwin. PCC: Did you always feel confident that, at some point, you were going to be able to mix in with that crowd? LENNON: Well, it was a question of taking the influences that I had and the loves that I had within those different areas of music and combining it into my own sort of style, which is a combination of a slightly harder edge, with a lot of melody involved everywhere. I believe I call what I do sort of “melodic rock.” That’s the terminology I’ve come up with [laughs]. And how wonderful it is. PCC: A lot of people feel that’s what lacking in rock these days - melody. LENNON: Well, that’s something I do strive for. The reason I gave up guitar at 11 was because I only could play four chords and I decided the piano had much more range, so I could play more than four chords [chuckles]. Because I got really bored of playing the three or four rock ‘n’ roll chords that I’d learnt. I said, “There’s got to be more to things in life than this.” And that’s when I started listening to varied styles of music and started picking up on the piano, because I felt that I could do a lot more on that. PCC: What about your mother? Did she encourage you? Or was she worried about the inherent pitfalls of the profession? LENNON: Well, you know, she did encourage me. But she also made me aware that there are a lot of things out there. But also again, let me know that the only way I was going to deal with it or understand it was by being there and going through it, experiencing it myself. She could always say, “Well, be careful of this.” But it doesn’t mean anything until you do it and find out what it’s all about. So obviously, she was very aware of the things I was going to go through or the things I was dealing with or what I have dealt with, but she shows me that, “It’s all right, you’re doing the right thing. You’re making the right moves. Keep on. Keep going, son. You’re all right.” PCC: When a career takes off, as yours did, sometimes it can become so all-consuming that you lose sight of the personal life. Is it difficult to find the balance there? Do you make time for other things? LENNON: Well, I mean, sometimes, sort of accidentally, it comes about where I find myself free and available to just be a slouch, which is great, once in a while. But I find it hard to stay away from the piano or a guitar or anything, because I’ll just be sitting there and ideas will pop into my head. And if there isn’t a piano around, I’ll lose it. But if there is, then I’ll sit there and I’ll write until something happens. It is difficult to separate the... the only way I would call it “work” in any way is because of the business side, which, again, takes 90 percent of the time. The public only get to see what I believe is 10 percent of what really happens in the music business. The other time, poor old musicians are dealing with all the stuff, which is obviously not the glamour side, by any means. But I do find it hard to separate that sort of time where I’m actually sitting down and having pleasure... or am I in the middle of doing something? It really is a balance. And, at the moment, all my concentration is going towards the album and playing and singing and getting out there and writing and doing the next one. And again, I think it’s difficult for me, because my idea, I think an album is unfortunate in a sense that an album really only gives you like 10 songs, which I don’t think really shows the public what people are capable of. It’s a hint. And there’s so many different, varied styles of music that I love to write and play and doing an album doesn’t really give you that opportunity, because, to a degree, you have to conform within the style of an album. You can’t start wandering off and doing Gershwin in the middle of Led Zep. One day, hopefully, when and if I become more established in the field of music, I would take the time out to write like a double or quadruple album, filled with stuff that isn’t commercial, isn’t this or that, but is just for listening pleasure and is not out there to be competitive with anything. I think a lot of people these days tend to just go the album route and keep their direction in one way and don’t vary, don’t try anything. They keep themselves down one street and don’t give themselves any opportunities to try something else, which is something I tried to do, to a degree, on this album, because there are so many varied styles on it. There’s a bit of hard-hitting rock. There’s ballads. There’s afternoon waltzes. There’s all sorts of stuff on there, which I don’t think is too bad, because I get really bored with just playing the same old stuff. Again, there’s got to be more than four chords or more than one style out there to enjoy. So that’s what I strive for also, is to keep myself excited within the business, by playing different styles and doing what feels comfortable. And also, if I’m going to be on the road, singing for however long, it’s nice to have varied styles so that one can take time to sing ballads or waltzes and then get back into the hard-hittin’ rock, which comes up with an interesting show [chuckles], but if the people there like the album anyway or like the different style, then that’s great. PCC: How do you see your style continuing to evolve? LENNON: Well, I will always write ballads and weird stuff like that [laughs]. I mean, I am a ballad writer at heart. But I’ve always loved the harder edge. I knew I had it in me. It was just a question of time. And I feel, to a degree, that this album shows some of it. But I’m looking at getting really raw and in-your-face, but still with the melody. I don’t want to lose that, by any means. So I’m looking for a lot harder edge than I even have done with this album. But then again, on the other extreme, I’m going to be doing very melodic, laid-back ballad stuff, as well. So it’s going to be a real mix. PCC: Have you set long-range goals for yourself? Or do you take it project by project? LENNON: Project by project. It really is. The thing is, again, I write every day and when it’s time to come up with an album, it’s a question of picking things that I’ve written before. I don’t write for albums. It’s just that, when it’s time for an album, one has to put some sort of sense together to make it an album, as such. I already have a few new tunes floating around. We spoke with Julian again in 2009, on a conference call, as he launched the artist-friendly music company theRevolution and a a new EP, featuring the song “Lucy.” It was dedicated to his childhood friend Lucy Vodden. The four-year-old Lennon’s drawing of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” inspired the Beatles song. When Julian connected with the adult Lucy, he discovered that she was suffering from the auto-immune disease lupus. She eventually succumbed to the illness. A portion of the proceeds from the EP went to lupus charities. Lennon had also completed a new album, “Everything Changes,” his first since 1998’s “Photograph Smile.” The album originally was released in the U.K. in 2011. In 2013, a re-release included two added tracks, one being “Someday,” featuring Steven Tyler. PCC: What was the impetus behind theRevolution? LENNON: Basically, I got so tired and fed up with the industry as it was being run so many years ago for so many reasons. I just didn’t feel that the artist was getting a fair deal and/or control of their work in any way, shape or form. For many reasons, I dropped out of the industry several times after the last album and the previous one before that, purely because of those reasons. A couple of years ago, I started writing again and an album came together slowly, but surely, and I was looking around over the past couple of years to try and find a new way forward. A few of us, who are now the founders of theRevolution, were literally sitting around the table, discussing all of these issues. And we just felt that maybe we could come up with a newer model that would work for all of us, that would allow the artist more control over what’s happening to him on a creative level and on every other level, too, whether it was looking after their brand or looking after their management or protecting and developing them, looking after the recording and publishing with them, licensing, touring, you name it. We decided to come up with a new strategy, which I believe we have with theRevolution. And I will be the lead artist off that with our developing artist, James Scott Cook, with the track “Lucy,” for lupus, for charity. From literally nothing a few months ago, it’s seriously turned around and now we’re here. Really, it’s been a quick maneuver, but the timing seems to have been perfect for all of us with the demise, I believe, of the labels, as we know them. They’re very much becoming, I think, more like catalog companies just raking in the publishing, etc., from previously signed artists. New artists these days need, obviously, they have the internet out there to do what they will with it. But I still think that needs, to a degree, a great deal of managing and looking after and taking care of. It’s a big wide world out there in the internet world, and that still needs to be looked after and strategized, and that’s part of what theRevolution does. It just allows us to have creative control over what’s happening on pretty much every level. We are the ones, as artists of theRevolution, so to speak, we are the ones that do make the creative decisions on behalf of everything that we do, whether it’s deciding who’s going to be involved in the recording, where, when, why, what, how, etc. And I think once you’ve got a team that’s as supportive as that behind you and that works with you to help you be the best that you can be, you can go as far as you want to go. I think that allows you to actually, once you put your faith and trust in that and you understand how it all works as a family, I think that enables you literally to be able to relax and sit back a lot more. And let theRevolution get on with the business of helping you and supporting you, while you just can get on with actually creating and enjoying the process, which I feel to a degree is something new, especially for me. PCC: How did you and James Scott Cook decide to collaborate on “Lucy”? LENNON: We actually met in New York several months ago, when I was passing through for meetings in regards to theRevolution. And he was in the studio as a developing artist, and I literally said, “Let me come into the studio and sing a couple of backgrounds and support you in that respect.” And it was only after finding out about Lucy Vodden that I suggested that why don’t we try and make the song, which was applicable to Lucy, why don’t we make it a duet and make it a charity single for lupus? During that process is when we found out about his 89 year-old grandmother having lupus, as well, and her name being Lucy as well. So it was very much a time and a place and, obviously, the stars aligned. As far as finishing off the track and putting it together and making it lyrically a little more in tune with what we were trying to put together, it was pretty straight forward, straight from the heart and just about reminiscing about someone in the past that we love very dearly. One thing that we didn’t want to do between James and I was to make it a dark song in anyway. So it was very much about just not making light of it but just making it reminiscent of a time and place gone by as we all have fond memories of certain points in our lives of our childhood memories. The lyrics originally were obviously, a little more specific to James’ situation. But it was just a question of making the lyrics a little more broad, a little more open, so that they weren’t so specific to him, but more specific to Lucy and the position we found ourselves in. It was keeping it, almost simplifying it in many respects, to just honor that sort of innocence and simplicity of a child playing and remembering those kinds of times. PCC: This connection with “Lucy In The Sky,” does it indicate a sense of peace with your relationship with your father? LENNON: This scenario came along in such a natural way. There was no effort about it, about putting the song together, about putting the idea together, about the history of it or where it all came from. It just felt a very, very natural thing to do and almost to a certain degree, felt like I was closing a circle in many respects. It just very much made sense to me because of the changes that I’d been going through over the past five, ten years of just growing and maturing and developing as a person. It was very much time for me to. I think I’ve been quoted in saying that you can’t live with anger, hatred and bitterness for too long, otherwise it’ll kill you. I think you have to reach a point of understanding and forgiveness. And that was very much part of actually being able to do this; sort of allowing myself to sort of say - I’d always sort of said to myself - “Yes, I forgive Dad for some of the scenarios that I was left in, and Mom, too.” But I also have to realize what he went through was quite an incredible scenario. And looking on that and reflecting on that, I can be in a place of forgiveness this far down the line, so to speak, and I just think that this in a roundabout way is almost an homage to him, too, as much as to Lucy Vodden. PCC: Did your Lucy ever have a chance to express to you what it had meant to her, learning that she was one of the sources of inspiration for “Lucy in the Sky”? LENNON: Yes, to a certain degree, once I got back in touch with her a few years ago, once I actually first learned about Lucy having lupus. It really did take the wind out of her. It would literally take her several weeks to write an e-mail or a note. One of the most tearful sort of painful moments I actually had was that I’d been sent a note from Lucy while I was on my travels, when I first started my travels and heading to New York for the meetings, etc. And I’d received a note from Lucy which I hadn’t opened; I’d put it in my backpack and my bag with my computer and everything and forgotten all about it. And once I actually got a moment and I decided to clean out my bag, I found the letter, and this was after her passing, after we’d done the song in New York and I was out in LA meeting iTunes and YouTube and all of the other folks out there. It was a letter from Lucy expressing her thanks, not only for the whole relationship that came from that and the recognition that she got from that, but sort of personal thanks to me for trying to help her and comfort her during her time with lupus. Because, as I’ve said on a few other interviews, the English Trust, the St. Thomas Lupus Trust, is seriously, it’s very poorly funded, incredibly so compared to the American foundation. I just felt very much that I needed to look after her and make sure she was okay. I just felt the least I could do was make sure that she was okay. And in the note, there was nothing but thanks for that. It was a tearful moment reading the real one-and-only last note from her. It was a very emotional letter and very poignant. And it just made me want to do more and do whatever I could in her memory and also to help try and raise awareness for lupus and try to help funding research. She was an inspiration to me on that level. I think she’s looking down smiling knowing that I’m trying to do the best I can in her honor and try to help bring awareness regarding lupus. PCC: I’m sure she is. You’ve been involved with a lot of other charitable and worthwhile causes. Do you still believe that music can uplift and change the world in itself? LENNON: Without a doubt. I mean, show me a person that’s not affected by music or lyrics one way or another. But from my perspective, obviously, I try to use that for positive use. It’s always trying to either make people aware or enlighten them or tell them a story, so that they can make decisions for themselves about trying to drive forward in a positive way. I put music on when I need to relax. There’s certain music that I put on for that. If I want to get energized, there’s certain up-tempo elements that I’ll put on from different artists. And if I feel sentimental or just need to be a little introspective, then there’s certain music that I put on for that, too. I think it affects all of us in the same basic way. I think it really is a basic emotion or sense or feeling within us all because of the rhythm of life, the rhythm of the universe, you name it. I think everything has a beat, and I believe it has to affect people. PCC: You included the song “Beautiful,” from the new album, on the EP, as well. It seems to complement “Lucy.” LENNON: The track “Beautiful,” that I decided to go with, which is the last track actually on my album, it was written about people that not only I have loved and lost in life, but that friends have lost and loved in life, too. And I just thought that was, for me, even though it was great doing the song with James for Lucy, this was a very much heavier and deeper, more emotional and more personal song for me to sort of reminisce and show respect and love. And remembrance of someone I cared a great deal about as much as I do about Dad and other people that have passed in my life too, my stepfather and aunts and uncles, you name it, friends and family. It’s a song for all of them. I just felt that it just spoke volumes and it wasn’t about throwing another pop tune on there to please radio or the masses. It was about how I felt and the sentiment and what it all meant to me. So I felt it was apropos and the right song to put on there. PCC: How did the new album come together? LENNON: As far as my album is concerned, I finished it about a year ago, a good year ago, maybe a little longer in fact. I was writing purely from the point of view of writing songs and just getting music and moments and ideas and emotions out of my system, from a cathartic point of view. If I stop writing for too long, I literally start hearing ideas whether they’re musical or lyrical or arrangements or entire songs in my head and I have to get them out of my system. It’s something I feel the need to do. And I’ve been doing that, even though I’ve been out of the industry, so to speak, for a good ten years. I’ve still been writing. I’ve still been working. I just didn’t feel that I wanted to or had the strength to come back into the industry as it was, after I felt that not only I’d made some poor decisions about the people I was working with, but I felt I had a pretty rough few rides with a few companies. I just wasn’t happy with that anymore. Once I was able to just relax and write for the sake of writing and once I had enough material together, it was literally a question of, “Okay, I feel I’ve got an album now. What do I do? What’s the state of the industry at as we know it? What are our opportunities now and what does it look like in the future for the next five, ten years, if not further down the road?” With the last album, “Photograph Smile,” I tried to do it on an independent level and with the arm of the internet. But ten years ago, even five years ago, things were not in place the way they are today. As far as the industry and the internet are concerned, they are both dramatically changed and I think for the better, for the artist, obviously, at this point in time. I ran a mile from the industry after my last experience with “Photograph Smile.” I just felt, after having written this album, that I just had more to get out of my system, whether it was on a personal level for me or actually just getting more work out to the public or feeling that I had more to say. I did say with the last album that if I never did anything again, I’d be happy to leave it at that. But I can’t keep quiet long enough. Ideas just keep coming into my head so I’ve got to let it out somehow. I certainly don’t feel any older than I did ten years ago in any way, shape or form. And I’m still ready to get out there and say hello and do a bit of playing. I’ve had my fingers in a few other pies, which I’ve enjoyed, other businesses and other work that I’ve been involved with and other projects. But music has still always been there. I don’t think it’ll ever go away in that respect. I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing no matter what happens in or out of the industry. PCC: How would you describe the direction the new album takes? LENNON: It’s a tough one to call, to express exactly what kind of vein it’s in. All I can say is, it’s a progression from the last album in some respects. I think musically, not necessarily lyrically, because I always follow the same suit regarding lyrics whether it’s “Photograph Smile” or this one, that it’s always from experience or it was from the heart. But musically I think I’ve tried, normally, I very much tried to go my own path before. I’m not at all saying that isn’t the case this time, but I think what I’ve done is I’ve accepted a few more influences of today’s music in some respects or should I say musical technology even in some respects. PCC: Are you are you conscious during the writing process of how a song might affect the listener? LENNON: To a certain degree, I would have to say yes. I mean, every word that’s written within a sentence or in a verse or chorus or, you have to be aware of what is being said, what you’re saying to other people, how it may affect other people. I think that’s absolutely important and key to be aware of knowing what you’re delivering and how people can look at that. I think that’s why lyric-writing for me, I think, is extremely special. Having an emotion is one thing. Being able to express it and deliver it is another. Some things flow with great ease and other times it’s a little more difficult to express certain things and it takes a little longer. But that’s just life. For all the latest on this artist, visit www.julianlennon.com. |
