Julian Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon in Liverpool on 8 April 1963… Read Full Bio ↴Julian Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon in Liverpool on 8 April 1963) is an English musician. The son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, he inspired three Beatles' songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1967), "Hey Jude" (1968) and "Good Night" (1968). In 2020, he legally changed his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon.

Lennon was given his first guitar by his father at age 11 and formed his first band at age 13 with school friend Justin Clayton, who has since played on each of Lennon’s albums. “Justin and I spent all our time learning the classic rock and roll songs, like ‘Roll Over Beethoven,’ Lennon recalls. “As I got older, I began to listen to the Beatles more carefully and became fascinated by the intelligence that went into their songwriting — the arrangements, melodies, and lyrics, which was great as I began to write my own songs. Crafting a great song is always my final goal.”

Though Lennon was also interested in pursuing acting (and was offered an education through the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company), he decided to stick with music. “I'd fallen madly in love with being able to play three or four chords, and everybody standing up and yelling and screaming,” he says. “The simplicity and ease of it drove me toward a career in music more than anything else.”

In 1983 Lennon, then aged 20, was offered his first record deal and released Valotte the following year. Produced by Phil Ramone, the album was certified platinum and earned Lennon a Grammy Award nomination for “Best New Artist.” It also included two major hits, the title track, which was a fixture on the Billboard Top 40 chart for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 9, followed by Too Late For Goodbyes, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Noted film director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) directed the videos for both singles, the success of which made Lennon an international star, necessitating a global tour of Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Australia. “It was bonkers,” Lennon says. “Coming out of hotels, people would literally trying to rip the clothes off you. I had spent my last year of school in the middle of nowhere in North Wales. To go from that to doing a world tour and having screaming girls after you was crazy.”

Because of his popularity, the record company urged Lennon to make a follow-up album immediately, which he did, releasing The Secret Value of Daydreaming in March 1986. Though Lennon felt he did not have enough time to write or record the album, Daydreaming (also produced by Phil Ramone) went on to gold certification and spawned the hit “Stick Around,” which earned him his first No. 1 on the Billboard Rock chart. (Eighties stars Michael J. Fox and Jami Gertz appear in the song’s video.) After taking a much-needed break, Lennon released the vocally experimental Mr. Jordan in 1989, which featured the rock radio hit Now You’re In Heaven, followed by 1991’s Help Yourself, whose highlights include Saltwater, a plea for environmental responsibility, and Other Side of Town, featuring Blue Nile singer Paul Buchanan.

Lennon decided to take a hiatus following the release of Help Yourself to focus on other creative pursuits, including his interest in acting. In 1993, he was featured as the voice of David Copperfield in an animated NBC special of the Dickens classic. In 1995, film director Mike Figgis asked Lennon to make a cameo in his new film Leaving Las Vegas. “I was told to dress like an ’80s English rock and roll bartender,” Lennon says, “So I rode my Harley to the set wearing clothes I would normally wear and Mike said, ‘That’s great!’” (Nicolas Cage, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role, orders a beer from Lennon’s bartender character before getting head-butted by another patron and thrown out by Lennon.)

In 1996, Lennon contributed the original composition “Cole’s Song” to the soundtrack to the film Mr. Holland’s Opus, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and featured a score by the late renowned composer Michael Kamen. “I’d met Michael a few times and thought he was an incredible writer and orchestrator,” Lennon says. “I got word that he thought of me for writing this song, not only because of the subject matter, but because two of Dad’s songs were also in the film,” Lennon says. “He thought it would be a nice touch for me to come up with something that would work at the end of the film.” Also that year, Lennon made a cameo in the independent comedy film Cannes Man, directed by Richard Martini and starring Seymour Cassel and Francesco Quinn.

Lennon returned to the music business in 1998 with Photograph Smile.

In 2002, he recorded a version of "When I'm Sixty-Four", from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, for an Allstate Insurance commercial.

In 2009, Lennon released a tribute song and EP, "Lucy", honouring the memory of Lucy Vodden (née O'Donnell), the little girl who inspired the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Lennon released his sixth solo album, the self-produced Everything Changes, in the UK on September 26th, 2011, through British independent label Conehead Management Ltd.

The seventh studio album by Lennon, Jude, was released on 9 September 2022. The album's title is a reference to the Beatles 1968 song "Hey Jude", written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney) for the then five-year-old Julian.

Cold
Julian Lennon Lyrics

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I've read the headlines covering your wall,
A thousand lifetimes, you must have lived them all,
We took our chances, I love the way you fall.
Over there, I see you over there,
Tossed around the sun,
I can feel you everywhere tonight.

Don't leave me cold,

Living life without you - cold,
Dreams don't always come true - cold,
Everything we've been through,
Don't leave me cold.

You are the flower, growing in my hand,
Hour by hour, the more I understand,
A million colors, of woman and a man.
Over there, I see you over there,
Tossed around the sun,
I can feel you everywhere tonight.

Don't leave me cold,
Living life without you - cold,
Dreams don't always come true - cold,
Everything we've been through,
Don't leave me cold.

Over there, I see you over there,
Tossed around the sun,
I can feel you everywhere tonight.

Don't leave me cold,
Living life without you - cold,
Dreams don't always come true - cold,
Everything we've been through,
Don't leave me cold.

Don't leave me cold,
Living life without you - cold,
Dreams don't always come true - cold,

Everything we've been through,
Don't leave me cold....

Overall Meaning

The song "Cold" by Julian Lennon talks about the fear of losing someone he loves and the pain and emptiness that comes with that. The lyrics are about reading the headlines or stories on a loved one's wall (social media or personal space) and realizing how much they've experienced in their life. Even knowing all of their life’s stories, the singer took a chance on love and loves the way the person falls. The lyrics "Don't leave me cold, living life without you—cold, dreams don't always come true—cold, everything we've been through, don't leave me cold" is an emotional cry out to not let go and leave him feeling cold and empty. The singer compares his lover to a flower growing in his hand, hour by hour, as he learns more about them. The line "A million colors, of woman and a man" implies that the lover represents all humankind.

The chorus repeats the line "Don't leave me cold," emphasizing the fear and urgency of not wanting to be alone or without their love. The use of the repetition in the song creates a sense of desperation and the fear of losing the person he loves. The line "I can feel you everywhere tonight" suggests that the singer is deeply connected to this person and feels their presence even though they may not be physically present. Overall, this song is an emotional plea for deep love and the fear of losing it.

Line by Line Meaning

I've read the headlines covering your wall,
I’ve seen the façade you put up and protect yourself with.

A thousand lifetimes, you must have lived them all,
You’ve been through countless experiences and learned much from them.

We took our chances, I love the way you fall.
We took a risk on this relationship, I admire how you let yourself love and be vulnerable.

Over there, I see you over there,
I see you in the distance, both physically and emotionally.

Tossed around the sun,
You’re going through life, being thrown around and experiencing ups and downs.

I can feel you everywhere tonight.
I sense your presence and feel deeply connected, even if we’re not physically together.

Don't leave me cold,
Please don’t abandon me or shut me out emotionally.

Living life without you - cold,
My life without you would be empty and bleak.

Dreams don't always come true - cold,
Even though I have hopes and dreams, sometimes they don’t come to fruition and it’s a harsh reality.

Everything we've been through,
We’ve shared numerous experiences and emotions.

You are the flower, growing in my hand,
You’re the fragile yet beautiful thing that I hold close and cherish.

Hour by hour, the more I understand,
As I get to know you more, I become more enlightened to your complexities.

A million colors, of woman and a man.
You’re full of nuances that are representative of a spectrum of gender identities and expressions.