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.
Listen
Julian Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You think you know what makes me cry
You think you know everything about me
Well, from the horse's mouth it's lies
You say you know the situation
You say you understand just why
You know shit about absolutely nothing
[Bridge]
You should think about not faking all the time
Discretion is a word that's always on my mind
[Chorus]
Don't make me listen
I just can't listen
'Cause it brings me down; you're such a clown
Just take that red nose off your face
Don't you feel ashamed?
Don't you feel disgraced?
You're afraid to admit to being guilty
You're afraid to stare at your face
And you pretend that life is always rosy
Wake up and join the human race
How can you honestly say you love me
When you can't even love yourself?
You think your word is Gospel now
You're just repeating past opinions
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Julian Lennon's song "Listen" express frustration towards someone who claims to know everything about the singer's life, but actually knows nothing. The song begins with the idea that the person thinks they know what makes the singer happy or sad, but they are wrong. From "the horse's mouth," or from the singer himself, the information they have is lies. The singer accuses this person of not understanding the situation and having no clues as to what is actually going on. The chorus emphasizes the singer's frustration and asks the person not to make them listen because it brings them down. They believe the person is a clown, representing a foolish and unserious attitude. The bridge suggests that the person is constantly faking and that the singer values discretion. The final verse accuses the person of being afraid to admit their guilt or face their own reflection, pretending that everything in life is always easy. The singer demands they "join the human race," implying that the person is not living in reality. The song concludes with the singer questioning the person's love for him or herself, as well as their supposed possession of all-encompassing knowledge.
Line by Line Meaning
You think you know what makes me happy
You assume you know what brings me joy
You think you know what makes me cry
You believe you know what causes me to cry
You think you know everything about me
You believe you know everything about me
Well, from the horse's mouth it's lies
But my words contradict what you believe to be true
You say you know the situation
You claim to understand my situation
You say you understand just why
You declare that you understand the reason
You know shit about absolutely nothing
But in reality, you know nothing
You're gonna get no clues from this guy
I won't give you any hints/leads
Don't make me listen
Stop saying things to me that degrade me
I just can't listen
I can't bear to hear it
'Cause it brings me down; you're such a clown
Your negative talk demoralizes me; you're foolish
Just take that red nose off your face
Stop pretending to be a fool
Don't you feel ashamed?
Don't you feel any guilt or remorse?
Don't you feel disgraced?
Don't you feel any humiliation or shame?
You're afraid to admit to being guilty
You're too scared to confess to any wrongdoing
You're afraid to stare at your face
You can't even look at yourself in the mirror
And you pretend that life is always rosy
You pretend that everything is always perfect
Wake up and join the human race
Come to your senses and stop acting like a clown
How can you honestly say you love me
How can you honestly say you care about me
When you can't even love yourself?
When you don't even care about yourself?
You think your word is Gospel now
You now think that what you say is absolute truth
You're just repeating past opinions
But you're just repeating what you've heard in the past
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JULIAN LENNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Willy limond
Julián Lennon,eres un Maestro 👍👍
Whyllyhannn Fernandoo
essa musica é muito top
Daniel Burns
this song went to #31 on the mainstream rock charts in 1991!!!
b67y8y
yum love this
Georgina
🍰😍😍😍
b67y8y
I love jules soo much