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.
Never Let You Go
Julian Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Close your eyes deep down inside your will is from above
Oh can′t you see that I will
Never let you go
You will be free and I will
Never let you go
Hold my hand and we shall fly to somewhere in between
Oh can't you see that I will
Never let you go
You will be free and I will
Never let you go
I can see by the look in your eyes
That you want to be free
Come along and you′ll see
We can fly to the stars between Venus and Mars
I won't fail you
Oh can't you see that I will
Never let you go
You will be free and I will
Never let you go
Oh can′t you see that I will
Never let you go
You will be free and I will
Never let you go
I will always cradle you
My heart and soul
The lyrics of Julian Lennon's song "Never Let You Go" suggest a place where love is all that one needs. It is a place of inner peace where you can find solace in your willpower. The singer urges the listener to look inside themselves, ignore outside distractions and rely on their own strength, and dream - because the heart will often dare to dream. He offers a hand to take them to a place where they can be free, and reassures them that they will never be let go. The words are an encouragement to move beyond the fear that is holding them back, to trust him, and take a leap of faith towards a place of freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me take you to a place where all you need is love
Come with me to a place where love is all that matters.
Close your eyes deep down inside your will is from above
If you listen to your inner voice, it will guide you in the right direction.
Oh can′t you see that I will
I promise you that
Never let you go
I'll always be there for you.
You will be free and I will
You'll be able to do anything you want
Open your mind and your heart will often dare to dream
If you allow yourself to dream big, great things can happen.
Hold my hand and we shall fly to somewhere in between
Together, we can explore new horizons.
I can see by the look in your eyes
I understand what you want, just by looking at you.
That you want to be free
You crave freedom to live the life you want.
Come along and you'll see
Join me on this journey, and you'll experience something amazing.
We can fly to the stars between Venus and Mars
We can explore even the most distant places, together.
I won't fail you
I'll always be there for you and support you.
I will always cradle you
I'll always be there to protect and care for you.
My heart and soul
With all of my being.
Writer(s): Julian Lennon, Guy Chambers
Contributed by Nicholas I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@charwest9449
Just stunning. How many amazing melodies Julian Lennon has inside him! What a great talent.
@gloriabornn9232
You have such a magical lovely voice and the video is absolutely beautiful. With all my respect to you Julian Lennon🙏🎶🎙
@adrycl3229
Bellisimo ♥️
@angelleen8147
Another masterpiece with the incredible Julian.
@gelineavenir5905
Such a sweet song, JL! I feel loved listening to your voice and lyrics. A lovely video!
@RONNYMORRISMUSIC
What an amazing song!!!!! Well done.
@ADRIANAGARCIAable
Beautiful song❤️🌟
@rr7firefly
Julian is carrying on the creative adventure that his father and uncles George, Paul and Ringo initiated in the glorious 1960s. On top of everything wonderful about these videos the music is strikingly beautiful. Merci beaucoup.
@user-oy5fq4yf4x
well said
@annagil1
Beautiful song and video! Congratulations! You are great Julian!