For Julian Lennon, his new album title Jude is a nod to the legendary song “Hey Jude” by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney to comfort 5-year-old Julian following his parents’ separation.
“Many of these songs have been in the works for several years, so it almost feels like a coming-of-age album,” said Lennon. With great respect for the overwhelming significance of the song written for me, the title Jude conveys the very real journey of my life that these tracks represent.”
Originally written as “Hey Jules,” McCartney changed “Jules” to “Jude” because he thought it sounded better in the song. The tune became one of the band’s most successful tracks, topping the charts for 19 weeks after its release and remains a crowd-favorite in McCartney’s live shows today. Even though Lennon talks of having a love/hate relationship with the song, because it’s a reminder of an unhappy time in his life, he’s thankful for the support expressed through the lyrics, and over the years, the song has become part of his personal identity.
Julian Lennon has always felt that he has observed life differently, perhaps because his path through life has been so unusual. Nothing could be more apparent, as he reveals to the viewer his keen eye for composition and his gift for capturing an intimate moment. Julian seeks to depict his personal journey as an artist in the midst of unique life experiences. Born in Liverpool, England, Julian Lennon began his artistic trajectory at a young age with an inherent gift for playing musical instruments. Those abilities would soon broaden into the cinematic and visual arts. As an observer of life in all its forms, Julian developed his personal expression through such mediums as music, documentary filmmaking, philanthropy, and photography.
In 2015, through The White Feather Foundation, Lennon launched The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls, a scholarship program for girls in Kenya. Since then, the Foundation has awarded over 40 scholarships to girls throughout Africa, and in 2021 expanded the scholarship to art students in the U.S. In September 2020, Lennon was honored with the CC Forum Philanthropy Award in Monaco. That same month, he was named a UNESCO Center for Peace 2020 Cross-Cultural and Peace Crafter Award Laureate.
As an author, Lennon has published several books including the New York Times best-selling trilogy Touch The Earth, Heal The Earth, and Love The Earth, completed in 2019, as well as the children’s graphic novel The Morning Tribe in 2021. That same year, Lennon was also honored with the World Literacy Award for his work to promote literacy through The WFF.