John Lennon’s Son Julian on ‘Big, Old, Weird’ Beatles Family

Julian Lennon, the eldest son of John Lennon, is opening up about his relationship with his family and fractured connection to his late father.

During an interview with Esquire published on Monday, Julian discussed his bond with his brother Sean Lennon and Sean's mother Yoko Ono. (Julian's mother is John's first wife, Cynthia Lennon.)

He explained that in an effort to shut down rumors from UK tabloids that he and Sean were feuding, he posted photos of the two laughing and smiling together.

"This was important for me and for the peace and for family, because there has been friction, no question, in the past between everybody," he said. "But we’re all getting a bit older, and as we get older we lose people and we realize now what’s most precious in life."

He continued of his brother and the Beatles extended family, "The love for Sean and the love for Yoko, and Stella and Paul and Mary [McCartney], and Dhani [Harrison], and Zak [Starkey] — it’s a big old, weird family. But as they say, families are always a bit screwed up."

As for his relationship with his father, Julian shared how he truly deals with the Beatles' hit "Hey Jude," which was written by Paul McCartney to "console" Julian amid his parents' breakup. He revealed fans may not know the pain behind the lyrics when they approach him and sing the song.

"Every time you quote that, it reminds me of my mother being separated from my father, the love that was lost, the fact that I rarely saw my father again ever," he said, adding in part, "A lot of people don’t quite get how intense, how emotional, and how personal that is. It’s not just a 'pick yourself up and dust yourself off and be happy.' There’s deep emotional pain. I can celebrate it — but also it’s something that’ll always be dark to me."

And when his father was fatally shot in front of his New York City apartment in 1980, his mother was the first person he thought of.

"She was in London at the time, and she came back home later that day — the number one thing on my mind was: Make sure she’s okay," the Jude singer recalls. "Listen, she was the one that was married to him, went to art school, lived with him, probably was still in love with him. Even I recognize that there’s a part of me that still loves everybody I’ve been in love with. That never goes away."

Despite past issues with John, Julian has decided to follow in the legend's footsteps in his own way.

"It’s like, what are you, crazy? Why would you do that? I’ve chosen the hardest road known to mankind to follow, but that’s why after 30 years of doing music I felt it was time to follow some other dreams I had," he said. "Photography and a number of other things. The music will always be in my blood and that’s partly due to Dad and it’s partly due to the Beatles, especially after having watched Get Back [the 2021 docuseries about the Beatles' iconic music]."