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Family "On the one hand, I've had such a normal upbringing with my mum, who has kept me grounded, but
on the other, the wild experiences through my dad" -Julian "You can't cheat kids. If you cheat
them when they're children, they'll make you pay when they're sixteen or seventeen by revolting against you or hating you
or all those so-called teenage problems. I think that's finally when they're old enough to stand up to you and say, 'What
a hypocrite you've been all this time. You've never given me what I really wanted, which is you'" -John "Ninety percent
of the people on this planet, especially in the West, were born out of a bottle of whiskey on a Saturday night, and there
was no intent to have children. So ninety percent of us- that includes everybody- were accidents. I don't know anybody who
was a planned child. All of us were Saturday night specials. Julian is in the majority, along with me and everyone else. Sean
is a planned child, and therein lies the difference. I don't love Julian any less as a child. He's still my son, whether he
came from a bottle of whiskey or because they didn't have pills in those days. He's here, he belongs to me, and he always
will." -John
"I feel sad that Julian and Sean are half brothers and should be enjoying time together." -Cynthia
"They're half
brothers, they have the same father, they should be best buddies, they could really be helping each other, working with each
other and enjoying each other's company, but that wasn't to be." -Cynthia
"My work, my
son, and my daughter" -Yoko (on her greatest
loves) “I
was most curious how that came together. I did tell everybody that everybody was going to be there. I wasn’t quite sure
if everybody was going to turn up.” –Julian
(his first photo exhibition opening with Cynthia, Yoko, Sean, and May all attending) “I’m very proud that both of them are very talented sons.” –Yoko “I don’t want pictures of Sean going around. Most stars,
as soon as they have a baby, put it on the front page: ‘I’ve just had a baby!’ I’m not interested
in that. It’s dangerous. You know, we make no pretense of being average Tom, Dick, or Harry- we make our child into
an average child. I tried that game with my son Julian, sending him to a comprehensive working-class school, mixing with the
people, but the people spat and sh*t on him because he was famous, as people are wont to do. So his mother had to finally
turn around and tell me to piss of: ‘I’m sending him to a private school, the kid is suffering here.’”
-John “Kyoko and Sean’s handwriting is so similar
it’s impossible to tell the difference. People say Kyoko looks like me and Sean looks like John.” –Yoko "I don't know if Sean and Julian have a relationship.
I think so, they talk well of each other, but I'm really an aunt to Julian” -Julia Dykins Baird
John
Lennon
"He
never came to see me, I had to go to him. It's a shame, but you know, forgive
and forget. I'd rather not think about the times I didn't see him." -Julian
"He
got me a drum kit when I was five and bought me my first guitar when I was
eleven. When I saw him during school breaks we'd sit and jame on rock 'n' roll
tunes and play some of his stuff too. I'd love it when we'd sing and play
together. I felt real close to him then. If he were still alive, we'd be
playing together a lot" -Julian
"I
know a lot of people compare me to my father. It drives me mad sometimes,
thinking about it. I just want people to judge the music without prejudice.
Sure, we sound alike. I open my mouth and that's what comes out. I don't force
it. I didn't study my father's sound. It's all natural. I've been through
periods when I was confused and didn't know what to do. I've made mistakes.
It's just living, that's all" -Julian
All I know
was that he was away a lot. When he came home and we were together, I recall
most of all the fun like flying a kite in the garden, or the riding on the back
of Dad's motorbike down to Ringo's home. The rest of my childhood with Dad is a
fog." -Julian
"But
if Dad was going to be a musician, then he obviously had to be away from home a
lot. Nobody is blaming him. I just missed him and wished he was around
more" -Julian
"He
wasn't a great father. He was a great musician. That's always been a touchy one,
and it will be until I can find the answer, but I don't know if there is
one" -Julian
"I
didn't hate him, but I was scared of him. I didn't know this man at all, and
trying to rebuild a relationship that was never there made him as frightened of
me as I was of him." -Julian
"He
often said it was a shame his family had to pushed into the background. He
regretted it, but once the Beatles wagon was rolling, he could not get off it
if he wanted to- He became exhausted and irritable when he was at home, and
angry at his own absence when he wasn't there." -Cynthia
"I
still have great admiration for his talent and great sadness over what happened
to him and that he can't be part of Julian's life." -Cynthia
"I
wasn't trying to push away the family. I was trying to make the family. Every
weekend we made sure we called Julian. I made sure that he was in constant
contact with Julian. And he said, 'This is good, you know'" -May
"This
was serious business for him and he seemed determined that whatever was
happening around him, there would be a time in his life for Julian. And there
was also an intense regard for his wife, Cynthia. I mean, this was a young
father who seemed determined to make sure that things were right. I know John
was preoccupied by the insanity of the tour, but he was insistent there be time
to make the call hom and connect, connect with his wife and his son" -Art
Schreiber
"He
was back with Yoko and she was going to have a baby. He was such a warm guy and
I think he had always felt guilty about the absent father he had been with
Julian. Let's face it, if it weren't for May, he wouldn't have even kept in
touch with Julian. Guilt had set in. He was determined not to repeat that
experience" -Mario Casciano
"After
his son Julian came to visit in the winter of 1977, John seemed down. He
indicated to me that he didn't want to do to Sean what he did to Julian, the
absences and all that. He was a good father but he was also strict with Sean,
especially during the times when they were without a nanny. But he was
especially loving to the child." -Michael Allison
"John,
as a father, was forced, I'm afraid, to be a part-time dad. For the first few
years when we saw him, it was between tours and recording albums. He would
sleep until late and be up until late, so when he saw Julian, he was lovely.
Bemused, I think because he didn't quite understand that this little boy was
his. As Julian got older, John became more emotional about being a father...I
think he took a very strong look inside himself and saw what he'd been
missing." -Cynthia
"My
earliest memories of my dad were between the ages of three and five, swimming
in the pool with him, just doing kid stuff. He used to sit me on the front of
his bike in front of him and take me down to Ringo's once in a while, which was
fun. I don't recall missing him when he was away on tours that much, because I
was always preoccupied by my mother, school, and the fans at the gate, and
whenever Dad came back, that was great. It was strange, but it didn't seem
unusual because it was part of everyday life." -Julian
"The
most important thing in my father's life? World peace. Me and my brother. My
mom." -Sean
"The
fact that my father almost completely stopped his musical career to raise me
makes me feel good...I think it's great that he would take time out for five
years to raise me. He said the first five years of a child's life are the most
important and I guess they are, you know?" -Sean
"Around
me he was just a father. I just loved being with him. If we went to stare at a
wall, I would be happy...just his presence was all I needed." -Sean
"He
often said it was a shame his family had to pushed into the background. He
regretted it, but once the Beatles wagon was rolling, he could not get off it
if he wanted to- He became exhausted and irritable when he was at home, and
angry at his own absence when he wasn't there." -Cynthia
"There
is nothing but love now. If he was able to come into the room now, we'd hug and
cry." -Julian
"But
that is now all in the past. Yes, Mum and I were treated with disrespect. Yes,
there was a lot of anger from Dad towards the two of us, but I can now
understand why. Maybe it's the passing of time and me being older." -Julian
"I
was actually very like Dad as we were both angry young men. He had locked all
his emotions away about his own mother. It then came out as anger." -Julian
“He got very domesticated
actually. Particularly after Sean was born, he was looking after the baby and
loving it” -Paul
"The one thing that really saddens me is
that he's not alive to see his two sons, who are now the best of friends, who
are close together.” –Cynthia
"They play music together, they are
something that he never saw because he lost both his sons. When he left me,
Julian was five, and when he died Sean was five, so he missed all that, the
lovely growing up." -Cynthia
"Not all lovely of course because teenagers
are something else, but once you get over that sort of awkward time, period of
youth and you become young men, which they both are now, I think he'd have been
really proud and very happy to have been part of their lives." -Cynthia
“I guess the postcards. It means he was
thinking about me at a time when he wasn’t around.” –Julian (his most prize possessions given to
him by
his father)
"Dad was completely happy to run the risk
of not being understood. He just made the statements that he wanted to make."
-Sean
"When dad did 'Give Peace A Chance' or the bed-in he was ridiculed for it
and it was seen as a joke. But the impact was great because he was a pop star
who was rejecting everything about that life – and people respected him for it.
He was one of a kind." –Sean
"I
don't think I knew what writing was. I knew that he played music. He would play
guitar, and I would sit on his lap. There's a tape of me just banging on a
distorted electric guitar, sitting on his lap. He was very sharing with music.
We'd sing songs constantly sing." -Sean
"Yes,
I think he was a great musician and undoubtedly the Beatles were an incredible
influence in my life musically, and yet as a father he was not so great. But at
the same time I loved him and I still do love him and I try to put away all
that negativity about having him as a father and instead come to some kind of
understanding about where he was coming from." -Julian
"I
finished the course and almost immediately discovered I was pregnant. I said to
John: 'You don't have to marry me just because of this.' John's said quite a
few times in interviews that he had to get married, but that isn't true. I gave
him the choice, and that isn't widely known. He chose to marry me. If he
hadn't, I'd have coped. I'd have had the child and kept it. I'd never have
considered adoption. I had no idea then what was in the offing. His career was
just beginning in a small way." -Cynthia
“He’s the
person I miss the most- and I only play music because I miss him.” -Sean
"Fame
is what I was born with, and it was a nightmare being a child, I had
bodyguards; I was followed home from school. I never wanted to be famous; I
only wanted to be a musician. I was doing it as a way to connect with my
father—trying to fill the void he left when he disappeared. The more I played
music, the more I felt I had a piece of him inside me.” -Sean
"I
think of my dad as a huge asshole. The only thing that made it okay was that he
could admit it." -Sean
"I
feel like what initially got me into playing music was, you know, the fact that
my dad was a musician and he was in the Beatles, and I listened to that music a
lot when I was a kid. So I think when he died I remember feeling like there was
sort of a vacuum that had been left, and I used to just try to play the piano
to kind of connect with my idea of what I thought he was, being a musician and
stuff. I think at first my inspiration came from just wanting to find some
connection to my dad." -Sean
"Once
while Cynthia was away with Mrs. Powell, I was staying in the house with
Julian. I had put Julian to bed, but he was having an earache and was very
upset. I put him to bed, but he was in so much pain, I sat up with him that
night. When John came in quite late, he came along to Julian's room to see what
was wrong. The light was on and I explained about the earache. John said, 'You
got to bed, Dot, I'll stay up with him'. He was always concerned, like a good
father. He was a good man." -Dorothy Jarlett (The Lennons
housekeeper in Kenwood)
"They play music together, they are something that he never saw because he
lost both his sons. When he left me, Julian was five, and when he died Sean was
five, so he missed all that, the lovely growing up. Not all lovely of course
because teenagers are something else, but once you get over that sort of
awkward time, period of youth and you become young men, which they both are
now, I think he'd have been really proud and very happy to have been part of
their lives." -Cynthia
"He was becoming a good father. There was a spell where he had to sort
himself out, because I think he was a bit of a child himself. He couldn't quite
understand what was happening to him, his life was incredibly
complicated." -Cynthia
"He
was like a real Dad, you know? I mean, he was the boss. He got heavy on
occasion so I didn't shoot my mouth off a hell of a lot. I was very quiet. We
used to sit down with guitars and mess around, playing old blues and
rock." -Julian
"He advised me on how to cope with problems and what to do as I grew up.
He's a very important figure in my life." -Julian
"We go out quite a lot together, round some of the art galleries or to his
house at Long Island. When we stayed in, we have a musical jam sessions
together, singing our latest songs to each other, or talking about art." -Julian
Cynthia
Lennon-Charles
"I
have to thank Mum for who I am. She has played the bigger part in my life,
keeping me together, in the way I am and the way I treat people. She has always
been the most important thing in my life, and will always be." -Julian
"The
closest person in my life, who is everything for me, who guided me and who
helped me find myself, was my mother. She was always that kind of person that
let you resolve your problems yourself. I mean, if you really couldn't do it
she would help. But I had to figure out things myself and that was important,
she sort of let me be." -Julian
"I
have to say, though, that it was my mum, Cynthia, who made me
the conscious man I am today. Obviously, Dad had his beliefs and his
way of doing things. But it was Mum who taught me my values in life. It is out
of respect for her that I want to be a good son, a good man, and a good
human being." -Julian
"She
has to be 99.9 per cent why I do anything at all. I feel that she's been
through the mill, and I figured that if she's been able to get through it all
and stand up with her head held high and be as strong, confident, and beautiful
as she is, then the least I can do is come somewhere close to that and make her
proud of me. And to love, respect, and honor her in every way, shape, or form
that I can." -Julian
“I have
been looking out for my mum for years. I want to protect her completely and
utterly. I am a complete mother’s boy. I try to do everything with honor,
respect and grace because the last thing I would want to do is hurt her.” –Julian
"I
speak to her once a week and we're very close. We're always advising each
other, it's an ongoing growth. I couldn't be happier in that respect. I go and
see her about twice a year and usually get a good telling-off. You know what
mothers are like at keeping a watchful eye on their sons! It's nothing specific
and nothing serious-just a look." -Julian
"We
are there for each other, Mum and I. We'll be there for each other in a
heartbeat and we always have been. When I was a teenager in North Wales, and
the only thing I cared about at school was art, Mum even became my unofficial
art teacher, when it turned out that the school art teacher had taught us all
entirely the wrong O-Level syllabus." -Julian
“She lived life with such grace,
such dignity, such love, such care. And you could feel that and see that in everything she did. And everything she represented.
And how she lived her life. She’s, without question, been my hero, my guiding light, my entire life. She used to say
to me: ‘You’re like me in the week. And you’re like your dad on the weekends.’” -Julian
Yoko Ono Lennon
"She's
a mother to Sean and I'm a mother to Julian and we try to protect our children
considering the legend that we are left with" -Cynthia
"I
unleashed hell on her, but we've made our peace. We're okay. There was no point
in continuing the anger. It's a waste of time and energy." -Julian
“You know
it’s just not worth the stress. It really isn’t. The stresses and the strains.
I think the key point to all of this for me at least has been Sean. If I hurt
Sean’s mother, then I hurt Sean.” –Julian
“It’s a
round-about way of thinking about things. But because I love Sean so much, I
just don’t want to hurt him. I can get over it. I have gotten over it.” –Julian (his feud with Yoko)
"That
was part of something that Yoko felt very strongly about, that if she had kids,
the husband should help take care of them. I agreed to it before the
marriage." -Tony Cox
"I
didn't feel it right for me to become a mother without at least letting my
mother know that I'm alive and well." -Kyoko
“Losing
my daughter was a very serious pain. There was always some empty space in my
heart. When Sean was born, I thought I was given this very beautiful son, so I
should just let it go. And I did. When Kyoko appeared finally, I was totally in
shock. It felt like the part of me that was missing came back." -Yoko
"She’s
the hippest woman I know. She reads like three books a week. She gave me
Gasland and taught me about mountaintop removal, which is the way they're
destroying the national parks by bombing the mountaintops to get coal out of
them. She’s really got a special personality." -Sean
"I
just want to say to my two children not to defend me. I don't want them to
waste their time defending me, don't even think about the past or your mother
because your mother had a great life and you should know that." -Yoko
"My
son knows and likes me through my work and also as a mother.” -Yoko
"Whenever
I do something that I believe in, I think, ‘Well, this might kill me, but if
I’m killed I’m going to be with John, so it doesn’t matter.' Not that I want to
get there right away! I think, and I hope it’s true, that my two children would
like to have me around for a little bit. I think it’s very difficult for them
if I just suddenly plonk!” -Yoko
"But
life keeps changing, and each time you’re surprised by the next step. Being
pregnant. Being a mother. And then of course being a widow – which was an
incredible surprise, terrible. The next one is becoming old, and dealing with
that is very, very tough. And then you have your grandchildren." -Yoko
“Work
is
a sacred thing for me, I’m always working. John’s stuff, my stuff, stuff for
the world. For my children. I enjoy the busyness. I’m one of those people who
is a workaholic.” -Yoko
Roberto
Bassanini
"My
stepfather stepped in when my dad stepped out. The guy that took me to school.
He was the guy that took me on holidays. The guy that picked me up when I fell
down. He was the guy that taught me about life. So for me he was my father. You
know, a lot of people don't like to hear that but on my behalf it's true."
-Julian
"I
now believe in living for the moment. I learned that from my step-father
Roberto. He loved life to the extreme - every second of every day counted for
him, but it is only the last couple of years that I have tried to follow that
path myself." -Julian
John
Twist -------------
Sam Havadtoy "John
was a very strong presence in the family, and he just suddenly left. And we
were not prepared for it. Sam was a very special person who was very good with
Sean– and I needed some support as well.It was a friendship. A very good
one." -Yoko
Jim
Christie
------------
Noel
Charles
"Noel
Charles is the older brother I never had and also, in many ways, the father I
always wanted. Today he remains one of my dearest friends" -Julian
Julian
Lennon
"Well, I just want him to grow up happy. That's the main thing." -John
"Just love, that's the main thing you know. He's just going to be happy
and know he's wanted. I'm not having any of that boarding school or sending him
away. He's going to be with us all the time" -John
"Lycee seems the only place for him in his position. I feel sorry for him,
though. I couldn't stand ugly people even when I was five. Lots of the ugly
ones are foreign, aren't they?" -John
"Well, Cyn got possession, or whatever you call it. I got rights to see
him on his holidays and all that business and at least there's an open line
still going. It's not the best relationship between father and son, but it is
there. He's 17 now. Julian and I will have a relationship in the future. Over
the years he's been able to see through the Beatle image and to see through the
image that his mother will have given him, subconsciously or consciously.
He's interested in girls and autobikes now. I'm just sort of a figure in the
sky, but he's obliged to communicate with me, even when he probably doesn't
want to." -John
"I needed to find out who I was outside the music industry, and for the
first time in my life I found true peace of mind" -Julian
"I've found constancy and balance between creativity and
normality" -Julian (on music)
"Well, the first time I heard him sing, after John had died, really
freaked me out. Because it just sounded unbelievably like his father"
-Cynthia
"Years later he said something in an interview which was to hurt me very
much. He told Playboy magazine: "Julian was born out of a bottle of
whiskey on a Saturday night." John was with Yoko Ono then but I was still
offended and so was Julian. It was so untrue. I could tell that John said it to
impress the interviewer but it still hurt. For a start, we didn't even drink
whiskey in those days but the worst part was the implied denial of our love. We
were very much in love and very happy- Julian truly was a love child." -Cynthia
"We are very close. We're like brother and sister now" -Cynthia
"You
know, he had a lot of trouble and he's a really talented guy. If he was anybody
else, he would be totally successful. The guy has a great voice, he's a good
songwriter, he's a good musician" -Sean
"I haven't seen him for a long time, but it's been a nice gesture" -Lee
(Julian sent flowers to her during her brain cancer treatment)
"You should take him for what he is, by himself. He's very good by
himself. Take away John Lennon and he'd be greater. You can't do that. He's the
son of a famous father." -George Martin
"I happened to be driving out to see Cynthia. It was just after John and
she had broken up, and I was quite a mate with Julian. He's a nice kid" -Paul
"Julian happens to be a very talented young man. He's got a lot of good
tunes. But apart from physically looking like John, with his glasses and long
hair, he really isn't anything like John. He's more like his mother- he's much
gentler, softer. John was very tough and gave the Beatles their hard edge"
-George
"It's a dumb move on the publishing company's part because I don't think
it helps the songs in the long run. But if anybody's going to do it, I'd rather
it be Julian. I've got to laugh at that." -Paul (on Allstate's
Auto Insurance use of "When I'm 64" by Julian)
"I saw him last night, and he was extremely morose and arrogant, which is
very unlike him. I think maybe he feels he’s been used a lot. And I think, to
some extent, he has. Particularly by all the flighty young girls on the make. I
think that must be very strange for him. I mean, I was very flattered by it,
when I had gotten onto the club scene, to suddenly be surrounded by beautiful
blondes of seventeen. Then you suddenly realize that, basically, they’re just
standing next to you in the hope that there’s going to be a photograph, or that
you might give them a million pounds or something stupid. And five weeks later
they look like they’re dying. There’s something very tragic about it, and I
think Julian is too intelligent to go through that and not become a bit scarred
by it." -Pete Townshend
"He is a very sensitive soul and we feel very close to each other and get
on very well. He's going through difficult times, too, especially because he's
seventeen. It's very delicate. Cynthia did a very fine job bringing him up and
I don't want our closeness to interfere with his closeness to his mother. It's
a very complex situation" -Yoko
"These days, I don't hear from Julian, but I had a long relationship with
Julian since he was five or something, and he was such a sweet boy, but also it
was very difficult for him too. And I remember different things where I almost
felt his pain, you know, so it's a very difficult situation. He was very, very
exposed in some ways, so now I think it's good that he's taking time...I'm not
going to force him to be close to me or anything. He knows where I am and if he
wants to come I'd be very happy, but I'm sure that he's taking care of himself
in the way that he wants to." -Yoko
"He doesn't owe me anything. I'll make life as easy for him as I can but it's
no use me thinking what I would do if I was him because I'm not him and he
isn't Little Me" -John
"Growing up the son of the Beatle didn't seem any different to me as a
kid. It was the people around me that made me notice that there was something
different. It was hard to understand why people would like me more or dislike
me for having a famous father. I didn't understand about the fame. It was
difficult, but it was a learning thing." -Julian
"I don't remember seeing him as a child. It was the height of the Beatle
thing so I was working all the time, I never considered what it was doing to
him, I didn't even count it. The mother was at home, I was away, like most guys
at 24 or 25, they're too intent on their career really, you know" –John
“I bought him a slide but he’s got it already. He goes up and down on it but
I’m always buying him things anyway. There are a few things stuffed away in the
attic which he’s get. But Cyn takes care of it all” –John (before
Christmas 1965)
"It's a funny thing, the fans know we are married and that we have a
child. Some write to John about the baby- they call him 'baby Beatle'- but they
ignore the fact that I exist. But one of the things I have realized now is the
high price one has to pay for fame in loss of personal freedom" -Cynthia
"Don't you think he's wonderful?" -Brian Epstein
"My dad wasn’t really a photographer, so it just allows me to breathe a
little more. He used to take a couple Polaroid’s, but it wasn’t a potential
career. This is my own thing." -Julian
“I’ve never seen my son so happy as he is now.” –Cynthia (Julian’s
photography career)
“Julian
is the reason I started playing music actually because when I was a kid, I
remember when his first record hit the charts and he was, you know, the biggest
thing that existed in the world.” –Sean
“Actually
he taught me how to play guitar” –Sean
“The
truth is that Julian was like my hero. He still is. He sings much better than I
do.” –Sean
“I had a
normal life, growing up in Liverpool- I did the things the best of the boys did
in our neighborhood. I didn’t stand out in any way and nobody gave me any
special attention. I think that’s best for a boy growing up, and I want it to
be that way for my son.” –John
“Time enough for that later on. If he’s got talent, it’ll show in good time.
Meanwhile, my wife and I just want him to have a normal childhood, you know
what I mean?” –John
“He actually put the “J” in my name. I went into Brian’s office, and he said,
‘John’s got a suggestion. How about Billy ‘J’ Kramer. It’s American sounding,
it’s catchy. It flows.’ And I said, ‘What do I say if someone asks what it
stands for?’ And he said, ‘Julian’. Now, I didn’t even know John was married,
let alone had a son called Julian, so I said, ‘I don’t like that name, that’s a
real poofter’s name!’” –Billy J. Kramer
“Julian’s first record was great but it was produced in a very similar style to
his dad, and consequently everyone compares it. You're never going to come out
of that well. So I kept my head down.” -Dhani
“He’s intelligent and sensitive. He’s had a terrible time actually. And
also, just like Sean, having a huge daddy didn’t help really.” -Yoko
"We were two very energetic school kids. He would say 'Come on, Lucy', to
get me to do things. He was the bravest boy in school whom I recall jumping
into a freezing swimming pool." -Lucy O'Donnell Vodden
"On the plane, Lennon was complaining about the British paparazzi who a
few days earlier had sneaked up on them and taken a picture of their baby,
Julian. Lennon was annoyed by that. To me it was just the beginning of what was
going to become his life." -Harry Benson, Photographer
"The first thing Julian wanted to do in life, well, before he wanted to be
an artist and then a musician, was to be a chef. He'd come home and say 'Why
don't you bake cakes like my friends' mothers?' I'd say, 'Oh, Julian, go out and
buy a Mary Baker cake mix and do it yourself!' That started him off! By the
time he was 13, he'd disappear into the kitchen whenever we had visitors and
emerge with beautiful canapes. Now he thinks nothing of cooking for ten or 15
people, and he does it so calmly." -Cynthia
"I feel I have to apologize for saying it more than once, but my son is
amazing. We have such an understanding. It's no bullshit and I'm not being
sugary or sentimental: he's just turned out above and beyond my wildest
dreams." -Cynthia
"It was the first time the two of us have been in Liverpool together since
he was born. He doesn't even know Liverpool but he's got the best Liverpool
accent. I had to learn a Liverpool accent when I was thrown in the deep end at
art college, and all the Liverpudlians said I was posh. He's only been in
Liverpool for five minutes and he's got the best Liverpool accent" -Cynthia
"All that mattered was for him to be a happy little soul. Just to be a
free spirit, and not to be too much influenced by what was going on around him,
like crazy parties, night clubs and drugs. I tried to protect him from the
little bit of lunacy that was going on at the time. Hopefully I represented the
normal in his life." -Cynthia
"At first people thought I was jumping on the bandwagon but it's up to
them to come along and have a look for themselves. I think people had it in for
Julian," -Zak
"When I was a baby and my parents were still together, I was called 'John'
and there was always confusion. My mum would say, 'John come here,' and we
wouldn't know which one. So they started calling me Julian to clear up that
problem. The name fits me" -Julian
"He likes Queen, though I haven't heard them yet. He turns me on to music.
I call him and he says, 'Have you heard Queen?' and I say 'No, what is it?'
I've heard of them...and then he tells me. His age group is hipper to music, at
11 I was aware of music, but not too much." -John
"Seeing him is good. What we do is irrelevant. I went through a period of,
'What are we gonna do?' and all that crap. It doesn't really matter. As long as
he's around. Cause I don't see him that often." -John
“I think he likes Paul better than me … I have the funny feeling he wishes Paul
was his Dad. But unfortunately he got me … It must be hard to be son of
anybody. He is a bright kid and he’s into music. I didn’t encourage him, but
he’s already got a band in school. But they sing rock’n’roll songs, ’cause
their teacher is my age. So he teaches them “Long Tall Sally” and a couple of
Beatles numbers. He likes Barry White and he likes Gilbert O’ Sullivan.” -John
“I think Julian ought to get a real job. I've heard him sing
and it's not my cup of tea. Julian doesn't keep in touch, not that it worries
me too much.” -Mimi Smith
“John used to play with Julian on his skateboard. When skateboards first came
out in the 60s, they were quite small. Basically, it was just a board with
roller skates. They used to play outside on the slope leading up to the
house.” -Dorothy Jarlett (The Lennons housekeeper in Kenwood)
"Julian was, from the beginning, a very attractive little boy, extremely
sensitive, and intelligent. I think this whole thing about stepmother, which is
an ugly word, first of all... it's really not like Hansel & Gretel to
me. Now, the modern stepmother, and there are many divorces in the '60s- it was
like a norm... stepmothers try very hard to make it OK for the children. For
children, it's very, very difficult. It was extremely difficult for Julian.
Julian and I tried to be friends. Of course, if he's too friendly with me, then
I think that it hurts his other relatives. He was very loyal to his mother.
That was the first thing that was in his mind. She was feeling, I think, very
hurt about the situation. He shared that anger, probably. He wasn't angry with
me. He was very nice. All through his growing up, I felt we were having a
fairly good relationship. It must have been more difficult for him... So that
if he prefers not to visit me so much, then I understand." -Yoko
Kyoko Cox
"I lost Kyoko when she was about 5. I was sort of an offbeat mother but we
had very good communication. I wasn't particulary taking care of her, but she
was always with me- on stage or at gallery shows, whatever. When she was not
even a year old, I took her on stage as an instrument- an uncontrollable
instrument, you know. My communication with her was on the level of sharing
conversation and doing thing. She was closer to my ex-husban because of
that" -Yoko
"I was an offbeat mother from the beginning. I wasn't always with her,
though there was spiritual communication between us. But since she disappeared
there was a time in my life when John and I would be watching TV and a child
would come on the screen, we would switch the channel because I couldn't bear
seeing children. Because it reminded me of Kyoko" -Yoko
“It’s a very good relationship. We’re friends. I’m just very thankful that
she’s so independent and intelligent.” –Yoko
“It was very hard. I remembered her as a little girl and I kept buying her
small beautiful cashmere sweaters. They piled up in my dressing room until
someone said to me, ‘Do you realize she’s now 26, she’s probably larger than
you, why are you keeping those little things?’ It was terrible. I didn’t know
where she was. It was a kidnapping and a very difficult situation. She had so
much love for her father who took care of her ail that time, and he had said
very clearly that if she searched me out she would never see him again.” –Yoko
“She got
married and before they were going to have a child the husband said – he’s a
very intelligent guy – you have to say hello to your mother before you have the
baby because the baby is going to wonder where the grandmother is. So she
came.” –Yoko
“It was
really difficult for me to adjust to that. I didn’t think it was going to be
the last of my career. I didn’t think of it as a sacrifice. I just kept
thinking that I had a tumor inside of me. I’m just being honest. Now I’m going
to be getting flak from people saying I’m destroying motherhood. I’m told some
women love being pregnant but I haven’t met any of them. I had miscarriages
before my daughter and after. I’ve never had an abortion. I think it was
written that I had. My daughter was such a beautiful baby, I fell in love with
her the minute she was here. Emotionally we are close, at least now we are.” –Yoko
“I told
myself that at least he loves her. Maybe she was OK with him. I was going
through so much prejudice I questioned everything.” –Yoko
"She
really has her own life. I can't emphasize that enough." -Tony Cox
"Because of our life-style, she was taught with tutors, studied in foreign
schools and has a conception of the world that's very mature for someone her
age." -Tony Cox
"She's a completely independent individual. After seeing what some of the
aspects of public life are about, she realized that was one thing she did not
want." -Tony Cox
"Everything is good again now Kyoko is back. It was such a long time,
but when I heard her voice, I knew it was her." -Yoko
“It was so hard. It was more than 20 years that we spent apart. She phoned my
office downstairs. I saw the office people, very pale, scurrying around, and I
asked, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, ‘We’ve had a call from your daughter. And
we think it really is your daughter.’ I thought, ‘Oh my God…’ That first
meeting I was so nervous, so nervous. I was at the airport in New York waiting
for her to come out.” -Yoko
"It was a kidnapping, and it was terrible. It was different for her.
She was OK and she didn't understand what was happening. She didn't suffer so
much at the time, although later it was difficult for her to cope." -Yoko
"I didn't know what it was going to be like. I was very nervous. But
she's a very intelligent and sensitive woman, I'm really very proud of her. We
are friends now." -Yoko
"What
happened was, Kyoko came out and said that, 'We are planning to have a child and
my husband thinks that I should get in touch with you before I have a child.'
So it was her husband that made it well for us." -Yoko
Sean Lennon
"I have a lot of love and respect for Sean, whatever he does." -Julian
"I
love Sean to death, I think he's a very smart kid" -Julian
"I
have no bones to pick with Sean whatsoever, I care about him a great deal, I
used to babysit him. He's blood, he's my brother." -Julian
"He's
special to us and he's beautiful physically and otherwise" -John
"In the way we think, Sean chose us as parents" -John
"Sean looks oriental but looks like John. People say it's eerie." -Yoko
"It's very difficult for him because most people immediately compare him
to John, but he's an artist and a musician in his own right. Sean has a very,
very big father, but he is very good and I'm sure that John is very happy about
that...He's very arty. He hates cheesy things, so it's good in that sense. He's
become the kind of boy John would have approved. Sean has grown into mainly
focusing on his talent, and refining his talent, and it's a nice quality in
Sean that he has a very pure heart." -Yoko
"The joy is still there when I see Sean. He didn't come out of my belly,
but my God, I've made his bones because I've attended to every meal, and how he
sleeps, and the fact that he swims like a fish because I took him to the ocean.
I'm so proud of all the those things. But he is my biggest pride." -John
'I’m not involving Sean in the businesses because I think he should have the
time to fly on his own, as an individual, and that’s what he was doing until he
helped me create this record. I just want him to have that time, as much as he
can. He will have to take responsibility for it all at some point, but maybe by
then it will have simplified. If I can somehow set it up so that he will not
have to be burdened so much, I would love to do that. I’m trying to do as much
as possible before I go.” -Yoko
"We're as close as can be. The media have said that we've been feuding for
years. We've never had an argument in our lives. I'm trying to clear the record
because it hurts Sean and it hurts his mum, too. We've always been close. To
me, he's blood." –Julian
“There’s nothing I can say that’s wrong about Sean because he’s really grown to
be a very good musician, singer, songwriter. It’s very difficult for him
because most people immediately compare him to John, but he’s an artist and a
musician in his own right. Sean has a very, very big father, but he is very
good and I’m sure that John is very happy about that. If Sean was just riding
on his father’s fame and going up onstage and doing something cheesy, I’m sure
that John would be very upset. Sean is the opposite. He’s very artsy. He hates
cheesy things, so it’s very good in that sense. He’s become the kind of boy
John would have approved. Sean has grown into mainly focusing on his talent,
and refining his talent, and it’s a nice quality in Sean that he has a very
pure heart.” –Yoko
"We don’t see each other that often, but when we do, sometimes we’ll just
look at each other and go, 'Whoa, dude…you look like my dad’s best
friend.'" -Dhani
"We got back together, decided this was our life, that having a baby
was important to us and that anything else was subsidiary to that. We worked
hard for that child. We went through all hell trying to have a baby, through
many miscarriages and other problems. He is what they call a love child in
truth." -John
"Sean is like John in every way- looks and manner- and he has got John's
sense of humour. His speech, his self-confidence- and he's quite the
entertainer! As long as he keeps away from music, he will be all right" -Mimi
Smith
"He has his independent life, and I have my work, but I think he sort of
enjoys it. I don't think he misses the fact that his mother doesn't make his
chicken soup and say 'Drink your milk' all the time. He seems to like me." -Yoko
"Growing up, I fantasized about being a rock musician and that somehow it
would be really easy. I didn't realize that it's so much work." -Sean
"I think the thing about getting older is it’s made me more aware of the
finite nature of time on the planet. I think when you’re in your early 30s or
late 20s, time feels more abstract. I think there’s something about facing
mid-life that makes time very– well, the opposite of abstract. It makes it real
and observable and you see how many years you have left, at best.” -Sean
"Now that I’m older, I feel I’m accepting myself as a professional guitar
player, and it’s okay to have cool pedals and guitars. When I was younger, I
was more interested in recording, songwriting, playing drums and bass. A cheapo
just seemed right, because I didn’t think guitar was my thing. I mean, the people
around me when I was growing up were so good at guitar. Everyone was shredding
and tapping, and I was just like, 'Eh, I’m just over here writing songs!'” -Sean
“I walk to where my son lives sometimes. Sean is a musician, he sleeps late and
I don’t want to bother him. But he works all night, sometimes, and my schedule
is early morning, so if I know he’s still up I say, ‘Let’s have a coffee before
you go to sleep.’ I’ll walk over there.” -Yoko
"Doctors
told us we could never have a child. We almost gave up. 'Well, that's it, then,
we can't have one.' We were told something was wrong with my sperm, that I
abused myself so much in my youth that there was no chance. Yoko was 43, and so
they said, no way. She has had too many miscarriages and when she was a young
girl, there were no pills, so there were lots of abortions and miscarriages;
her stomach must be like Kew Gardens in London. No way. But this Chinese
acupuncturist in San Francisco said, 'You behave yourself. No drugs, eat well,
no drink. You have child in 18 months.' And we said, 'But the English doctors
said...' He said, 'Forget what they said. You have child.' We had Sean and sent
the acupuncturist a Polaroid of him just before he died, God rest his
soul...Not because of her age but because of a screw-up in the hospital and the
fucking price of fame. Somebody had made a transfusion of the wrong blood type
into Yoko. I was there when it happened, and she starts to go rigid, and then
shake, from the pain and the trauma. I run up to this nurse and say, 'Go get
the doctor!' I'm holding on tight to Yoko while this guy gets to the hospital
room. He walks in, hardly notices that Yoko is going through fucking
convulsions, goes straight for me, smiles, shakes my hand and says, 'I've
always wanted to meet you, Mr. Lennon, I always enjoyed your music.' I start
screaming: 'My wife's dying and you wanna talk about my music!'
Christ" -John
"We
became closer, I must say, because of the tragedy, I think. And also, he's very
gentle, kind person. And he knows that his mother went through
something...difficult time." -Yoko
"Well,
Sean's not John and he's not me and I don't know how he's going to develop.
He's just being himself. And in that sense, he's amazing." -Yoko
"John
and Sean sharing a birthday is very sweet. Because you see, the feeling that I
have, and probably Sean does too, is the fact that John is still around, and
looking over us and protecting us. So his birthday is really a happy moment for
us, a happy day for us." -Yoko
"I
don't want to push Sean into anything but also I don't want to discourage him.
It's a very delicate balance there, I think." -Yoko
"I
think Sean is amazing. Well, children are amazing and there's no exception with
Sean." -Yoko
"Sean
is like a friend. And of course, as a mother, I do try to take care of a few
things, too, oversee things." -Yoko
"Both
John and I never encouraged Sean to listen to us, music or anything like that.
I mean, John didn't even tell him about the Beatles. He found out about it, and
he found out about my songs, too, and I don't know where he got them. He seems
to know all the lyrics, every title, everything..." -Yoko
Sean
likes the fact that because he was the only child- he was always saying, 'I'm
the only child, I mean, I don't have anybody around me,' or something so it was
good that he got together with Julian, and also, by the way, he got together
with Kyoko too." -Yoko
"Sean is the apple in my eye. I think that just as any teenager, he was
almost resentful that the mother is always getting in touch with him. 'You're
calling me again!' you know, when you're trying to be independent, 'You don't
have to call, I'm fine'. That's normal for any child. Now he's 27, he's
starting to calm down about it. He calls me too! He's a very good friend."
-Yoko
Emi
and Jack Helfrich (by Kyoko) “They’re really beautiful people, and I enjoy them very much. I think
they were intimidated at first, to come to my place. But now they’re used to it, and they love it. We have a great time,
going to my country farm.” –Yoko
“Before Emi was born they
asked me what I wanted them to call me and I said Baba, it’s very easy and a sound that’s used a lot in Japanese.” -Yoko
“You know, she and Jim are very sensible people. They had planned to have children — they are that sort
of people — and he said to her, ‘Before we have a child, you have to go to your mother.’ What a sensible
idea.” -Yoko
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