Together with the Portuguese guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, Julian Lennon has re-recorded what is probably his father’s most famous song: “Imagine”. The cover of the hymn of peace, already presented as a video clip, is now also available as a single on Spotify, among other places. A portion of the proceeds will go to organizations helping refugees from Ukraine through Lennon’s non-profit organization The White Feather Foundation.
The war in Ukraine is an “unbelievable tragedy” for Julian Lennon. As a person and as an artist, he wanted to answer as clearly as possible. “The song transports us to a world where love and togetherness is the reality, if only for a brief moment,” Lennon explained.
The musician first performed his father’s song in April this year. He was part of the Stand up for Ukraine campaign – an international fundraising campaign that hosted concerts in Warsaw. “Today I’m playing my father’s song for the first time,” Lennon explained on stage. “Imagien” would symbolize the “light at the end of the tunnel” that everyone is so hoping for. Here is the live performance:
Difficult relationship with John Lennon
Actually, the 59-year-old never wanted to sing the song. The difficult relationship with his father, who died in 1980, is well known. “I’ve always said I won’t play the song until the world ends,” Lennon said cynically. But now everything is different.
Julian Lennon claims to have rediscovered his love for his father. The reason was the Beatles documentary “Get Back” by “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson. The three-part documentary series was released on Disney+ in November 2021 and focuses on the creative process of the Beatles in the making of their album “Let it be”. Julian was delighted. He wrote on Instagram that the insights made him “inspired” and “proud”. “It made me feel more love for my family than ever before”