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Uncle Paul & Jules

Before I began, I'll be posting about Hey Jude on another date. For this, I'm primarily going focus on the relationship between Paul and Julian. Hey Jude will be a passing mention on this. 

Paul and Julian walking during a vacation and Island shopping in Greece, July of 1967

Paul McCartney have known Julian Lennon since birth and they were very close, often playing together. I am not sure when Paul officially met Julian - more than likely when Julian came home to Mendips from the hospital and before John went to Spain with Brian Epstein in April of 1963. During that month was pretty big for Paul: on the 18th (when Julian was 10 days old), he met Jane Asher backstage at Royal Albert Hall and they were very soon a couple. When John, Cynthia, and Julian moved to London by November of 1963 (they all did - they all shared an apartment at first but once it became clear their base was London John got his own apartment while Paul moved in with Jane Asher and her family), Paul was a frequent visitor. He even accompanied John and Cynthia from the London apartment to Weybridge where Paul continued to be a frequent visitor.

"Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit— more than dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad." 

Julian, 2002

"He's a great little fellow. Got his dad's ways, but his mum's looks."

Paul McCartney, 1967

In 1968 while John and Cynthia Lennon were divorcing, Paul felt bad for Julian and wrote a song (Hey Jude) while driving out to Kenwood to see Cynthia and Julian. Paul continued to see Julian occasionally until 1970 when The Beatles broke up. It wasn't until 1974 while Julian was visiting his father in Los Angeles he saw Paul again. A lot of people believe that Paul was always there for Julian but at this point during the 1970s I don't believe it. It was a very hectic time for Paul: he had his own family (wife Linda and four children); he also had his own band Wings with recordings and tours around the globe. Paul divided his time between London, Sussex, Rye, New York City, Scotland, and Arizona when not touring. Another thing to point out is that Paul really has no responsibility whatsoever for Julian - that was John's job. I'll discuss 1974 in a future post however it'll be 10 years until Paul and Julian would see each other again. I don't know if Paul reached out to Julian (or Cynthia) when John died in December of 1980? 

 

Paul and Julian on the set of USA's Friday Night Videos in 1984

Although they kept in touch, Paul and Julian would next see each other on USA's Friday Night Videos in 1984; when Julian's first album Valotte came out, Paul sent him a telegram wishing him luck. 

“I remember rolling about on the floor, wrestling with Paul, when I was a kid. He always sends me telegrams on my birthday, which is nice, and he sent me one about the record a couple of days ago: ‘Good luck, old fruit.'” 

Julian, 1985

In 2002, Allstate Insurance enlisted Julian to sing When I'm 64 for their commercial jingle for their The Right Hands Make All the Difference advertising campaign to provide retirement planning, retirement savings services, and property-casualty insurance. Although he wasn't thrilled with his song being used as a jingle, Paul did approve of Julian singing it!

"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 McCartney, 2002

In April of 2003, Julian attended Paul's concert at Earl's Court in London; he was seen going to his seat after coming from backstage. There's a possibility that Julian met Heather Mills (then pregnant with Beatrice). The next known encounter would be in Las Vegas for the opening night premiere of LOVE in June of 2006.

"Paul and I have always exchanged birthday and Christmas cards, and I last saw him in Las Vegas a couple of years ago." 

Julian

In June of 2010, Julian attended Paul's concert in Hyde Park in London. I don't know if Julian visited Paul backstage this time around. Around this time, Julian was putting together his book, Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection, where he included a copy of an artwork that John made for Paul (who has the original - I doubt Paul would ever give up something that John gave him!).

"There's a collage pictures in the book that Dad made for Paul and Paul made me a copy of. It was very sweet. And you know, he wrote Hey Jude about me, so the connection with Paul is pretty tight. I saw him when he played at London's Hyde Park this summer and I thought he was fab." 

Julian, 2010

However, after Paul got married to Nancy Shevell in London in October of 2011, including a reception party in New York City a few weeks later, Julian happened to be in town for both events... Except he wasn't invited. There was also the premiere of Living in the Material World (documentary about George Harrison) in London around the same time - Sean (and Yoko) went. Julian wasn't invited. With all these events happening, Julian got furious for being left out (to be fair, Sean and Yoko didn't go to the wedding, however they did go to the New York reception), so he wrote a scathing post on Facebook, which he later deleted. Of course the media tabloids had a field day with that! Julian soon claim that his post was taken too far as a whine instead of whimsical humor. Paul's spokesman got wind of it and assured that Julian was part of the family but it was thought that Julian was in Italy, it was an oversight. 

"It was laughable, I really did think it’s just too funny to be real. I try to look at it in a lighter way otherwise I would be at war with everybody. I am not going to say that we weren’t close because he certainly was around at certain times of my life that were important. The wedding? Well, OK, but at least maybe the reception. All of my friends, who are mutual friends, went. I don’t want to dwell on it. He did get back to me saying someone obviously made a huge mistake and I accept that. I’ll leave it at that. I think I could handle things a little more delicately but I also don’t want to candy coat things, I don’t want to fight with anybody but there are some things I have to stand up for. That comes from Dad and it comes from Mum. She is not going to take any shit from anybody, especially given what’s she’s been through in her life.”

Julian, 2012

In 2013, Paul donated his Ram (originally released in 1971) boxset for Julian's White Feather Foundation charity auction, signed and filled with goodies (like remastered CDs, booklets filled with photos and lyric sheets, etc).

Paul and Julian at Heathrow Airport when they ran into each other on November 12, 2022

From Julian's Instagram

Through the years, there had been correspondence and occasional meetings - most recent to date was a chance run-in on November 12, 2022 at Heathrow Airport (during Julian's album release of Jude; the handwriting on the album cover was Paul's, used with permission).

“Paul and I do keep in touch. We send each other cards for Christmas and birthdays. But it’s difficult, he is touring all over the world like the Energizer bunny he doesn’t stop. That’s someone to definitely look up in regards to longevity in a career. Hey Jude is very much a consoling song, when one does falls on to the hard times, to be aware that I need to remain strong, keep strong throughout, you have strength within you. We all do and it’s all about bringing that pride and strength back into your life." 

Julian, 2022

I believe Julian finally met Nancy at George Martin's memorial service in 2016 (or maybe at Dhani Harrison's wedding to Sola Káradóttir in 2012 but that's unconfirmed - Julian congratulating Dhani on Facebook is all I got at this time ... Or as early as 2010 at Paul's Hyde Park concert?). Nancy and Julian definitely crossed paths at MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Joni Mitchell in Las Vegas on April 1, 2022 but no photos have been posted so far. 

Watchful Uncle

 

Another Round of Random Quotes

There are times when I post something here and then I will find something that could've been part of that post. However, while I have gone back to update some posts, there are times when there's too much to add and I don't really want to "wake up" a four year old post with new stuff. 

So, here are some quotes over subjects I have already covered. Links to that certain subject will be provided for. 

"We all know what happens when we go into business with friends, but we do it anyway."

Cynthia, 1990 

(when she left the restaurant Lennon's when the business venture failed)

For the post Restaurant Entrepreneur 

"I couldn't believe all the love-ins and the bag-ins he did with Yoko. This was overwhelmingly a takeover of John's mind and creativity. I think he left his brain behind. It was between his legs for a time."

Cynthia

For the post After the Divorce

"I think I dreaded telling John more than I was afraid of having to tell my mother. Mum was coming over to see me from Canada, and there was no way I was going to be able to keep it from her. One look at me and she would have known straight off in any case, I felt sure. As for John, I was terrified of how he was going to react. I was afraid we'd get into a terrible row about it, as if it was somehow my fault. I cried and cried, all on my own, and eventually I made a decision. John was almost certain to dump me. Things were really beginning to happen for the group, and he couldn't be held back by a thing like this. An abortion was out of the question. It was still against the law. Women could and did go to backstreet abortionists in those days, but you risked your life if you did. Of course girls still agonize today over whether or not to keep their babies, but at least it is their decision to make. I was going to have to go it alone. I knew I'd be made to feel ashamed, that I'd be stigmatized, but I couldn't bear the thought of the alternative. I still had to tell John. He had a right to know. I couldn't bring myself to do it for days, but eventually I took a deep breath and I went for it. I still remember that day so clearly. I watched the blood.drain from his face, and I flinched and squirmed. I might have convinced myself that he was going to hit me. But then when he said, 'We'll have to get married,' it was like all my Christmases had come at once. I could hardly believe it. I told him he didn't have to, that I would understand if he didn't want to do it. 'No', he insisted, he loved me and that was that. 'It took two of us to make a baby,' he said, 'and it'll take two of us to bring it up. I'm not having you going through this on your own.' I cried and cried, with happiness, gratitude, and relief. We were going to be a proper little family."

Cynthia, 1989

For the post First Comes Love, Then Pregnancy

"There was something about being 'his girl' because it was the last thing that anyone expected. I confess, I did bask a little in his limelight. I can't explain it, really, I just did. I was shy and low-key, and me being with him did shock people. Being around John, being one of his inner circle, made anyone more interesting. There was also the fact that my mother couldn't stand him, and she made her feelings plain. She warned me that he was a very bad influence, and that no good could come of our relationship. Of course, that just made me want him all the more. It's fuel to the fire, isn't it, warning your son or daughter off some undesirable they might be falling for. It was exactly the same with Mimi. She was blinkered to the truth about him. She simply didn't see what everyone else saw. He was the apple of her eye, and no female was ever going to be good enough for her John. Not even a nicely brought up girl like me, even though I say it myself. Mimi couldn't bring herself to accept or approve of anyone who was closer to John than she was."

Cynthia, 1989

For the post Wild Ride: The Dating Years

"John seemed in need of affection, and depended on Cynthia. She used to sit at the side of the stage, dressed usually in skirts and sweaters, never saying much."

Ken Brown

For the post Rock n' Roll Girlfriend

"What do we know, at 18? And don't forget, he was the youngest, and girls tend to be much more mature than boys at that age. But of the two of us, he was the old jaded one while I was the shy, innocent, starry-eyed one. The entire time we were together, there was never a moment when the mere thought of him didn't set off the butterflies in my tummy, when I didn't feel all gasp-y and hot-cheeked. John literally took my breath away. It was as if I didn't have a choice: I had to be with him, and that was that. There's something incredibly sexy about the power that one person can wield over another, don't you think? It's that rush of adrenaline when you see them or even just think about them, I suppose. That confusing music confidence and vulnerability in a person is a truly intoxicating thing. It was not so much that he believed he was better than everyone else, but that he really didn't care either way. John could have had any girl he wanted. He could have had any of us, but he wanted me. In truth, there isn't anything that I wouldn't have done for him. I still felt that way long after we were divorced. Despite all the blood that had flowed under the bridge. John was complicated. More screwed-up than most people ever knew. I wanted more than anything for him to be happy. I don't believe he ever was, and that kills me."

Cynthia, 1989

Also for the post Wild Ride: The Dating Years

"Cynthia was talking to my wife Margaret, and asking her how she managed being left at home while The Shadows were away on tour. Towards the end of the party, an argument started up. When differences of opinion are mixed with booze, it almost always ends badly."

Brian Bennett, regarding Paul's 21st birthday party

For the post I Don't Want to Spoil the Party 

These following quotes about Alma Cogan are for John the Naughty Husband.

"John thought I didn't know anything about him and Alma, and I never let on. Now that I think about it, with all the emotion gone out of it, I can absolutely see the attraction. Alma was older than John, and very much the Auntie figure. Don't forget that Yoko was also older than him, by about 7 years. Like Yoko, in so many ways, Alma was a very compelling woman. Both were driven by self-worth. You couldn't really say that either of them was beautiful, could you, not in the conventional sense. But it was as if they truly believed that they were special. If you can convince yourself of that, other people tend to think you are too. They were very alike in that sense. No, the idea of John and Alma together doesn't surprise me in the least. She was sexy, vivacious, and fun. A woman of the world. Why wouldn't John be drawn to her?"

Cynthia, 1989

"It was tragic, and I felt sorry for them all: Alma, her mother and sister,and yes, even for John. At the same time, from a selfish point of view, I couldn't help feeling relieved. The woman that my husband perhaps earmarked to replace his beloved Aunt Mimi in his affections was now lost to him. My marriage was no longer under threat."

Cynthia, 1989, regarding Alma's death in 1966

"I never got invited to Alma's parties. I was kept under wraps. John was a famous pop star, and it was all about keeping the legions of fans happy. It wasn't good for his image to have a wife and baby trailing on his coattails. Brian insisted on that. John had to be perceived to be single, and I just had to lump it. Everyone who was anyone used to go to those parties: Roger Moore, Ethel Merman, Michael Caine, even Princess Margaret. I never went."

Cynthia, 1989

Really, Cynthia? You never went? And yet in 2005 in your book John, you wrote how you met Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski at one of Alma's parties! Well, whatever, let's continue on:

"John met Yoko when he needed to, just a fortnight into his grief over Alma Cogan. She was this obsessive fan who'd turn up and follow him around. She irritated the life out of John to begin with. But Alma died, and something odd happened to him. Things turned. Yoko must have seen her opportunity, and seized it. She wore the trousers, and would control and dominate John for the rest of his life. So, Yoko became John's new Aunt Mimi. She worked out what John needed in a woman, right under my nose, and she reinvented herself."

Cynthia, 1989

And now we are moving to divorce. 

When the Marriage Ends, Vol. 1

When the Marriage Ends, Vol. 2

"Needs must. My divorce settlement from John was very modest, and of course it's all gone now. I'll do whatever it takes to get by. I have to pay the bills like everyone else."

Cynthia

"I can't explain that. I couldn't think straight, I was out of control, I didn't want my child to see me in that state. I was destroyed by the thought of them together, how close they looked, how in tune with each other, and what they must have been getting up to in my home, behind my back. I was sick to the stomach. Any woman would be. I have asked myself so many times down the years why did I feel that I was the one who had to walk out? Why did I feel uncomfortable sticking around? It was my house, not hers! I should have kicked them both out, there and then. But I know that I wouldn't have had it in me to do that. Even though, when I saw her there, I was so angry and humiliated, I wanted to kill her. I went back with Alex and Jenny, to the place they shared. Jenny was shattered, and went straight to bed. Alex loitered, got me drunk, and made a pass at me. I was horrified. I ran to the bathroom and threw up. It wasn't until a few days later that I went home to face the music, terrified of what I would find there."

Cynthia, 1989

"Things like the time he slapped me across the face when we were still at college. The time he told me that the sound of me putting on my mascara really irritated him. There was a time when he used to love watching me put on my makeup. When we were courting, 'It was the sexiest thing,' he said. But then, of course, there was Yoko, with her make-up free face... I had to find ways of making myself hate him, and to help me feel stronger, more ready for him for whatever else he was going to throw at me. But you wouldn't believe it: when I got there, it was as if nothing had happened. Julian was already at home, everything was ship-shaped, and John acted like he was pleased to see me. Was I hallucinating? Nothing made sense. I really did start to doubt my own sanity. Once Julian was in bed and John and I were able to talk, he sat there dismissing Yoko as just another of the meaningless women he had previously confessed to having gone with. I must not let them bother me, he said. God help me, what kind of a wimp was I? I wouldn't take that lying down now! He insisted that he loved me and only me. I was in turmoil. But, once to bed and we made love. I didn't know what to think. None of this was normal. Was it the drugs? Even then, I dared to believe that everything was OK between us. It was about as far from the truth as you could get."

Cynthia, 1989