FAQs Menu

Hey Jules / Fan Issues

1.1 Who does Hey Jules?
1.2 Why have you disabled right click on this site?
1.3 Can you send me an autographed photo?
1.4 Can you give me Julian's email/snail address?
1.5 Can I contribute to this site?
1.6 Where can I buy...?

Career/Music Issues

2.1 When is Julian releasing his next album/when is his next tour?
2.2 What record label is Julian under?
2.3 What type of guitar does Julian play?
2.4 What were Julian's biggest hit singles?
2.5 What did Julian do in the 7 years between Help Yourself and Photograph Smile?
2.6 What is Valotte?
2.7 Who are Julian's musical influences/What does he listen to?
2.8 Is there sheet music/tabs available for...?
2.9 How many albums has Julian released?

Personal Issues

3.1 When was Julian born?
3.2 Is Julian married? / Does he have children?
3.3 Where is Julian currently living?
3.4 Was "Hey Jude" written for Julian by Paul McCartney?
3.5 What is the story behind "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds?
3.6 During the Photograph Smile tour Julian wore  "4" and "B" charms. What do they stand for?

People who have worked with Julian/ Julian has worked with

4.1 What happened to Justin Clayton?
4.2 Can you tell me anything about the girl Gemma Hayes who sings with Julian on the song "Faithful"?
4.3 Was Julian in a band called "Quasar" back in the early 80s?

 

Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

Hey Jules / Fan Issues

1.1 Who Does Hey Jules?
Hey Jules has a single webmaster... CJ Burianek. However, there have been MANY fans over the years who have donated articles, photos, stories, suggestions etc... As far as site design, majority of the html is done using FrontPage. All graphics are created using Corel PhotoPaint/Corel Draw/VideoWave.

1.2 Why have you disabled right click on this site?
I have disabled right click because I got tired of seeing my graphics show up on other sites. Two particular instances really bothered me. The first was finding a graphic I had done with "Hey Jules" prominently on it being used to promote a sale on eBay. The second was finding one of my own photographs of Julian being used as the cover on a bootleg album.

1.3 Can you send me an autographed photo?
Sorry but no... The Official Site, http://www.julianlennon.com does have a monthly competition which you can enter to win autographed merchandise at times.

1.4 Can you give me Julian's email/snail address?
Sorry, I do not have an address which I can give out for fans to write to or send other items to Julian email or otherwise.

1.5 Can I contribute to this site?
If you'd like to contribute to Hey Jules email me via my contact form...
I'm particularly interested in personal fan stories/photos as well as articles and items from countries around the world...

1.6 Where can I buy...?
I have listed numerous items on the site in the Music & Memorabilia section as information for what is/has been available... Hey Jules is simply a fan site and does not sell merchandise.

The official website has started an online store offering official T-shirts and Photograph Smile CDs - Go to www.julianlennon.com

Secret Value of Daydreaming and Mr. Jordan are currently out of print in the US... however, CDNow carries the Germany import of Mr. Jordan which has the bonus of "Johnny B. Good" which was not on the US version for $14.99. I highly recommend this one to any Jules fan as his version of "Johnny B. Good" on the piano is a lot of fun. All the others albums including some guest appearances like "Coles Song" from Mr. Holland's Opus and "Ruby Tuesday" from The Wonder Years Soundtrack can be purchased at CDNow as well.. They have a Japan import of Secret Value of Daydreaming as well but it is high at $33.99... it is best to check eBay or Gemm for a used version of SV as well as any singles...

CDnow

Career/Musical Issues

2.1 When is Julian releasing his next album/when is his next tour?
I get asked this one A LOT and quite honestly, you're guess is probably as good as mine... There has been talk of a "Best of Album" as well as a new album... During the 1999 tour Julian also talked about doing an orchestra tour as well as a tour in South America... no dates have been set for any of these ventures and it is not known which if any Julian will actually do... I heard Julian worked on some new material with Gregory Darling and Matt Backer the spring/summer of 2000... and that he is currently looking for new musicians and producers to record some new music. He is also looking at putting a studio into his home and perhaps releasing some music directly through JulianLennon.com... again, no actual dates are known... nor is it known what he will actually do...

This is actually typical of Julian to talk about new material and a new album and bigger and better tours while on tour and in the public eye and then once he has time to himself he tends to retreat and savor not being in the public eye and having time to himself to explore his other interests which include cooking and painting... He tends to come back from these times of retreat more refreshed and with a stronger idea of who he is and what he really wants to do which reflects in his music and his attitude towards life in general.

It has also been asked if Julian has all of the unpublished material that Bob and he said he had left over from "Photograph Smile" why not just release that... well some thoughts on that...

It really isn't easy to just go and releasing a new album... the music has to be recorded and mixed... CD art has to be designed and printed... the music has to be "shopped" to get support and backing... promotion has to be done so people know the CD is out there and actually buy it... promotion and touring tends to be draining... you have to be away from home, friends/ family for long periods of time... spend your days talking about yourself to interviewers who tend to know very little about you and in Julian's case are often more interested in talking about John, Yoko, or the Beatles than Julian himself... fans & autograph collectors always asking for autographs and photos... very little privacy and peace... When I talked to Julian after his New Haven concert it was obvious the whole lot of it was physically and emotionally draining on him... the need for constant security... the vulgar words John idolizers screamed at him... After seeing what I saw I don't know why Julian did come back to the spotlight... I am very glad he did... and would like to hope he will grace us with more of his music in the future but only Julian knows if that will happen... in the meantime I pray his life is filled with happiness and peace...

2.2 What record label is Julian under?
Julian currently owns and runs his own indie label record company, "Music From Another Room" which was named after a movie of the same name... For "Photograph Smile," his label was carried by Pinnacle Records in England, Roughtrade Records in Germany, Zomba Records in Asia, Sony Records in Australia, and Fuel 2000/Universal Records in USA/Canada.  Julian is no longer associated with several of these including Roughtrade Records and Fuel 2000/Universal.

2.3 What type of guitar does Julian play?
Julian prefers acoustic guitars and  plays a 1957 Gibson, a 12 string Taylor and a CJ 32 Yamaha. "Acoustics are much easier to lug around and obviously if you have an idea it's a lot easier, for me, I feel like there's a whole sound there rather than the electric sound, unless you're gonna carry another bunch of gear around to plug it all in. Even the walkmans and stuff, I like the sounds of acoustic and I'm mainly a rhythm player anyway. Occasionally I'll get a little wacky on demos and get the electric out and do some very strange solos indeed, but more of that later on." - 20th Century Guitar

Julian's first guitar was a Les Paul copy his father gave him for Christmas when he was eleven years old... His first drum set was given to him by his father when he was five...  it was painted white and thrown into the swimming pool...

Julian taught himself how to play piano, concentrating on jazz and classical music. While recording Valotte, he used a Steinway acoustic piano.

2.4 What were Julian's biggest hit singles?
Julian's biggest hit songs include: Valotte (#9 on Billboard's Top 40 in November 1984) and Too Late For Goodbyes (#5 on Billboard's Top 40 in February 1985) from his debut album Valotte.  Stick Around from The Secret Value of Daydreaming (#32 on Billboard's Top 40 in April 1986) and  Saltwater from 1991's Help Yourself

2.5 What did Julian do in the 7 years between Help Yourself and Photograph Smile?
During the seven year break between Help Yourself and  Photograph Smile, Julian was a guest artist on the Mr. Holland's Opus soundtrack doing the credits song Cole's Song... had a cameo's in the movies Cannes Man & Leaving Las Vegas...  and was the voice of David in an animated version of Charles Dickens's novel David Cooperfield Check out Julian's Discography for info on other musical and cameo appearances.

2.6 What is Valotte?
Valotte is the name of the manor/chateau near Nevers, France at which Julian's debut album, Valotte, was written... Julian used a portable eight-track recording studio while at the manor... Valotte took nearly a year to complete and went platinum selling over 1 million copies. There is a song called Valotte on the album as well and the opening lines refer to the chateau... "Sitting on the doorstep of the house I can't afford..." Click here for the rest of the lyrics..

2.7 Who are Julian's musical influences? / What does he listen to?
Julian's list of musical influences is fairly diverse, including Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, Keith Jarrett, Prince, the Police, the Tubes and off course the Beatles.

As far as what he listens to... in the July 1998 German Rolling Stones Magazine (Thanks to Nina), Julian listed his top ten albums as:

  1. The Beatles: "Sgt. Pepper"

  2. The Eagles: "Hotel California"

  3. Keith Jarrett: "Köln Concert"

  4. Steely Dan: "Pretzel Logic"

  5. Donald Fagen: "The Nightfly"

  6. Badfinger: "No Dice"

  7. The Blue Nile: "Hats"

  8. Led Zeppelin: "II"

  9. Radiohead: "OK Computer"

  10. Annie Lennox: "Diva"

2.8 Is there sheet music/tabs available for...?
I do not know of any sites offering tabs for the songs currently. There was one but the webmaster got overwhelmed with other projects and school... See the "Sheet Music" section of  "Music & Memorabilia" to view items which have been released. No sheet music for the songs on Photograph Smile have been released that I know of... There was a sheet music book for Help Yourself despite the fact it isn't listed. Sheet music books for Valotte, Secret Value of Daydreaming, and Mr. Jordan can frequently be found on eBay

2.9 How many albums has Julian released?
Julian has released 5 full length albums to date:
1984 Valotte
1986 The Secret Value of Daydreaming
1989 Mr. Jordan
1991 Help Yourself
1998 Photograph Smile
Check the Discography for information on other releases.

Personal Issues

3.1 When was Julian Born?
The son of John Lennon and Cynthia Powell Lennon (John's first wife), John Charles Julian Lennon was born at 6:50am on April 8th, 1963 in Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool, England weighing 6lbs 11oz. He was named John after his father, Charles after Cynthia's father and Julian after John's mother Julia.

3.2 Is Julian married? Does he have children?
There are no children that I know of.. Julian is seriously involved with a young lady Click here for more information.

3.3 Where is Julian currently living?
Julian is currently based out of Europe and where he loves to sail, cook, paint, sculpt and explore little villages and towns. He did have a house in LA for a while however it was sold back in the late 90's.
Sorry but for Julian's security and privacy, his actual address and location can not be given out.

3.4 Was "Hey Jude" written for Julian by Paul McCartney?
"Hey Jude" - originally "Hey Jules" - was written for Julian by Paul McCartney while Paul was driving over to see Julian and his mum, Cynthia, following his parents divorce.  Paul talked about this on the TV program Friday Night Videos in November of 1984..

Julian didn't find out the full details from Paul until 1987 when he bumped into Paul in the Carlyle Hotel in New York... Julian recalled this in a interview in 1998 saying "We hadn't seen each other for years, and it was an indescribable feeling to find out the truth. It's hard to imagine this man was thinking about me and my life so much that he wrote a song about me. It's an honor knowing that someone was worried about your well being and how you were going to grow up." It's some burden, too. "If I'm sitting in a bar and the song comes on the radio, I still get goose pimples."   Julian bought the recording notes scribbled by Paul anonymously for £25,000 on September 19th, 1996. Incidentally, "Hey Jude" was the longest running number 1 single for the Beatles spending 9 weeks at number one starting in September 1968.

3.5 What is the story behind "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds"?
Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsOne day in 1966 while living in Weybridge, Julian brought home a watercolor drawing (pictured to the left) from Heath House Infants' School.  Julian recalls..., "I was trundled home from school and came walkThe Beatles 1968 Christmas Recording up with one of my watercolor paintings. It was just a bunch of stars and this blonde girl I knew at school. And Dad said, 'What's this?' I said, 'It's Lucy in the sky!'"  This became the inspiration for the Beatles tune   "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."  Later, another of Julian's drawings was used as the cover to the Beatles's 1968 Christmas Record. (pictured to the right).

3.6 During the Photograph Smile tour Julian wore "4" and "B" charms. What do they stand for?
I did a bit of research on these... Click here for more information.

People who have worked with Julian/ Julian has worked with

4.1 What happened to Justin Clayton?
Justin Clayton is probably the most significant of all of the people Julian has worked with... Justin is Julian's best friend and has co-wrote several songs with Julian as well as backed Julian up on the first four albums and played on the 5th. The photo to the left graced the cover of several singles for the Help Yourself album and shows Justin on guitar behind Julian.
Justin toured with Julian on every tour with the exception of the 1999 tours. He missed the 1999 tours because he was working on and released his own solo album entitled Limb on September 14th, 1999 on Ultimatum Music. Julian and Justin met when they were 11 and took guitar lessons from their gym teacher at Kingsmead School.  Their first performance was at a school function. Visit effortlesSimplicity for more info on Justin.

4.2 Can you tell me anything about the girl Gemma Hayes who sings with Julian on the song "Faithful"?
Well a little but not much. Julian and Bob Rose ran into Gemma Hayes while recording parts of "Photograph Smile" in Ireland. She came down to the studio, Bob and Julian liked her voice and so they recorded "Faithful" there and then. She has recently landed her own record contract. You can find out more about her HERE Thanks to Cass & Kalli for the link.

From doing a bit of research on the net, I've also found out that the 22 year old is from Tipperary, Ireland and sings in clubs around Ireland. She describes her influences as Red House Painters, Deus, American Music Club, Papa M, The Blue Nile, Nick Drake, Gillian Welsh, The Frames and Mogwai. She sang a song in the movie "A Love Divided".

4.3 Was Julian in a band called "Quasar" back in the early 80s?
Practically all biographies list that Julian played drums for a band named "Quasar" when he was 20. This actually is not true. "Quasar" was a 3-piece heavy rock band consisting of Paul Inder (son of Motorhead's lead guitarist, Lemmy), Pat McMillan and Les Warner. "Quasar's" rehearsing room was simply near Julian's and so Julian and Justin Clayton would stop in and jam with them occasionally.. at one of these jam sessions a bunch of pictures were taken which is what lead to the Julian & Justin were in the band rumors and subsequent press....