To many John Lennon was a hero, but to me he’s the Dad I loved and lost
A set of rare and touching images of John Lennon playing the role of devoted father dispel the myths that still surround the late singer.
The intimate family photographs show the Beatle at ease and enjoying tender moments with son Julian.
One snapshot captures the pair relaxing on a sofa, with Julian giving his father’s trademark Zapata moustache a tug, while in another the lad poses in Lennon’s signature sunglasses.
The pictorial treasure trove and keepsakes go on display this week at the Beatles Story, the award-winning Liverpool attraction that celebrates the city’s greatest export.
Julian, now 46, said: “John Lennon is an idol to millions of people who grew up loving his music and ideals. To me he is the father I loved and lost.
“I hope this exhibition lets people see another aspect of his life and our time together as a family.”
Lennon’s first wife Cynthia, 69, and their son Julian give music fans a chance to imagine what life was like with arguably one of history’s greatest songwriters by unveiling their most cherished mementoes.
People can see another aspect
In recorded interviews, they also talk candidly about their relationship with the rock star whose life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet in December 1980.
Lennon’s genius was often marred by his ego and angst. The exhibition features Cynthia’s intimate account of her traumatic marriage breakdown which left her feeling ostracised by the Beatles in 1968.
At the time, a sympathetic Paul McCartney penned the lyrics of Hey Jude while travelling to see Cynthia and five-year Julian in a show of support.
The song was originally called Hey Jules, but the title was changed because Jude was easier to sing.
The recording notes for the song that became a global anthem were bought for £25,000 by Julian 10 years ago and will be on display.
Over the past two decades he is reported to have spent £1million buying up his father’s possessions to return them to the family fold.
Also on show in Liverpool will be Lennon’s famous Afghan coat and the black cape he wore in the film Help!, along with a black guitar signed “To Julian from Daddy, Christmas 1973”.
The exhibition charts Lennon and Cynthia’s romance from their meeting at a Liverpool art college, clandestine marriage and Julian’s birth in 1963 to the couple’s sensational separation and divorce.
The break-up scarred Julian and on the 20th anniversary of his father’s murder he wrote: “I had a great deal of anger towards Dad because of his negligence.”
The exhibition is entitled White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon, and the “feather” reference is a tribute to a touching and private bond between the former Beatle and his son.
Julian explained: “One of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be OK, or that we were all going to be OK, it was by in some way, shape or form presenting me with a white feather.”
Ten years ago, while Julian was touring Australia, he received that message, when a group of aborigines presented him with a white feather.
