Julian Lennon has been outspoken about not wanting to be compared to his father; however, earlier this month he made an exception when he covered John Lennon's iconic anthem "Imagine" during Global Citizen's 'Stand Up For Ukraine' fundraising event.
During a recent interview with Consequence, Julian made it clear that the cover was a one time thing. “I don’t have a hankering for anything else. I really don’t,” he said bluntly. “I have a hankering to get on with my own life and my own work.”
"I’ve had a few requests to sing ['Imagine'] live, and I’m going, ‘No, I’ve done my bit. That’s it. Onward with my work and my life now,” he added.
Julian also admitted he was "fearful" of covering the song but thought the benefit was the right place to do it.
“I was fearful of doing ‘Imagine’… very fearful,” he divulged. “I felt the day was going to come, but I had great anxiety about it. It had to be the right occasion, something that was beyond meaningful. Once I said yes, I thought, ‘OK, now I’ve said yes. How am I gonna do it in a way that makes it honest and truthful and raw and meaningful and not a copy, but my own version. And immediately I just thought, ‘acoustic guitar, raw, no production, honest, simple, heartfelt and as emotional as can be. No distraction, just the lyric and the song, in your face.'”
“The only thing I can say about it was it was the easiest thing to do, and it was the hardest thing to do," Julian continued. "I didn’t know how it was going to be received, but I’m actually overwhelmed at the response.”
Watch Julian Lennon cover "Imagine" above.