John Lennon’s son Julian Lennon has announced his seventh studio album, ‘JUDE’.
The title is a nod to the Beatles’ hit ‘Hey Jude’, which Sir Paul McCartney penned for five-year-old Julian following his parents’ separation.
Julian’s mother is Lennon’s first wife Cynthia Powell – whom the late frontman divorced in 1968 on the grounds of adultery after he left her for his second wife Yoko Ono.
Julian has hailed the collection – which he co-produced with Justin Clayton – as a “coming-of-age” tale of his life.
He said: “Many of these songs have been in the works for several years, so it almost feels like a coming-of-age album.
With great respect for the overwhelming significance of the song written for me, the title JUDE conveys the very real journey of my life that these tracks represent.”
Ahead of the LP’s release later this year, the Grammy-nominated artist will release the singles ‘Every Little Moment’ and ‘Freedom’ on April 8.
The 58-year-old singer-songwriter recently signed a new global recordings agreement with BMG.
The photographer, author and philanthropist commented: “After working on new music for the past few years, I am happy to have found the perfect partner in BMG, to help me bring this work to light.”
BMG EVP Global Recordings Fred Casimir said: “Julian is a unique artist working across multiple art forms with a clear humanitarian and ecological perspective, which dates back decades. There is sometimes a long wait between Julian Lennon albums, but having heard this one, I’m convinced it was worth the wait.”
‘JUDE’ will arrive more than a decade after Julian’s last studio album, 2011’s ‘Everything Changes’.
Julian is Lennon’s eldest son.
The music legend – who was fatally shot, aged 40, outside his New York City apartment in the famous Dakota building by Mark David Chapman in December 1980 – also had a son, Sean Ono Lennon, 46, with widow Yoko.
Meanwhile, Julian recently sold an NFT of handwritten sheet music for ‘Hey Jude’ for almost £60,000.
McCartney’s notes as an NFT made £56,750 at auction last month.