John Lennon’s son Julian feared he was “asking for trouble” by naming his new album ‘Jude’.
Julian’s latest release is a nod to Beatles track ‘Hey, Jude’ which Sir Paul McCartney wrote to console him after his parents John and Cynthia divorced in 1968, when he was just five years old.
The song was originally titled ‘Hey Jules’ – and the musician admits using ‘Jude’ for his new record is a controversial choice.
He told Mojo magazine: “Am I asking for trouble? Yes. Bring it on. I mean ‘Hey Jude’, it’s lovely having someone write a song about you and their hopes that you’re going to make it through this pile of s*** but people don’t realise that every time that song is played, and I have probably heard it more than most people, it’s a reminder of when my parents split up and it all went pear-shaped.”
Julian’s parents John and Cynthia divorced in 1968 after his dad was accused of being unfaithful with Yoko Ono, who he went on to marry in 1969.
John and Yoko later welcomed a son named Sean, a brother for Julian, in 1975.
During the interview Julian also revealed he has secretly changed his name by deed poll.
He was called John after his dad with his full name given as John Charles Julian Lennon, but he’s grown up being called Julian so he decided to make the change official.
He told the publication: “I’ve only told a few other people this, but a few years ago, I decided to change my name by deed poll. By birth I am John Charles Julian Lennon … I just decided, switch ‘John’ and ‘Julian’ around, so that you know, I’m finally me. And my album ‘Jude’ was a whole part of that process.”