| Q: Yoko Ono has merchandised John Lennon's artwork on ties, cards, mugs and lithographs. His music has been used on TV commercials. Do you object to all of these posthumous uses of your dad's images?
A: No, I don't object to the idea that some of his work, whether it be his artistic work --I mean, his drawings, et cetera. I think some work can be tastefully done and shared with the public. One of -- Yoko's main spin-doctor, Elliott Mintz, has a way of really trying to turn things round publicly. For instance, in the VH-1 thing where he said, "Well, Julian had a problem with going down and seeing where his father was shot." And his turnaround spin doctor approach was, it was not about whether I was upset about -- upset or not, it was about the bullets. You know, it's like, come on, Elliott, this is -- we know exactly what it's about. And yes, Dad has died and, yes, it was with bullets. But don't try and make me out to be the little dumb shit -- excuse me. But he -- his retort also dealing with the -- on her behalf dealing with some of those issues as far as the electric blue silk ties and the mugs, et cetera, was, well, you know, Yoko had a choice. She was either going to share it with his fans and his public or keep it locked away in the cellar in the Dakota.
I disagree. There is a way of doing it where you don't cheapen his affect or his personality or creativity. If you want to share it, then don't -- you know, I picked up another magazine the other day, three photographs of him, which are museum quality prints, which was in a magazine, three shots of him, one eating breakfast, and going for 80 pounds a shot. His fans, if they do want to have some -- collect some of his artwork, et cetera, don't need to be paying that much money for something that's sentimental to them that's part of their life and their history, et cetera. She -- it just seems that she's throwing it out there willy-nilly so to speak. There's -- she is -- there's no medium ground here. It's either she's -- you know, as I said, it's either locked in the basement, which it's not because it's out there on everything and being heard on -- you know, there was Instant Karma on an English commercial for Walker's Potato Chips. I just -- you know, there's a way and approach of doing this which is a lot more classic, a lot more stylish and a lot more fair to the fans that want to have sentimental things of his to collect.
Q: Well, I must say, though, as a fan and a huge fan, I've enjoyed much of the posthumous artwork that's been released through the Lennon estate. I mean, I purchased one of the lithographs.
A: Right. No, that was done tastefully. That was a tasteful approach.
Q: I have felt that a lot of the books were done really nicely. I was glad to have the lithograph. But I think perhaps maybe the issue that maybe I agree with her on is that it helps keep John Lennon's music, art and spirit in the public's consciousness over the last almost 20 years.
A: Well, I agree with that. But again, I think it's how the approach has been taken. And I just think on many levels it tends to be rather tasteless.
Q: As far as the estate goes, John Lennon certainly didn't expect to die at 40, but he did. It was really ultimately his responsibility to take care of his own will, wasn't it?
A: Yeah, I -- yeah, I believe that's true of everybody. We all have a hand in our destiny, to a certain degree. You know, there was a point that he definitely felt that he was going to be assassinated at some point. I mean, that's been well documented. You know, to go any further than that, I -- it would -- it's such a difficult point to talk about. I mean, not on a hurtful aspect, but on a philosophical standpoint, the arguments that could go on. You know, well, he should have had a bodyguard or he should have this or should have that. You know, or could have. It's hypothetical again. But, yeah, I mean, it's very strange because he had envisioned this.
Q: Well, the reason I bring it up is because, obviously, you went through a difficult time trying to get your settlement from the estate. And you were dealing with Yoko, whereas if John had taken care of things, perhaps it wouldn't' have been so difficult. You admitted that in the '80s you went through a phase of heavy partying. And you didn't settle with the Lennon estate until 1996. Was it in any way a blessing that your settlement didn't happen until after your partying days were behind you?
A: Well, the one thing that I didn't want to do first and foremost was -- I mean, the number one thing I did after Dad died was go to the lawyers, just to see what my position was. But I didn't actually make a forceful or positive move at all. That's not the approach I wanted to take. I didn't want to seem or look like someone who was just there -- even though our relationship was distant, I didn't want to seem like I was the money-grabbing son who just wanted to come in there and take the money. And so I made no approach whatsoever for years. Ten years, nothing. And because of the situation and because of the way it was organized and because of what the will said -- which was basically that it was up to Yoko's discretion, then I -- you know, if I was going to challenge the courts at all, number one, that would take -- I mean, financially, to go to court with Yoko where she had the finances and I didn't was not going to be a promising outlook. And who was to say that at the end of it that the judge wouldn't rule in her favor. So the question was, you know, for me -- well, I just thought the best thing was to just try and get on with life as best I could, which is what I did. And when the time came, if I was approached and if she felt comfortable with me, then we would try to come to some agreement or some settlement.
Q: On VH1 you also said that you've been offered better advances from record deals than--
A: Well, what I meant to say was I've seen better record deals, that's for sure.
Q: Because some press articles are mentioning figures between 10 and $30 million as your settlement. I guess what I'm saying is on the VH1 show, the way things were put up there was it seemed like the issues were about money. And what I've heard from you is it was about other issues.
A: Yeah, it was very much more so about other issues. I mean, I felt very fortunate in our meetings that we were able to discuss, you know, trying to get a portion of the copyright of his work, which I felt was more important, because at least with that I could safely put it in trust so that if there was money coming in from the publishing of his work, then I could put it in trust so that that could safely stay in one place and would always remain within the Lennon family. Would never be allowed to go out of the Lennon family. And anything that was earned from that would stay in the trust and would benefit my children and the rest of the family in England, basically, in order to help their -- Dad's half-sister, Julia and Jackie, and their family and their children and their children's children, et cetera. So it wasn't a question of getting a lump sum and sort of squandering it all away and blowing it and doing all that. It was securing something that would remain in his English, original Lennon family.
Q: Another issue for you was wanting some of your dad's personal property.
A: Oh, yeah. His personal memorabilia. Yeah, absolutely.
Q: And you did not receive any of that?
A: No, I -- in the '80s I received one or two guitars. Just at that point in time, I showed an interest and Yoko sort of brought them out of the cupboard and said, "Well, I guess you could have this one." But there was an awkward time where there was an absolutely beautiful acoustic guitar. And it was always lying round the house. And I had shown a great interest in that one. And one of the problems -- well, how she explained it was that, well, there's two of you. There's you and Sean and I can't split the guitar down the middle. So it's going nowhere, which was okay. But it meant Sean had the use of all the guitars and all the keyboards and all the -- whatever was there. And the thing that really saddened me was that shortly after Dad died, Yoko did put on this auction for charity. But it was for her charity. God knows where that went. But you know, a lot of -- I picked up the auction -- someone handed me the auction book after the auction because I only found out after it, of stuff like the mellotron that I was playing when I saw Dad in -- he also had that mellotron in Ascot, in England when he first moved in with Yoko. And so I used to play it then at the age of seven, eight years old. And to find that this had been snapped up by someone else. You know, I found out -- actually, Ted Fields owns it. And I tried to work out something with him, but he wouldn't give it up. And so it was -- I was heartbroken to find a lot of the instruments that I had grown up playing when I did come over and see him were just sold off. And I -- and it wasn't even -- there was no question of her coming to me saying, well, would you like this or is there something that is important or means something sentimentally to you. Would you want this rather than me selling it off?
Q: So now you've been able to purchase some of these items with --
A: Well --
Q: What are some of the items that you have purchased as -- that you wanted?
A: Well, I mean, I haven't been able to purchase a lot of his instruments. I think a lot of those went in that very first auction. And then only things that I have managed to pick up here and there are more of his personal affects. I mean, Beatle affects. Like the afghan jacket he wore in "I Am the Walrus" and his cape from the "Help" film. A few very personal items that I remember seeing or holding or touching when I came to visit. Aside from that, I extended myself on the Beatle fronts to a certain degree and in the fact that now, I believe, I've checked mostly round the world, if not all round the world, with anybody and everybody. And I believe I have the largest single full, complete collection of original Beatles' gold albums.
Q: Do you think that your frank criticism of Yoko Ono has hindered your ability to have a closer relationship with her son, your half-brother, Sean?
A: No, I don't think so. It hasn't in the past. Whether it does in the future, you know, he's -- he will become his own man at some stage. And he will be able to figure his life out for himself and what his relations are with me or any of his other English Lennon family. You know, he's early 20s. He's got a lot of growing up to do. I know what the experience was like myself going from 20 to 30 to 35. You know, 35 was when I felt that I had actually clicked. You know, when I finally was beginning to understand what life was all about, what it meant and how to become happy and contented and peace -- having some level of peace and balance in life.
But the occasions that we do see each other, you know, whether it's in England, whether it's in Japan or, you know, because he is out on the road from time to time now with his own band -- or has been at least. And it's always like long lost brothers. And again, it's-- I have a great amount of love for him. And it's always -- you know, we find ourselves having -- you know, maybe he's in town for a day or two. And we'll have dinner and -- lunch and dinner and go out and have some fun and chat about anything and everything. But I think the one thing we don't chat about probably is home. You know, is the estate and Yoko and his mom and that kind of stuff. We avoid that like the plague. It's just something we don't-- I don't think we need to talk about. I think our love is very clear and very open for one another, aside from all the bull and all the stuff in between, which I don't think we need to talk about. I mean, one day, but not now.
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Q: Much of your own career, you battled accusations that you were somehow exploiting your Dad's memory or the similarity between the two of you vocally. And on "Photograph Smile," you have created your own unique musical identity. But there's one song on there, "I Don't Want to Know," which is very blatantly Beatle-esque. I was curious why you decided to do a song like that which seems so different than the rest of the record.
A: Yes. Well, that was very much a last-minute decision. Very last-minute decision to put it on the album. It was -- I mean, I had recorded it, but it was just nothing to do with the album, really, on a personal and creative level and as an artist. It was just nothing to do with the album. And I just felt that after so many years of the critics and so of the fans also saying-- you know, with the comparisons. And a lot of the early-day comparisons had been my album compared to the Beatles catalog, which -- that was a tough one. But -- to say the least. But you know, them saying things like, well, you sound just like your dad or you sound just like the Beatles. And in the past I'd always sort of push that aside because I was trying to forage my own path as an artist. And you know, it's very difficult to have people giving you shadows when that's the last thing you need. And so I always pushed that away in the past. And so finally, I decided that after I felt that I'd proved my own self-worth to a writer to me with the rest of the material on the album, I felt, well, just because of that, because of the time that's gone by, why not make a point of writing a mid-`60s Beatle-esque song and sing it as close to Dad's nasal tone as possible. So that when the critics came back this time and the fans came back this time, they would say, well, he sounds just like his dad or well, he sounds just like the Beatles, I would, for the first time in my life and my career, say, Oh, yes, I do.
And the idea behind that was because it's blatantly obvious. It has been for years. Of course, I'm going to sound a little bit like Dad and even write like him sometimes. I mean, we are our father's sons. We all are in some way, shape or form, whether you deny it or not or believe in it. And so finally, I just said, well, it's just so obvious, can't we finally get over this point. And so it was -- for me it was very much like when people as me about the comparisons and I would -- you know, they would say, "Well, what do you think about that?" And I would say, well, it's like when people talk about bands like Oasis and many, many others, Radiohead. The list goes on. Yeah, it's obvious the comparisons are there. It's obvious they have been inspired by the Beatles. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is: Do you like the song or don't you? You can compare until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, do you like it or you don't? That's the most important thing.
And so it was all about that. It was coming full circle. It was after feeling that I'd done the best work in my life and been honest and true with myself in a way, that I could finally sort of approach that subject again and sort of go, well, this is how I feel about it. And just in case you don't get it, then -- because it was very tongue-in-cheek for me to do that, I felt. And it's -- without a doubt it's not my style of writing. It feels like an oddball in the middle of the album. But I felt it was a necessity in order to finally sort of clear the air. And just in case you didn't quite get it, then watch the video, too, because I went out of my way, initially, to get the Rutles to do the video. You know, a lot of people have been trying to get the Beatles back together all their lives. My ambition has been trying to get the Rutles back together all my life. And unfortunately, they were all off doing, you know, their own individual careers and professions. And so I decided to put my own version of the Rutles together called the Butlers. So, you know, I was heavily inspired by the Beatles, the Rutles and now the Butlers. And this was just to take the point home that, yes, there are great and incredible people out there, very creative. Whether it's to do with art or saving lives or doctors or this or that and the other. There are some incredible people and musicians too. But it's how people take it, I think, sometimes too far to another level, that yes, there is a great amount of respect and inspiration given by these people to these people like Dad. But at the end of the day, we're all just human. And we just all figured out to do something a little different in life, a different way.
And you know, you're either, to a certain degree, a leader or a follower. And there are people that are inspired to be leaders. But it's when it's taken to the next level of the icon, the God, that I just -- you know, you have to look at the early Beatles films yourself to understand that you can see them playing around and having a laugh because that's what it was all about, fun, and enjoying it. I mean, even when you speak to George or any of the other boys these days, you know, they don't take themselves seriously. Not at all. And so it was to downplay the whole Beatle thing to a certain degree and just say that we're all human and get on with your life.
Q: Julian, the photo of you as a child that's on the cover of "Photograph Smile," why did you choose that picture?
A: Well, many reasons. I just felt that after -- I felt I'd come full circle from that point in time when the picture was taken because that picture was taken when I was -- when I felt-- probably for the first time as a kid, I felt truly loved. Because on the side of that picture, that was cropped for the album cover was my stepfather, Roberto, and my mother. And I just felt that there was a look in my eyes and that sort of internal smile that of some sort of balance and peace for the first time, through even a troubled childhood from the age of zero to seven. And I felt that I had come full circle to this point in time in my life, you know, where I do feel again balanced, contented, happiness, levels of that and at peace to a certain degree.
And the other thing was I just felt that it wasn't important. I never envisioned myself as having an image. It was always about the music to me. And so I just didn't think it was relevant or necessary for me to have an updated photograph of what I look like, because it's not what I look like that matters. It's what the work is about, what the music is about. That was the most important thing. And the other thing I realized after the fact was that music and photographs have such a link in so many ways, to all of us, in the sense that they can both remind us of times and places and experiences in our lives. You know, when you're first falling in love and there's a song playing and if you hear that song ten years later, whether you're with the person or not still, that reminds you of that time and that place. And to a certain thing with smells as well, but -- with scents in the air. But mainly, the photograph and the music. You know, looking back at old photographs and brings -- floods back memories of all the emotions and what was going on at that time and that place in your life. So because the album is very retrospective in that sense, not only musically, but lyrically and emotionally, it was -- it felt right as a package.
Q: You dedicate "Photograph Smile" to your stepfather, Roberto Bassanini. How was he an important figure in your life and how long ago did he die?
A: He passed away about four or five years ago, sadly, just before this album. And I think the most important thing that he passed on to me -- he was very much a person that was a lover of life, just loved life. Would not only try and make himself as happy as possible, but would try and make everybody else as happy as possible. And was definitely a person that truly lived for the moment. And because of that, I had a great amount of respect because so many people worry about so many things unnecessarily so, as we all do. As we stress ourselves out for no reason at all because of fear or ignorance or whatever. He was just the kind of person that just plunged in head first. And obviously, we never try and hurt people along the way. But, you know, he was just someone that lived in the world of reality, but tried to make the best of everything and anything at any given time, if not all times.
And so that was something that I loved about him and loved about the potential in life of having that feeling within yourself of just trying to achieve goodness and happiness and honesty and truth in every way, shape or form. And so that's something that I aspire to every day, absolutely, as best as possible.
Q: Did you originally move to Italy to be closer to him?
A: Yes. In fact, once after the first trip over to Europe and I decided to move back -- yes. I mean, at that point in time where I moved to, he was literally, I don't know, an hour and a half away by car. And it was, again, literally, after two or three weeks of moving there is when I -- he passed away. And I felt him pass away. And it -- I still think about him every day.
Q: Do you have a close relationship with your mother, Cynthia?
A: Oh, yeah. We're thick as thieves sometimes. I mean, she, for me, has been my grounding force, my guiding light, you name it, whatever words you want to come up with. My pillar of strength. I mean, we are the closest of friends. She is one of my best friends, if not the best friend I could ever have. Has always been one of those people that has inspired me in so many ways because, I mean, obviously, looking at her life, one has to be inspired about how one can maintain focus, having your feet grounded firmly planted on the floor. And again, being one of those people that is just very open, very natural, very loving, very honest, very truthful. All of the best qualities and elements, hopefully, a person could have. And always left me to my own doing to a certain degree.
Again, going back to a point that I made earlier in that you can be advised in your life in what you do, but it's only by going through the experiences that you can finally come up with how you feel about things or circumstances or relationships in your life in order to, again, find peace and balance in the sense that you finally understand in life what you like, what you don't like, what you're willing to do, what you're not willing to do. And I think that only comes from going through, you know, facing your fears headlong. And she's all about that, has taught me a great deal in that respect. Not directly, but just by observation.
Q: I know you're going to be on the road a lot this summer in the United States and you'll probably be on the road beyond that. You talked about trying to arrange charity tie-ins in the cities you visit. You mentioned maybe having the work of local artists on display in the lobbies that you visit. Is some of that stuff going to pan out?
A: I very much think so. I mean, at the moment with this -- I would call what we're doing next -- over the next couple of months, anyway, is very much -- I would call it a promo tour, really. I mean, although it's the full band going out, we're not taking the glitterball out. We're not -- you know, it's not a production show. We're not taking the lights, the sound systems. We're just taking our instruments and plugging in. So it's as raw as raw can get. But yes, even in the promos -- in this promo stage of getting up and gigging in clubs and some small theaters around the States, we are tying in with local charities. And we have been talking about that even over the next couple of months that hopefully we will be raising roughly about $2 million for charities across the States. And that's not even the real tour.
So, yeah, you know, it's all-important to me. I mean, the point of getting up and playing is a pleasure and I want it to be fresh and I want it to be -- I want the audience to see it as that and be as close to me as possible as far as our relationship between being on stage and the audience. And it's -- I think it's very important to be able to do what you can. I mean, I feel I'm in a position in life where I'm successful on certain levels. I am healthy. I have my life. I have my limbs. I have -- you know, I have my health and I'm financially secure. And what more do I need. You know, I have friends that I love. I am loved. I don't need to rape and pillage the audience or my fans.
So for me, it's all about getting up there, having a good time. Hopefully, the audience enjoying it too, but also doing something worthwhile with most of the shows on the road, which is helping out in every location that we can play.
Q: Is there a way for you to have an identity with a band in concert that isn't just the singer/songwriter standing in front of the studio musicians. I mean, how can you make it gel as a band?
A: Well, I tell you what. I mean, one of the main things is that, you know, a good portion of the band are actually friends of mine. And number two, I guess, would be the fact that half of them played on the album and were there in the -- during the whole process of writing and recording and producing and arrangements, et cetera. So they -- you know, it was part of their heart and soul also that went into the making of this album. So there is a piece of them within this. And so taking this live, it's going to be a piece of them, too. It's not just me. It will be whatever was created and spawned from those sessions will be the live versions on the road. Will not just be the shows thrown together and copied for the album. It will be the actual people that did the songs and did the work in the studio. Again, who were friends.
Q: When you first toured, it was 1985. You had no experience whatsoever being on stage. Now these many years later, have you become more comfortable and will you pretty much play instruments on stage when you're up there?
A: I'll play one or two things. I'm mostly going to stick to the acoustic guitar because -- in fact, in the recording of most of the tracks, most of the basic tracks to set down the arrangement and put down the songs on tape, I would be there just myself with the acoustic to lay it down. So the acoustic was the main glue of the rest of the material that came together, the rest of the arrangements and instrumentation. And so I will be the bolt-hold at center stage. Maybe a little wandering once in a while with the more ballady stuff. But because of the style and the work of this album and how I -- my approach these days -- I mean, a lot of the `80s stuff was jumping and running around and it was more pop oriented, which I don't feel the need for so much these days. It's -- hopefully, it's about going to hear a well-oiled band and, you know, feel some emotion from the shows. And as I said, no lights, no sound systems that we're taking with us. So it will be the raw, real deal, so to speak.
Q: Which songs do you like enough to play from your first four albums?
A: Well, there is compromise to a certain degree in the respect that there are fans that will want to hear some of the early stuff, some of the earlier, well-known stuff, like "Too Late for Goodbyes," maybe one or two others. But the main orientation here is towards the newer material and even possibly, which I definitely want to do actually, some of the newer, newer material which was not on this album which I absolutely love and have played live in one or two festivals in Europe that we did and I enjoyed so much because it was all fresh, it was new. And of course, that's like when you're playing new stuff that nobody knows that's always a good way to find out what people really feel about what you're doing. But -- so there will be a mixture. I would say a majority of this album with some from the past like "Mother Mary," which I've been wanting to do on stage for years and years and years and some newer stuff which nobody's ever heard before.
Q: You're getting on the bus to take a big road trip. What are some of the CDs you're going to grab to listen to?
A: Well, I would have to say probably -- the only time I listen to music, honestly, is when I'm driving, driving around, whether it's a long drive on my own and I'm feeling sentimental and I want to hear some emotional ballady stuff or when it's -- when I'm feeling slightly up or even up with friends and we're going somewhere. It would be the same stuff as that, which would be along the lines of the stuff that I've always loved, which would be Steely Dan. It would be Keith Jarrett. It would be possibly Simon and Garfunkel or Paul Simon. A bit of Led Zep. The Tubes, which are an old favorite of mine, believe it or not. But some of the newer stuff, I would say George Michael's album "Older," which I thought was a very, very good album. Just that album in particular. And Massive Attack, Radiohead, things like that.
Q: Julian, do you have one place that you call home or do you have residences in several different countries?
A: I -- well, I truly feel -- my mother always said that we had gypsy blood to a certain degree. She was always a mover when we were growing up. Moved every couple of years. Up north, west, east, south, you name it. And I've -- I always find as I witness myself that if I stay in one place too long, like LA, that it was not a healthy thing. And I find myself unmotivated, uninspired. And so -- excuse me. And so, you know, to a certain degree, I stagnate. And so it was -- after coming back to Europe, it was all about realizing what effect movement had on my life and how important it was for me to maintain that movement. Yes, there is a bolt-hold to a certain degree in Europe. But even when I'm not working, even when I'm not traveling doing either promo tours or tours, I tend to move around a lot, just because -- I mean, there are times when you want to sit down and just think about all of that and reflect upon all of that and absorb all of that. But I have to move around for the experiences of life, whether it's meeting new people, whether it's seeing new sights, whether it's smelling new fragrances, whether it's eating different foods from different cultures and different sceneries. It's all part of sucking up life and the information and the experience.
So, I mean, there are one or two little bolt-holds that I do have in Europe, but my main residence is in Italy, which is a beautiful country with a very simplistic way of life. With very warm, loving people that love days, love nights, love life, love to be social. And you know, these people, they wake up, they go to work, they have a beautiful three-hour lunch. They have a siesta. You know, little naps so they can digest and then they go back to work -- talk about food. And then they go back to work for a couple of hours and then they socialize and have dinner. It's just -- the atmosphere is warm, wonderful. It's that old saying that people don't -- let me see if I can get this right. So if I can get the adage or the saying right, which is, people work to live over there. They don't live to work. And so, you know, I follow that regime as best as possible.
Q: But you've been doing so much work. It's going to wind up being two years by the time you're through promoting "Photograph Smile," hundreds of interviews for radio, TV, newspapers, magazines. Can you imagine ever doing an exhaustive promotional tour like this again and subjecting yourself to all the scrutiny?
A: I felt it was very important to do an extensive promotional tour this time. Mainly to reestablish myself and build a new foundation, a secure foundation built upon the work and the music, not being the son of. And so it was very important to take the time to nurture myself and this project and the album and the label and work it hard and did whatever it -- no compromises, just do whatever it takes to reestablish and build a new foundation. And so, yeah, it's taken some time. It really has. And I didn't expect it to take this long, but it's -- so far it's been worthwhile. And the idea to do it so extensively was so that I-- and to air certain things and to clear my chest and my mind was to get it all out of the way. Get all the questions. Anything you ever wanted to know, ask now, because after this, we're not talking anymore. After this, if you want to understand who I am, if you want to relate to life's experiences or et cetera, the list goes on, just listen to the work. And if you like the work, you like it. If you don't, you don't. But no more questions. It's over with.
It's -- the idea for me in the future, because in the past -- for the past 10 -- more than 10 years, life was all about 100 percent music and the industry. No time for anything else. No time for other creative elements and aspects. No time for family and friends, et cetera. But in my time of resolve over the past seven years, you know, I finally realized that, yes, music is very important, but now it has its place. And you know, my work and my job is songwriting. I figure that I am a songsmith. That's it. That's the crux of it. And so spending two years talking about my life and the album is not my job. And I certainly don't want to do it anymore. And so I want to get back to what my job is and what I, hopefully, do best, which is, writing songs, recording them and producing them.
And so in the future my idea is to, yes, write a lot of music and, yes, put out a lot of CDs till -- probably till the day I die. But I certainly will not be running around the world like a headless chicken explaining myself or my life to anybody anymore because it's all on the Internet. And that will enable me to get on with the other things that I love to do in life. Not only with being with family, friends and loved ones, but doing photography. Doing poetry. Doing painting, sculpting, cookbooks. You name it, I want to achieve all those things. I don't want to lie on my deathbed saying I regret.
Q: You said you had a lot of songs left over from the "Photograph Smile" sessions. Where do you see your music going next?
A: Well, because l the free man these days, yes, there will be the mainstay Julian Lennon album, per se. But I feel that there's going to be a lot of sideline stuff that I'm going to do musically. Because although there is my traditional songwriting, there are lots of other -- sorry -- elements of songwriting that -- and musical taste that I want to get into. You know, I want to do -- I want to do, you know, whether it's drum and bass stuff. Whether it's under my name or not or some unknown group or whatever. But I think one of the main things as well as doing -- taking old songs from the albums and doing an album like that with some new material, I definitely will be looking at doing some more classically oriented stuff, because -- not only because of this album, but I had my first experience in Hong Kong this last year with a festival over there which was using -- we were able to use the Hong Kong Symphony orchestra. And it was my first time working live with an 80-piece orchestra. And from -- just from a personal and artistic and creative point of view and expression, singing "Photograph Smile" with just a piano and an 80-piece orchestra blew my mind away. And so, number one, I will probably do an album that is not dissimilar to that. The whole album would be like that. A lot of beautiful love ballads and dealing with other issues as well.
But also, when we go on a full tour, probably next year, it will -- we will be using 80-piece orchestras, or close to that. Full orchestras with the band for the live shows, which is what I truly, truly want to do. So that's why I call this tour that we're -- upcoming tour a promo tour because it's -- next year will be the full, the glitter ball, the lights, the sound and the 80-piece orchestra. That's where my head's at.
Q: We've had this conversation today in New York City. I'd imagine being here in New York revokes a lot of different kind of memories for you. One of the last times you were here, you were on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and you had on a T-shirt with a message. Where did you get it and what did it say?
A: Well, it was -- it was actually a friend of mine who several years ago was -- as I was trying to go through my resolves in life, was trying to evoke courage and strength and knowing who I am and where my heritage comes from, et cetera. And he decided to make a T-shirt up for me, which said, "Lennon and proud of it", and that I shouldn't be shy of that fact. Because I had always, in the past, sort of, to a certain degree, run away from that because of the comparisons and because of the critique on many different levels. You know, if I'd have -- even if I had a new hairstyle, they'd say, well, his dad had that hairstyle. It's like there's nothing -- you know, what's the saying, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. And so I finally had enough of all of that and so I said bleep it. And I decided that for my reemergence, so to speak, of coming back into the fold, of the limelight, of the business that I would try and make a stand and make a point this time round. And so I decided on that show, the first ever show back in the U.S. on T.V., which goes out to God knows how many people, that I would wear this T-shirt to, hopefully, show people that I was a different person these days and I was proud of my heritage, proud of the work that I was doing, proud of many, many things. And felt it was very important to show that publicly: "Lennon and Proud Of It".
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