He was the odd-son-out in the carnival that was John Lennon's personal life. Raised largely by his mother Cynthia he lived his childhood out of the spotlight in England. That all changed in 1980. Following the murder of his father Julian Lennon (John Charles Julian Lennon) was thrust into the limelight as the media went searching for John Lennon-related stories. Inevitably he took up his father's musical mantel and for a while in the mid-80s became a mainstay on MTV. Over time interest in him as the 'second coming' began to fade and he assumed the life of a journeyman rocker; playing clubs, releasing albums that got little or no attention and doing the occasional interview.

That doesn't mean he went away though.

Today Julian Lennon is still an active musician (his new album Everything Changes is due out this year) a film producer (the documentary Whaledreamers about an aboriginal tribe) and head of the environmental and humanitarian White Feather Foundation. At 48 he's outlived his legendary father by 8 years and by all accounts is a happy and centered man.

Julian Lennon then and now