John Lennon was to star with Michael Crawford in the anti-war film satire directed by Richard Lester entitled How I Won the War. This was to be a very productive period for John, as he was also to compose one of his masterpieces “Strawberry Fields Forever” in Almeria , Spain during the filming of the movie.
The book:
London: Century, 1999
Michael Crawford
Crawford’s signature in the book
Michael Crawford’s Signature
Back Cover of Crawford’s book
Back Cover of Crawford’s Book
John Lennon as Musketeer Gripweed and Michael Crawford as Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody:
Was able to acquire a special edition DVD of the film on Ebay which also had a mini magazine of photos taken from the film
Photos from How I Won The War
The paperback version of the book by Patrick Ryan released in 1967 and published by Ballantine books:
The Novel – How I Won The War
Michael Crawford, of course, was to ascend to superstardom status in his role of the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber smash hit musical of the “Phantom of the Opera.”
Have you watched the film? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Apologies for the bad pun: wanted to present you with these three examples posted on YouTube of John’s first wife Cynthia Lennon performing the Gene Raskin-written hit song for Mary Hopkin “Those Were the Days,” and two other songs:
A portfolio of photographs of Cynthia’s relationships from John Lennon onwards:
John Lennon and Cyn:
John and Cynthia
Cynthia and Roberto Bassanini
Julian Lennon has often declared Roberto as the much-needed father figure when John left Cynthia for Yoko Ono.
Cynthia and Roberto Bassanini
Cynthia and John Twist:
Twist was married to Cynthia when John was assassinated:
Cynthia and John Twist
Jim Christie and Cynthia – though not married – this was the longest relationship:
Jim Christie and Cynthia
Julian, Cynthia, and Noel Charles, Cynthia’s last husband:
Julian, Cynthia and Noel Charles
John Lennon – 10 years (1958 – 1968); married.
Roberto Bassanini – 5 years (1969 – 1973); married
John Twist – 7 years (1975 – 1982); married
Jim Christie – 17 years (1982 – 1999); boyfriend
Noel Charles – approximately 14 years (1999 – 2013); married
Cynthia passed away in 2015 from cancer. Julian was by her side when she passed.
What is your opinion of Cynthia’s musical performances? Some people have speculated that even after her split with John, she loved him until the end of her life, based on the many interviews she has given over the years.
Even though Julian Lennon often spends significant amounts of time between his own album releases, he stays active as he continues to make music collaborating with a multitude of other artists. I love Julian’s contributions to many of these recordings and I would like to take the opportunity to highlight a fewexcellent examples on this blog entry. Julian’s musical legacy is far greater than just the albums he has personally released as his contributions to other people’s work is often superb and outstanding!
Here is a link to Julian Lennon’s website which features many of the collaborations Julian has been involved with over the years:
The first collaboration I want to mention here is a composition written by Julian Lennon, his good friend, the late Mark Spiro along with his wife Leslie. It is the environmental classic entitled “Saltwater.” Mark Spiro sadly passed away on his birthday in March of 2024 after a long illness. He has collaborated on several numbers over the years with Julian and he will be missed!
2) “Rain in England”- a wonderful song co-sung by Tony Mortimer and Julian Lennon. I can picture being pelted by a soft rain in the UK as this song is playing:
3) A beautiful tune co-sung by Kristina Train and Julian called “Sleep Now.” which features a tune written by Brian Byrne and words by literary great James Joyce:
5) Another example to be cited here in this post is a song entitled “December Sky.” This is the rehearsal of the song written by Tomi Swick which features harmony vocals by Julian. It is not a coincidence that this rehearsal was recorded on Dec 8, 2010.
I know Julian focuses primarily on his photography because it is far more relaxing for him not being compared with his dad. However, he has a golden voice and I would love to see more frequent musical releases by him. I know that I am not alone in that desire!!!
“Cole’s Song”
Appearing in the closing credits of Mr. Holland’s Opus – this is a beautiful number written by Michael Kamen with lyrical contributions from Julian along with a splendid vocal performance by Jules. This movie must have been an emotional and poignant moment for Julian to come to grips with. If you remember the plot of the film, you will know what I am referring to!
Hope you have enjoyed some of the Julian Lennon collaborations that have been highlighted in this post!
Do you have a favorite? If so, what is it and why? Let me know in the comments below.
Every generation seemingly has the need of portraying the time in which they grew up as the “best time” and their generation as being the best and the most exciting. We all have the tendency as we get older to enhance the good times and to minimize the bad ones in which we came of age. Even the music we listened to while growing up holds special memories and has special associations with momentous events in our lives. I want to share with you an item that I actually purchased twice in my years of collecting.
Julian and the Fonz
The photo below without Julian’s signature was given as a gift to Julian Lennon as a gift by me at a book signing at Barnes and Noble in New York City. The original photo was signed by Henry Winkler, the actor who played “The Fonz” in the TV show “Happy Days.” Julian stared at the photo when I handed it to him, broke a wonderful smile, and mentioned to his personal assistant and said, “Look, it’s me and the Fonz.” He thanked me for the gift and gave it to his PA for safekeeping.
Years later, I had the opportunity to purchase another signed photo. This time the photo was also signed by Julian, along with Ron Howard, the award winning director and actor, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams and Don Most. Ron Howard was to go on to direct the special film that dealt with the Beatles touring years entitled “Eight Days a Week.”
Happy Days
The photo below was taken the first year of “Happy Days” production. John Lennon, May Pang and Julian visited the cast members on the set when this photo was taken. Could not resist getting this one as a permanent part of the collection because of all of the signatures.
Having Julian’s signature on this photos is of special importance to me, knowing that he was having a great time with his father during this time frame!
Will have this professionally framed.
PhotoSigned by: Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, Don Most, Anson Williams & Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon with The Fonz and cast of Happy Days
The Beatles film directed by Ron Howard: Eight Days a Week
Eight Days a Week
A SONG OF NOSTALGIA THAT JULIAN PARTICIPATED IN: “TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS”
Julian Lennon singing lead vocal on a nostalgic song written by Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung. The two singers do a great job on this song of “looking back.”
The best way for me to conclude this post is to say growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in particular WAS the most exciting time to be around and to come of age. There was so much change occurring in the culture and so many things going on challenging previously held beliefs that it made you wonder, “What Was Coming Next?” I will argue this point with all subsequent generations!!! Be prepared for a peaceful battle if you disagree with my assessment! LOL! in either case, be healthy and happy!
Finally, this is the song that really tugs on the heartstrings as it features Julian Lennon singing a rare song about his dad. Someone posted this radio performance of Julian singing this obscure number on YouTube! Julian at the time of this performance was touring (in the 90’s) What a heartfelt beautiful song this is!
