We’re all paying attention to what’s happening between Russia and Ukraine, including John Lennon’s son Julian. He took the opportunity to support Ukraine, performing his father’s song “Imagine” to raise funds for the refugees.
So far, more than 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced over Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and senseless war. That number includes 5 million refugees that have fled the area after Putin’s military pulverized cities. Russia targeted churches and schools in a jaw-dropping manner. Most of the world has become united against Russia after its appalling attacks on Ukrainian citizens.
Julian Lennon sang his iconic father’s wildly popular song, Imagine, as part of the Global Citizen’s social media rally, Stand Up for Ukraine.
Previously, Julian vowed never to perform his father’s song, but he explained in a tweet that the “unimaginable tragedy” compelled him to “respond in the most significant way I could.”
Julian further explained that the only time he would ever consider singing ‘Imagine’ “would be if it was the ‘End of the World.” And indeed, it does feel like the end of the world, or possibly the beginning of World War III.
Interestingly, Julian never wanted to perform his father’s song even though he sounds quite a bit like his dad. I met him a couple of times back in the day in London when I was younger (in the Stone Age). He came to my flat with some friends of his, and he was the spitting image of his father, glasses included. Maybe he just wants to be his own person and not be compared to his father’s talents. Or perhaps it’s even deeper than that.
Julian Lennon isn’t the first musician to throw their support behind Ukraine. Twisted Sister’s frontman Dee Snider has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, as well as Queen and Paul Rodgers, Bob Geldorf, Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders (the original group members were better, in my opinion. OK, that’s an inside joke. I’ll shut up now), and Pink Floyd.
Well, if there is one thing Putin was successful at, it was bringing the world together against him. Congrats, I guess? And he also demonstrated what a failure his military is even though Russia bragged about its strength for years.
Slava Ukraini!
