Watching not just the Beatles but the Beatles' children grow older is one surefire way to be astonished at the quick passage of time. Julian Lennon, the most famous Beatlekid of them all, turns 50 on April 8, which would be cause enough for gasps or sighs, for those of us with a "where did the years go?" mindset. It's all the more breathtaking when you consider that "little" Julian has now lived a decade longer than John did.



Sorting out where Julian stands in the Lennon family firmament as he enters his sixth decade is as puzzling a prospect as ever. Just as friendly relations among the surviving ex-Beatles always seemed to be in an on-again, off-again mode, the same holds true for many of the Fab Four's children and past or present spouses and in-laws. The recurring rifts between Julian and his mum Cynthia Lennon on one side, and Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon on the other, represent one of the most intriguing divides of all.

In 2010, at least some of the polluted water seemed to be under the bridge, when Julian opened a photo exhibition and, at the opening night, four people posed for a photo-op that most Beatles fans thought would never happen: brothers Julian and Sean with their mothers Cynthia Lennon and Yoko Ono. Hell, it seemed, had frozen over.

At that point three years ago, reconciliation seemed to be in the air. Julian seemed to be sorry that he had publicly expressed his disdain for how Yoko had handled things over the years. "I think the key point to all of this for me at least has been Sean," he said at the time. "If I hurt Sean’s mother, then I hurt Sean.”

But a year after that, in November 2011, Julian felt pushed to the breaking point again by being excluded from some gala Fab Four occasions, and used his Facebook page to post his disappointment: "Wow... Snubbed at Macca’s wedding, snubbed at the anniversary of LOVE in Vegas! Snubbed at Macca’s wedding reception in NYC... Snubbed at George Harrison’s film premiere... What have I done to be ignored in such a way? I was not invited to ANY of these events... I thought we had a relationship ... Obviously not... Gimme some truth... Maybe now it’s time to tell the Truth... I & My Mother will NOT be eradicated from history... How dare they."

Shortly after posting that, the ellipses-loving singer deleted that bitter message and substituted a more resigned-sounding post: "Rising above... Always have, always will... And better for it... I luv you Mum... Thank you."

Still, the message about Lennon family relations was clear: To paraphrase his biggest hit, it may not only be much too late for goodbyes, but much too late for good vibes.

In an April 2012 interview with the London Express, he explained that he'd considered the rapid succession of non-invitations to be "laughable. I really did think it’s just too funny to be real. I try to look at it in a lighter way; otherwise I would be at war with everybody." On the subject of the McCartney wedding, the subject of Paul's song "Hey Jude" said: "I am not going to say that we weren’t close because he certainly was around at certain times of my life that were important. The wedding? Well, OK, but at least maybe the reception. All of my friends, who are mutual friends, went. I don’t want to dwell on it. He did get back to me saying someone obviously made a huge mistake and I accept that. I’ll leave it at that.”

As for his occasional bursts of public combativeness, he added, “I think I could handle things a little more delicately but I also don’t want to candy coat things. I don’t want to fight with anybody but there are some things I have to stand up for. That comes from Dad and it comes from Mum. She is not going to take any s--- from anybody, especially given what’s she’s been through in her life.”

Julian may have felt particularly vulnerable in 2011. It was then that he released his first album in eight years, Everything Changes, which was met with mixed reviews and generated no hit singles. The album wasn't even released in America, but there is a plan to remedy that situation. Lennon entered the studio again last summer to record some additional tracks for the album with the idea of giving it a full international release for the first time as well as reissuing it in Europe.