Julian Lennon has broken a musical vow to himself to help the people of Ukraine. The singer-songwriter, who is the son of John Lennon — performed “Imagine” publicly for the first time ever to help raise money for Ukrainian refugees during Global Citizen‘s Stand Up For Ukraine fundraising campaign April 8.
Julian shared his performance across socials with a lengthy caption addressing his decision to finally perform his late father’s iconic peace anthem.
“The War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy … As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I could,” he wrote. “So today, for the first time ever, I publicly performed my Dad’s song, IMAGINE.”
Julian explained what led him to decide to perform the song for the first time in his decades-long career. “I had always said, that the only time I would ever consider singing ‘IMAGINE’ would be if it was the ‘End of the World,’” he wrote. “The song reflects the light at the end of the tunnel, that we are all hoping for … As a result of the ongoing murderous violence, millions of innocent families, have been forced to leave the comfort of their homes, to seek asylum elsewhere.”
The 59-year-old musician ended his message by urging “world leaders and everyone who believes in the sentiment of IMAGINE, to stand up for refugees everywhere! Please advocate and donate from the heart.”
Julian performed the song in a somber setting, surrounded by dozens of candles. He was accompanied by Extreme frontman Nuno Bettencourt on acoustic guitar.
“Imagine” was first released in 1971 as part of John Lennon’s album of the same name. The hit peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1971.
Check out Julian’s performance below.
