Julian Lennon has posted a statement on his official web site (www.julianlennon.com) about his father, John Lennon who died twenty years ago this month. In his statement he said that he didn't really know his father: "After that I only saw him a handful of times before he was killed. Sadly, I never really knew the man."

At the start of this year he decided that he was not going to talk to anyone about his father or The Beatles "...except to say that they were a great influence on my life musically!"

He says that his life is difficult: "Trying to find one's own identity makes it even harder, especially when you're not allowed to be you. How are you supposed to define your own character when all people want from you are answers about someone else's life, a life that you don't have answers for! I am not John Lennon, I never will be!".

He described his father as a "manipulated lost soul": "I wonder what it would have been like if he were alive today. I guess it would have depended on whether he was "John Lennon" (Dad) or "John Ono Lennon" (manipulated lost soul)." He felt sorry for his dad because "...once he was a guiding light, a star that shone on all of us, until he was sucked into a black hole and all of his strength consumed." He believes that John Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono led to the real breakdown of their relationship but believes that The Beatles played no part in it.

He finished with "And Dad, wherever you are, may your light shine as long as we do!"