John Lennon’s son reveals heartbreaking reality of growing up without father after his assassination

John Lennon’s son has revealed he ‘didn’t know how to fill that void’ after his father was murdered.

The Beatles star was 40 years old when he was killed by Mark David Chapman in December 1980.

As Lennon was walking into his apartment building in New York City he was shot four times in the back. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

At the time of Lennon’s death, his son Sean, whose mother is artist and activist Yoko One was just five years old.

Now Sean, who is a musician himself, has spoken about how music helped fill a ‘void’ in his life.

‘I never played music because I was good at it,’ he explained.

‘I lost my father, and I didn’t know how to fill that void. Learning how to play his songs on guitar was a way to process the loss with an activity that made me feel connected to him.

‘When you’ve lost a parent, things like that motivate you – because you’re trying to find them. Making music always made me feel like I was getting to know him better,’ he added when speaking to People.

Sean, 49, went on to share he felt he was able to connect with his late father by listening to his music and watching old footage of him.

He said he grew up ‘mostly knowing my dad through pictures and recordings, because he wasn’t around’.

Sean added that whenever he heard his father saying something he hadn’t heard before it ‘means so much for me’, describing the moment as ‘gold and precious…because it’s like getting more time with him’.

The musician described how he was forced to ‘construct somebody our of fragments’.

Earlier this year Sean teamed up with Sir Paul McCartney’s son James McCartney, 46, to release the song, Primrose Hill.

The release marked the first Lennon-McCartney collaboration in over 50 years.

Sean’s solo debut, Into the Sun, was released in 1998, while he also worked with his mother and formed the band, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.

Over the years he’s also toured with Tame Impala, Beck, and Florence and the Machine.

He is Lennon’s only child with Yoko, now 91. His late father also had son Julian Charles John Lennon, 61, with ex-wife Cynthia Lennon.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE: The Beatles legend who left Cher blushing over his ‘naked drunken’ antics

MORE: Music merch from the 70s, 80s, 90s that are now worth a small fortune

MORE: Irreplaceable Beatles’ recording equipment that was found in a skip now selling for £2,000,000