Sean Ono Lennon will interview Paul McCartney on his upcoming two-part BBC radio show, “John Lennon at 80,” honoring what would have been his dad’s birthday. The first episode of the celebration of the late Beatles singer-guitarist will include interviews with Sean’s half-brother Julian Lennon and family friend Elton John.
A description of the two-hour special promises that it will be a deep dive into the Lennon family’s memories of John, including Julian and Sean speaking publicly together for the first time about their father, who was killed outside his apartment building in New York by a crazed fan on Dec. 8, 1980.
“Both recall time spent in the studio at different points in John’s solo career — Julian during the making of the Walls and Bridges album in 1974, and Sean during the recording of Double Fantasy, shortly before John’s death in December 1980,” reads the show synopsis. “They chat warmly about their memories of growing up as John Lennon’s son and how that reflected on their own musical careers.”
Elton John also discusses his close relationship with the late Beatle, his love of the group when he was a teenager, what it was like to meet and play music with Lennon in the 1970s, and how he ended up being Sean’s godfather. The second part of the show will feature an extended interview with McCartney, which will also mark the first time Sean and Paul have spoken about John for broadcast.
“Sean will also share his own memories on his father’s remarkable musical life, which created some of the most important musical milestones of the entire 20th Century,” per the description. The show will air on Oct. 3 and 4 on BBC Radio 2 at 4 p.m. ET.