All They Are Saying Is Give Sean a Chance

Sean Lennon’s launching a band--and he wants to do it quietly.

The 19-year-old son of the late rock immortal John Lennon and Yoko Ono is fronting a group and is exploring ways to introduce his music without an inordinate amount of attention based simply on who he is.

“He has elected on his own not to make a big media entrance,” says Elliot Mintz, spokesman for the Lennon estate. “He wants to recede a bit in terms of what he is creating. It’s not going to be a celebrity vanity trip. He’s more into the musical experience.”

Neither Mintz nor anyone else has been promoting Lennon’s band. There have been reports for several years that young Lennon was interested in a pop career, but he wanted to do so in a low-key way that avoided the impression that he was trying to cash in on his family’s fame.

Indeed, perhaps having seen problems encountered in his half-brother Julian Lennon’s music career, he was so concerned about the whole thing being blown out of proportion that some observers began to suspect that he might never make the pop move.

But he now seems ready to give it a try. Can he avoid become a media sensation?

“It’s a little like John F. Kennedy Jr. trying to quietly announce he’s entering politics,” says Tony Berg, director of A&R; at Geffen Records.

“It’s a matter of whether Sean is (1) extremely talented; (2) obsessed with music and (3) motivated by the right things,” Berg says. “My guess is with those two parents, the answers to 2 and 3 are undoubtedly yes, and the odds of the answer to No. 1 being yes are very good.”

One thing Lennon has going for him is an incredible amount of good will. Music industry representatives expressed an almost parental affection for him, which might help give him the cushion to let his music develop naturally, without the celebrity spotlight on him.

“I think he should be allowed to do that,” says Epic associate director of A&R; Judy Ross. “He deserves that chance. I know he’s been working on his music for a while, writing songs and playing. I wish him luck.”

It helps that Lennon has kept his musical ambitions largely private as he’s grown up, save for appearing occasionally on his mother’s albums (including the upcoming “Rising’) and organizing the star-studded remake of his father’s “Give Peace a Chance” during the Persian Gulf War. During that time he pursued his education, first at a Swiss high school and last year at Columbia University.

“He can do this just by being in his band and not being ‘Sean Lennon,’ ” says Janet Billig, senior vice president of Atlantic Records. “He should just go out and play. It’s easy not to get noticed. The tough part is getting people to care. You have to be good for people to be really interested.”