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Sean Lennon talks about his father, ‘Midnight Sun’ and The Goastt

TORONTO — Sean Lennon was only five years old when his famous father John Lennon was gunned down, so he can only speculate what the ex-Beatle would think of his band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.

“I would hope that he would happy with it,” Lennon said. “Honestly I have no idea.”

The band, whose latest album is Midnight Sun, is a collaboration between Lennon, 38, and his girlfriend, model Charlotte Kemp Muhl. The two met at the Coachella music festival in 2006, when she was only 18.

Lennon said it was several years before he knew Muhl was musically inclined.

“We basically started a band so that we could spend more time together because I was on tour and I never got to see her and she was always working in some other country,” he recalled Tuesday during an appearance on Global’s The Morning Show. “We figured if we started a band we’d actually get to hang out more.”

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Lennon said the couple shares a passion for music.

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“We do it because we love music. That’s our main motivation,” he explained. “Our intention is not to be as big as Justin Bieber but, of course, we’re not against success.”

He also defended his reputation as a perfectionist.

“I don’t know if we’re especially OCD or not,” said Lennon. “We try to be a little bit loose because rock ‘n’ roll is not an exact science but we spend a lot of time on it, let’s put it that way, and we care a lot about the result.”

Working with his partner is easy, said Lennon, who previously performed with his mother, Yoko Ono.

“I was raised by a single mother so I feel comfortable around most women… some women,” he insisted. “I’ve always had the choice to work with people that I’m close to. I prefer that because I feel it’s more comfortable.”

Lennon said his mother, now 81, “has more energy than I do.” She also shares her opinions of his music.

“She gives me advice. I don’t know if I take it, but she’s my mom so she definitely gives me a lot of feedback.”

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger performs Tuesday night at The Hoxton in Toronto and Wednesday at Montreal’s La Sala Rossa.

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They will be back in Montreal June 25 at Place des Arts and in Toronto June 27 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts as opening act for Beck.

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