The Beatles legend George Harrison would have turned 80 years old tomorrow (February 25, 2023) – but how much do you know about the so called ‘quiet’ Beatle?
Music legend George wrote some of the group’s biggest hits including Something, before launching a successful solo career with hits including My Sweet Lord and I’ve Got My Mind Set On You.
His life was full of interesting stories, with many of his personal items now housed in The Beatles Story in George’s hometown of Liverpool.
READ MORE: Beatles’ John Lennon to Phil Collins – music mega-stars who had famous musician kids
To celebrate what would have been George’s 80th birthday, Daily Star visited The Beatles Story to learn more about the music icon.
The ‘not so quiet’ Beatle
(Image: Roger Viollet/Getty Images)
Despite being known as ‘the quiet Beatle’, many people may not know that George Harrison wrote some of The Beatles most famous songs including Norwegian Wood, Something, Here Comes The Sun and Within You Without You.
His critically acclaimed work also included the album All Things Must Pass, which featured the song My Sweet Lord, with George releasing subsequent solo albums such as Cloud Nine and performing as part of The Travelling Wilburys.
Mason Griffiths, Marketing and PR Executive for The Beatles Story, explained that All Things Must Pass highlighted George’s amazing skill as a songwriter that he was already displaying as part of the group many years before, and that his contribution to The Beatles as a songwriter is “underrated.”
“I think he was definitely an underrated songwriter,” said Mason.
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
“It wasn’t really until his solo years that people stood back and went, ‘actually, George is a fantastic songwriter.’ All Things Must Pass really showed everyone that he really is an amazing songwriter.”
Marketing Manager Diane Glover also added that The Beatles trip to India was a pivitol moment in George’s career, saying: “What I found was really interesting was when he went over to India and I think his songwriting and his musicianship really came into the fore there.
“You could see with India how much of an influence it had on him – the instruments that were being played and learning to play the sitar. You saw that in The White Album, but then you definitely saw that in George’s solo career and his roots were in India. It wasn’t just with Indian music, it was also with spiritualism.”
She added: “I think it was later years when George really started to shine and people started to take notice.”
Hamburg revelation
(Image: Michael Ochs Archives)
The Beatles residencies in Hamburg during the early sixties are often credited with refining the sound and performance of the group, before they hit global success in the years that followed.
However, guitarist George was only in his mid-teens when the group first visited Hamburg – and actually required permission from his mum to travel to the city.
John Lennon’s half-sister Julia Bird also shared a sweet story George’s first visit to Hamburg, and the gift that his mum gave him before he headed out for what would become a life changing experience.
Marketing Manager Diane Glover recalled: “There a nice story that Julia Bird told me about George actually, which was quite funny.
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
“She was chatting about George at the time they went over to Hamburg, because he was young then and he had to have permission from his mum to go over there.”
“Julia told the story of how George had arrived in Hamburg and he arrived with a tin, a biscuit tin. His mum had made his sandwiches and sent him over there,” continued Diane.
“She was sending her 14, 15 year old son to another country. She was obviously worried about him going, but she’d made him his sandwiches and sent them in a little biscuit tin.
“It does make you realise how young he was at the time, and how much of a huge opportunity it was for him.”
She added: “We know now how crucial Hamburg was and how those hours and hours of playing together really formed that band.”
Patti Boyd introduced The Beatles to the Maharishi
(Image: Getty Images)
The Beatles Story recreates many of the places that played a huge role in The Beatles’ careers, including The Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studio.
One section of the museum is also titled The Beatles In India, which explores the group’s trip to attend a Transcendental Meditation course at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
However, it was actually George’s wife at the time Patti Boyd that introduced them to the Maharishi, with her and sister Jenni Boyd subsequently accompanying the group on their trip to India.
“Patti Boyd and Jenni Boyd have been here – people who spent time with him in India. We opened our Beatles In India exhibition in 2018, which would have been 50 years,” said Marketing Manager Diane Glover.
(Image: Bettmann Archive)
“Patti and Jenni specifically had a lot to say about their time with George,” adding: “only a short time that they were there in India in Rishikesh, but George was so influenced by it.”
The exhibition explains that George had a significant spiritual connection with India, with Diane adding: “George really was quite taken with India. He then spent a lot of time there, with the transcendental meditation courses they were doing.
“Patti was already into that and she was the one who introduced George and The Beatles to the Maharishi.
“They’d gone to a place in Wales and it was the weekend that Brian [Epstein] sadly died. It was Patti who had taken them in August of ’67 and it was while they were there they learnt of Brian’s sad death.
“They went straight back to London and then obviously that was in the August. It was in the February that they went out to India afterwards.”
George donated a manor house to the Hare Krishna movement
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
George’s Hare Krishna faith was an important part of his life and a major influence on his music, with Marketing and PR Executive Mason Griffiths saying: “He got involved with the Hare Krishna movement a lot towards the end of the sixties after that trip to India,” said Mason.
“He bought this manor house for the Hare Krishna movement to base their temple in, and this year is their 50th anniversary. They’ve been there ever since.”
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
Reflecting on the events taking place at The Beatles Story to celebrate what would have been George’s 80th birthday on February 25th, 2023, Mason also explained that the museum is welcoming Hare Krishna devotees from around the country, and host Pradyumna Pradip Gajjar to The Beatles Story in the 50th year of Bhaktivedanta Manor – which was donated to the movement by George in 1973.
“We’re welcoming them to do a panel discussion on what would have been George’s 80th birthday,” said Mason.
“We’re going to have some live music and some workshops to celebrate George’s life and spirituality.
“I think the temple itself is a massive part of George’s legacy, which people may not really know about. He contributed so much to this movement, which is still going strong today.”
George’s first guitar to romantic note
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
Fans are able to see lots of items that belonged to George at The Beatles Story, which tell the story of his life and career through immersive and interactive displays.
One significant item is his first guitar, which he took apart as he was intrigued to know how it worked.
However when he could not get it back together again, he hid it in a wardrobe as he was too scared to tell his mum, until his brother helped him put it back together again.
It is a significant item at the start of George’s career, with Marketing Manager Diane Griffiths explaining: “That was a guitar that started off his musicianship, his inquisitiveness and it’s great to have something of his on display here that is so iconic.”
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
Items relating to George also include the drum kit that Ringo Starr played at The Concert For George, which was on the first anniversary of the musician’s death in 2002.
There is also a sweet note to a former girlfriend of George’s – who was actually one of the co-founders of The Beatles Story.
“There are certainly pieces of George history that you can pick out of each room,” said Marketing and PR Executive Mason Griffiths.
“For example, one of our co-founders of The Beatles story used to date George. We’ve got a note in the Beatlemania section of the exhibition from George to Bernadette, saying “call me when you get home.”
There is also “some of her personal memorabilia signed by them, but it’s just really interesting to have that George story behind it all.”
(Image: Sarah O’Hara)
Speaking about the significance of the artefacts and how fans can learn more about George and bandmates Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr at The Beatles Story, Marketing Manager Diane Griffiths explained: “We are book. We are a living book. We’re a living story.
“We want people to get to the end and feel emotive, or feel like they’ve got so much information and then go on and say, ‘that was great.’
“Everyone knows The Beatles, they are considered by music critics as the world’s greatest band. 60 years after they were at the height of their fame, they are still considered the world’s greatest band. That in itself is a huge phenomenon.”
The Beatles Story is hosting the ‘Pilgrimage for George’ event commemorating his 80th birthday on February 25th, 2023.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
READ MORE:
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
