As part of the revamped Anthology series for Disney+ George Harrison, who was dubbed ‘the quiet Beatle’ gives his account of The Beatles’ ups and downs
He was dubbed ‘the quiet Beatle’ by some, but fans will soon get to hear what George Harrison really thought of the Fab Four, why they split up, and why they still exist in many ways.
Words of wisdom, some unheard before from George, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, appear in a new ninth episode of The Beatles Anthology which has been restored and expanded from eight original TV episodes in the Nineties. The trio had worked on the anthology project for around four years and episode nine has unseen footage and interviews from when Paul, Ringo and George got together to make the songs Free As A Bird and Real Love in 1994 with old audio featuring fourth member John Lennon, who died in 1980.
And the new footage effectively means fans have a new interview from George giving his insight into the reunion and the band, and one of the first things he admits is a little sadness that there was one important person missing. George says: “It was interesting to actually get back together. You know, in some way, I feel sorry for John, because, you know, the Beatles went through a lot of good times, but also went through some turbulent times. And as everybody knows, you know, when we split up, kind of everybody was a bit fed up with each other.
“But for Ringo, Paul and I, we’ve had the opportunity to, like, have all that go down the river and under the bridge and to get together again in a new light. I feel a bit sorry that John wasn’t able to do that. I think he would have really enjoyed this opportunity to be with us again. We’d all had enough time to breathe, and I think it’s much easier to look at it now from a distance.”
The reunion saw the three surviving Beatles being interviewed together at George Harrison’s home of Friar Park, whilst they are also seen jamming old rock’n’roll songs. Paul is grinning from ear to ear, whilst Ringo is steady as ever on drums and relaxed in sunglasses. It is only George who at times, seems a little more uncertain at times about the situation.
But they still sound great and George admits: “There is a certain harmony. We do lock in together very easily. It kind of sounds like The Beatles without much effort.” Other scenes show them working on the new tracks at Paul McCartney’s home studio with producer Jeff Lynne; and sitting at a mixing desk while George Martin plays them multitrack recordings from the 60s.
George Harrison even says one mix of Paul’s tracks You Never Give Me Your Money sounds “a bit cheesy” but Paul doesn’t rise to the bait and carries on listening. In another scene George is heard asking Paul if his coat is “vegetarian leather jacket” and seeming in good spirits as Ringo erupts with laughter. Paul replies: “Yes it is and the boots are vegetarian”.
He laters says “Paul and I are gonna do some stadiums next year.” Paul replies: “Mud wrestling together, I think we could pull it off too.” Ringo adds: “I’ll be the ref.” The band’s humour was something they always maintained and was part of a bond that began when they formed in 1960.
Asked why they were such a success, George says: “I felt that we had something totally different, even if it was just our attitude. It’s just some little magic that when you get certain people together, it makes fire or it makes dynamite. All I wanted to do was be in the band. I didn’t want a proper job, and I had no idea what I would have done had I not done this. But at the age of 17, I was in Hamburg, and by the time I was 23 we’d done Sgt Pepper.”
Sat around with Paul and Ringo in-between studio sessions in 1994, George also said he didn’t offer to room with Ringo when he first joined the band as he was the newest. “Paul was the only one who’d sleep with me,” Ringo jokes.
Paul then remembers the drummer went to bed late and like to sleep with the light on as he was still so young and a bit scared of darkness. “It was great sort of staying in the room with a friend of that and seeing his habits, you get to know each other a bit that way.” Paul adds.
A few years later there was no longer any need to share rooms or worry about saving money as the band became global stars. The first Beatles song to chart in the UK was Love Me Do in 1962, but it was the following year when their third single, From Me To You, would give them their first Number 1 hit. They would end up with 18 number one hits in the UK and 15 number one albums.
The initial UK success sparked Beatlemania and a fanbase of millions making them the most recognisable faces in the world. But the fame was hard on the foursome and so the hits came at a cost. Giving his version of why the band split, George says: “You know, we were so stressed out. We’ve been through every riot and jam. Every city we went to, there was some kind of a jam going on, the noise, people yelling at us all the time and being confined to a little room or a plane or a car, but we never thought about it too much, because it was an ongoing thing.
“It was happening to us, and it was hard to see, you know, we were just in the middle being ushered from room to room. We all had each other to dilute the stress. And being born in Liverpool, the sense of humour was very important, and so we always had a laugh as well. But there was a point where, you know, enough was enough. And I think that’s really was the major contributor to The Beatles splitting up was stress. We all just wanted out, you know, give us a bit of peace.”
Ringo adds: “It was just crazy times, but great times. I mean, you know, I had a really good time, but it was crazy. We were lucky that there were four of us to take that pressure. Four of us held each other together, and at certain times, you know, each one of us went mad, but the other three could bring us back. I was an only child, and suddenly I had three brothers. We were all really close.
“Everything we did, I feel we did for good, that still relates to today. It always goes back to the music, to the personalities. All you need is love.”
Paul admits he was thought of as “the work fiend” and tried to hold the band together and keep them going the longest.
“We could sit in the garden longer than you,” Ringo says. Paul replies: “Yeah, I know. I like the Beatles. I like to work with the Beatles. I’ve not ashamed of that. It’s what I love in life that, all that making music.”
George, known for being a spiritual man, also tells the cameras the band continue – and still do now – even though they are no longer together or able to play live.
Looking to the future George says: The Beatles, you know, will go on and on, on those records and films and videos and books and in people’s memories or minds. The Beatles has just become its own thing now. And the Beatles, I think, exist without us.”
The ninth episode ends with the trio sat outside singing together at George Harrison’s house. They are messing around chatting and joking and for fans, and them, it seems like it was a time in June 1994 when three of the fab four could reunite with much of the tension of the Seventies split behind them.
George even jokes that he and Paul are going on a stadium tour and Paul replies “mud wrestling”. Quick as a flash Ringo says: “I’ll be the ref.”
As the day ends in the garden filled with sunshine, Ringo says to Paul and George “This has been a really nice day for me chaps. It’s been really beautiful and moving. I like hanging out with you two guys.” Paul says: “It’s been a very nice day, thanks for having us George.”
In November 2001 they would do reunite for one final time, meeting up for lunch in New York as George struggled with lung cancer and a tumour. Just a couple of weeks later he passed away aged 58.
* The Beatles Anthology is out now on Disney+ and is expanded to nine episodes. The eighth and ninth episodes are released on Friday.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on
