This is an interview with George and Olivia from June 1990 when they were on the Wogan program.
W: This week, former Beatle George Harrison and his playmates in the Traveling Wilburys band released a new record, "Nobody's Child," a suitable title in view of the fact that it's in aid of the Romanian orphans. The Traveling Wilburys, "Nobody's child." It's an attempt to help thousands of abandoned, sick, and hopeless children who are the victims of Ceausescu's terrible regime in Romania. George's wife has been at the forefront of the Romanian Angel Appeal, which first marshaled public opinion to try and help the victims of this dreadful human tragedy. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Olivia and George Harrison.
W: George, I know that wild horses couldn't normally drag you into a television studio, you are a private man; why did you decide to speak out on this particular issue?
G: Well, actually, I've been on television before, I do occasionally go on television, but...I know what you mean, yeah.
W: It's jsut this program you probably don't want to appear on, I don't blame you.
G: Partially because, you know, the wife asked me if I would do this song.
W: Or told you to do it.
G: Well, yes, she said, "or else..." No, she asked if I could talk to the guys who are the Wilburys into doing the song. And partially because of what it is. I think when you see the photographs, and what's happening, babies in their cribs, it sort of, you know, we all have to do something occasionally. And I thought it was a good thing to do.
W: Yes, it is, and obviously, it's a very moving thing and terribly disturbing, particularly to see children be treated so badly, and obviously, that's what motivated you to start. But what was the single factor that started you on this Romanian Angel Appeal?
O: I think it was a photograph in the newspaper, but it was sort of a gradual assault on my conscience. It was slowly wearing away at me, and I decided that perhaps we should try to contribute some money, and I began to write charities and try to see what we could do who was doing what, and in the end found myself responsible for lots of money and felt that I should go down and just see what we could do, what could be the most effective thing to do. Since Elton and Linda and Barbara and Ringo and Paul and Yoko had donated with us. I went down there and was just ... overwhelmed and devasted and shocked by the situation there.
W: How many children do you think? The kind of figures we're getting is like 15,000. Do you think it's much more than that?
O: I think there's far more than that. I mean, I've heard of 40,000. I've heard of 50,000, I've heard 400,000. Virtually every few miles, there's an orphanage. We had a list of 400 and we didn't see any of them on the list. We just started to go to one, and they'd just point us to another and another and another.
W: What are the conditions of these orphanages?
O: Shocking.
W: Somebody said it was like Auschwitz, I mean it's....
O: It's actually very bad, worse than you can imagine, especially now. I mean, this year, this point in time, everybody is enjoying such luxury in their lives, and nobody's ever had it better, and you go there and see children, and for 150 children, you have no sanitation. And on a practical level, that's what we're trying to do, make their lives more tolerable. It eases my frustration because I, basically, they need to be taken out of the orphanages, I think. Every child needs a family and some love and nurturing.
W: Let's establish how the children, why should there be so many children in the Romanian orphanages for a state?
O: Well, Ceausescu felt that if Romania had 30 million people it probably would give him more power and become a more formidable force in Europe. And women were forced to have five children at least. And abortion and birth control were illegal. So the lucky ones in the orphanages grew up to be in his army, the Securitate, but those were the lucky ones.
W: They were known as his children, or he used to call them his children.
O: That's right, that's right. And they were turned over to the state, they were like, um...I mean, I saw a trolley of babies, you know, like loves of bread. The sad thing is, you know, life goes on, politics change, but nothing changes in their lives. Day after day, year after year, their entire lives are spent in these institutions.
W: And they've all got -- there's a lot of diseases, and mental handicap and physical handicap. Well, are you saying you'd like them to be adopted, and if so, there is a certain amount of resentment, isn't there, or reaction against the adoption of Romanian children over here.
O: Yes, I've been steering clear of that question a bit because it is a difficult one, but I think if somebody -- I know a woman that just brought a baby back, and she felt she had to do that, and she went down, and she went through the system and was given the runaround, but she succeeded. I think that if you feel that in your heart, if that's really what you have to do, then that's a personal decision.
W: How much money have you raised so far?
O: Through the Daily Mail, we've raised £835,000, I mean to the credit of the British public. Because there have been letters, I mean, they keep piling up, I'm gonna answer them right, but -- and form people who maybe whether it's £5, a pound, or £10, and there have been large donations, but I always remember Bob Geldof saying during the Live Aid thing, "pity, the man who did nothing because he could do so little." And really, the British public, you know, haven't been shy in donating a pound or £5. That's what's done it.
W: We have the address that you can send your donation to: Romanian Angel Appeal, 32 Galena road, London W6 OLT. And no matter how big or small, you'd be delighted with the donation.
O: Yes, absolutely.
W: Now, your donation, in a sense, George, has been the record. How did you first come abreast of what was happening? Obviously, you read it in the papers, but Olivia called you, didn't she?
G: Well, I was in Los Angeles at the time, so I didn't really know about it til she told me by telephone. Then, to my amazement, she suddenly said, "I'm going to Bucharest tomorrow." I had a call from Bucharest, and then when she returned and brought back a lot of photographs and stuff, but she called me and said, "It'd be a nice idea if you would do a song. Maybe you could put a single out, help raise a bit more money." So I thought, well, that's easy enough for me, particularly at that point, because I was in a room with other musicians and a recording engineer, we had the tape machines and stuff, so, for me, that's quite easy at that point to do something. you know, I mean, plumbers can go down there and plumb in toilets, but I can pick up a guitar and make a song. As it happened, the other guys that I was working with, they said, "well, okay, we don't mind doing it" when I explained it to them. What song should we do? That was the most difficult thing. Luckily I remembered this old song that, it's an old American song that Lonnie Donegan did in the Fifties called "Nobody's Child" which we just heard a little. And that seemed apt.
W: Did you know the words of that, you recall Lonnie Donegan...
G: I remembered the chorus so when I called Joe, you know, Joe Brown, who I thought, "he's bound to know it."
W: He's the fount of all wisdom in country music.
G: He happened to give me the verse, the lyrics to the first verse. So I asked him, "Call me back, give me the second verse." Meanwhile, we went into the studio and put down the track. I was waiting for the phone call for the second verse, so, um, it never came through. I realized it was already 5AM in London, so I thought, "Well, I'll just make up the lyrics to the second half," because I thought at that point it was just a traditional song anyway, which it wasn't. Turned out to be written by two guys. So that was the problem, then we had to chase up the publishrs and ask them if they minded us writing words to the second half of the song. And we just did it. We did it and sang. We decided Tom Petty should sing the first two lines, I'll sing the next two, Jeff Lynne sing the next two, and Bob Dylan sing the last two.
W: And all the proceeds will go to this Romanian Angel Appeal?
G: Yeah. And since then, somebody had a bright idea, well, we had a song, or an instrumental from Dave Stewart to put on the B-side and then somebody suggested we make a few phone calls and make it into an album. There's a fellow who manages a couple of people in the States and does Dylan's tours. [it] was his suggestion, so within a couple of hours, we had Edie Brickell and a guy named Roc Ocasek in a band called the Cars. They volunteered a track, and so I got on the phone, and we have Eric Clapton and Elton John, as Elton said the other night, plus Stevie Wonder, Mike, and the Mechanics...
W: Wonderful line up...
G: all kinds of...Guns and Roses. So it's quite a fun album and...
W: Should make a great deal of money for the Appeal. Let's hope so. You've been back to Bucharest and have you seen any of the effects of the money that you've already brought in? Have you seen it?
O: Yeah..
W: Any good being done with it?
O: Just the beginning, this last trip I took, during the earthquake, I went down to visit two orphanages we've started, and it's...I'm very emotional about the whole thing, but to walk in there and see them, little sinks with mirrors, don't forget these children have never seen themselves in a mirror, sinks with mirrors and showers with hot water heaters and bathtubs, so little for us, things that we wouldn't even think about.
W: Do you hope to go there, George, to have a look and see what's happening?
G: Not particularly. I'm not saying that I wont' go there, but it's not part of my idea to go down and join in with plumbers and electricians, but in that respect, you know, I can do more in this way, to help get the money to people who actually know what they're doing.
W: Well, let's hope. You're hopeful.
O: I'm very hopeful, yeah. I'd like to say that it's good news now, now that it's started happening.
G: It's going to be better than it was, and it's just a matter of time to get 'round to all these places and get them all wash basins and toilets.
O: He was going to be an electrician...
W: Yeah..or a plumber.
G: Or a plumber, yeah, yeah.
W: What did you eventually become?
G: I don't know, really. I don't know... just some object for the newspapers to make fun of, probably.
(Wogan and Oliva are laughing)
W: I think what you do is very laudable and terrific, and I'm sure it's going to do an enormous amount of good; it already is. Thank you both for joining us.
O: Thank you
G: Thanks a lot.
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