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| Photos by John Croft |
Oswestry Man Reveals Friendship with George Harrison
By Josh Price
Oswestry Bourder and Counties Advertizer
November 25, 2025
The Borderland Rotary Club recently welcomed John Croft, known in the area as Ukulele Man, to share an entertaining talk about his love for the instrument and a surprising connection he made along the way.
Mr Croft, a former president of the Borderland Club, recounted how he was contacted by George Harrison.
He said: "I've always loved to play the Uke, and to talk with likeminded people about the instrument, but one day the phone rang and a man with a soft Liverpool accent said, 'Hi John, it's George Harrison here.
"I'd like to talk to you about playing the ukulele.'
"Well, you can imagine my shock—suddenly talking to one of my heroes from the legendary band, the Beatles.
"And it just got better; he came to Oswestry to visit me in my house in Jasmine Gardens, Oswestry, and after a few months, a genuine friendship developed.
"Over the next eleven years, I visited (and stayed!) with George at his home, Friar Park, near Henley-on-Thames, on a number of occasions, and he even came to stay overnight with Mary and I in Llanyblodwel—where, at his suggestion, we went for a short drink at 'The Horseshoe.'"
Mr Croft said they were invited to the Portmeirion Hotel for part of the filming of The Beatles Anthology.
The Beatles guitarist gifted Mr Croft a vintage Gibson Banjolele, which he said he treasures.
He continued: "I kept quiet about our friendship for many years, as George and I shared a musical interest—not a commercial endeavour.
"I finally decided to write about what happened in my new book, 'The Uke, the Beatle, and Me', because I wanted my family and friends to know the story, and especially to tell readers that, putting aside his fame and fortune, what a genuinely kind, thoughtful, humorous, and lovely man I found George Harrison to be."
Mr Croft buys and sells instruments and has written a number of books about them.
His new book is available from his website at theukuleleman.com, by email at theukuleleman.com@gmail.com, and from the 'Local Interest' section in Booka Bookshop in Church Street, Oswestry.
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