Just Call me "Lucky"

Just Call me "Lucky" (Finding a Beatle in a Haystack)

By Vickie Smallwood

The Harrison Alliance Issue #82

October-December 1992

To borrow an often-used song title, "With a Little Help From My Friends," Barbara Pazmino and I were able to attend the Dylan Tribute Concert on October 16 (1992). We had no intention of really looking for George because, with everyone in town at once, one might say it would have been like looking for a Beatle in a haystack!

We had met up with friends from Chicago and Cincinnati that weekend and sometimes luck is on one's side. And this was one time that we really walked into a windfall! Passing by one of New York City's more luxurious hotels on Sunday afternoon, we happened to spot a small band of faces, some of them familiar. That was all the encouragement we needed to join them to wait and see what would happen next. Our wait wasn't very long, as who should be the two next people to stroll out the door, but none other than Olivia and Dhani Harrison! Even if you didn't recognize Olivia, there's no mistaking Dhani. While Dhani has his mum's coloring, he's George all over again! They stopped for a brief moment and smiled at us. it was just long enough for those of us with cameras to take one quick photo.  They got into a van and drove away.

We waited for what seemed like forever when finally, after what felt like weeks on end, George came out. Up close, you could see that he had gained a bit of weight and looked better than ever! He also looked like he had a more healthy color to his face. 

Unfortunately, for the few of us that are truly fans, there always seem to be a couple of "rotten apples" that have to spoil things, and they all rushed over to George. Anyone's chance of ever asking for an autograph were instantly ruined. Some of us did manage to get a couple of quick photos as he got into a van. As the van pulled away from the curb amid shouts of "Great show, George!" and "Hope you tour soon, George!" much to our delight, George blew kisses to the ladies gathered on the wall. From then until the van was out of sight and out of earshot, "We love you, George!" rang out in the frosty air. 

Breath Away From Heaven

 

I knew that George and Olivia enjoyed visiting Fiji in the late 1990s/early 2000s (see photo), but I never heard this story about George's last public performance before.   While I do think most of this story is true, I have a really difficult time believing that the songs George played were "In Spite of All of the Danger" and "Cry for a Shadow."  It sounds like someone got a copy of Anthology 1 and just named the first two songs credited to 'Harrison'  off Disc 1.   I don't know ---  What do you think?

Breath Away From Heaven (Was George's Last Public Performance Near To Heaven?)

By Patti Murawski

The Harrison Alliance Issue #105

March-April 2002

Ex-patriate Collin McKenny lives and works in Lomalagi, a resort she owns on Vanua Levu in Figi. A refugee from corporate America, Collin acted on a dream in 1996, and after finding just the right site in Fiji, built a beautiful resort which so aptly reflects its name which means "heaven" in Fijian. Just a few short years after the resort opened, her life crossed with George's and Olivia's in a way she couldn't have imagined. 

For quite some time, the Harrison had been visiting Fiji as a stopping point between their homes in Maui and Australia. The local media was bursting with stories that the Harrisons were visiting various spots on this island nation, talking to developers, and looking to buy property in Fiji. 

Collin shared her experiences with me [The Harrison Alliance], a story of George's generosity and, remarkably, a story about a gathering in a small village that just may have been George's last public performance.

George and Olivia went for a stay in Fiji at Lomalagi (lo-muh-LONG-ee), a small resort situated on a working coconut plantation overlooking Natewa Bay on Vanua Levu. Lomalagi has spectacular views and is quite secluded, the latter being a quality that wasn't wasted on the Harrisons. 

"It was April or May 1999, for five nights. They visited Fiji at least once a year and were considering buying property here, " said Collin. But up until that point, the Harrisons hadn't invested in land. "They had been disappointed a couple of times, feeling that the settings weren't tropical and green enough. This was their first trip to Vanua Levu, which is much more lush than most other parts of Fiji.

"George and Olivia were looking at real estate in Fiji because they liked the idea of having property halfway between their homes in Hawaii and Australia. 

"They found us through our website! Goerge's secretary made the booking through a travel agent," she recalled. 

"I got a call at 6:30AM on the morning they were due in on the domestic airline they were scheduled on. They had decided to charter a plane from them because they didn't want to wait around for the scheduled flight at 8:00AM. By the time they scurried around fueling the plane and locating a pilot, they got to Savusavu airport about 20 minutes before they would have arrived on the scheduled flight. 

"Everybody in Savusavu knew they were going to be at Lomalagi," she said. "But privacy is very much respected here. Celebrities who come here are never bothered in any way."

Collin said the Harrisons were the only visitors to the resort for part of their stay, and although they were enjoying their quiet time, they often joined her for lunch and dinner.  "For several meals, it was just the three of us. We had many nice conversations at lunch and dinner."

"They took a lot of walks on the beach. All beaches in Fiji are public, and at low tide, you can walk for miles. Our beach is a mix of coral sand, shale, and lava, fun for beachcombing."

The Harrisons had friends staying in Fiji at the same time they were there. Actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, as well as Gavin DeBecker, were in the area.

"Hanks was in Fiji filming the first part of Cast Away.  George and Olivia made plans to have lunch with Tom and his wife on their last day here. I tried to subtly suggest that they all have lunch here at Lomalagi, but there was a guy here from LA, Gavin DeBecker, who does security work for celebrities, so they had lunch at his house instead. George and Tom were good friends. I don't know how far the friendship goes back, but I do know it was a strong one."

Collis also recalls Dhani phoning and asking to speak to his parents. "Their son was at college at the time, somewhere on the east coast. One afternoon, he called for them (the villas don't have phones), but they weren't close by, so his message was, "Just tell my mom and dad that I called and that I love them very much." I thought that was so special. "

After a few days at Lomalagi, George and Olivia asked if they could visit the local village of Nasinu, about 3 km from the resort by beach and 15 km by car. "The chief asked if he could tell the people in the village who he was. Everybody knows the Beatles, even in a remote Fijian village! George graciously said yes, but asked that there be no photos taken. 

"When we arrived, they had a big area set up, with mats and cushions for all of us. Tea was served. The Fijian men performed a meke, a beautiful choreographed Fijian war dance, complete with warrior costumes and war paint. They looked very fierce! The meke lasted for about 30 minutes. 

"George didn't stick around for tea! As soon as the Lomalagi Band Boys (a group of local musicians that regularly entertain at the resort) sat down with their guitars and ukelele, Geroge immediately jumped up from where we were sitting and joined the boys on the mat-covered ground. 

"The first thing he did was to take the ukulele and start playing a Beatles song! The villagers went crazy! He then played chords with them while they played and sang Fijian songs. A bit later, he borrowed one of the guitars and again played some Beatles music. George played with the boys for more than an hour.

"The rugby coach went running off and when he came back, he was waving a Beatles cassette. Apparently, he had seen the Beatles perform in New Zealand many years ago. 

"The musicians' guitars and ukelele were very old and pretty beat up. About six weeks after George's visit, a huge box arrived containing three guitars, a ukelele, small percussion instruments for the band and for the school children, and lots of extra guitar and ukelele strings. 

"Later, two more packages arrived a couple of weeks after the guitars and ukelele. In one of them were a dozen Beatles cassettes for me; that was a fun surprise! George also sent a package of cassettes to the rugby coach!"

I asked Collin if she recalled any of the songs that George did at the village. She couldn't remember but asked the Lomalagi Band Boys if they did.  "Two songs they remember are 'Cry For a Shadow' and 'In Spite of All the Danger.'"  I told her those were pretty unique choices and probably were never performed publicly before. "Our lead guy found the two song names on some of the cassettes Geroge sent me! George sang some other songs as well, but those two, for sure, are remembered by Leraki!"

During our discussion, it occurred to me that this impromptu concert was probably George's last known live public performance. Later, I researched it carefully and discovered that with the exception of some private parties for the birthdays of a couple of friends, I had been correct in my assessment. Collin was stunned. "Wow, that gives me the goose bumps! Last public performance. What a legacy we'd have here."

Collin ran into George again at the airport in Savusavu about six months later. In the fall of 1999, the Harrisons were still looking to invest in property in Fiji. Accompanying George was Gavin DeBecker. 

"I was at the airport waiting for a flight, and he came in on a helicopter. He'd been looking at an island that was for sale," she recalled. They had made an offer on a 25-acre island between here and Savusavu town just before George was attacked in his home in England. After that, they withdrew the offer.

"He spotted me, walked over, and gave me a hug and a kiss! He was a lovely man."

Collin had one last story to relate about George. 

"Right after George died, the Lomalagi Band Boys had performed for our guests and were sitting on a platform down below the dining room. They frequently do this -- play and sing while we are at dinner. The ukulele George sent was on the deck, in front of one of the boys. All of a sudden, a coconut dropped from a tree high above and crunched down on the ukulele. We now have it hanging on the wall in the dinning room."

https://www.lomalagi.com/

A First Date

 

A First Date

By Pattie Pourade

The Harrison Alliance

November 1972

 

To paraphrase Tony Barrow, it began by his simple instructions that when The Beatles sat down the photographers would be given five minutes after which they would all remain seated during the press conference.  Their procedure for asking questions was orderly and simple.  After being called on, please stand up and speak loudly.

I was a shy 14-year-old and in those last minutes before the Balboa Stadium dressing lockers gave the Beatles to the San Diego press, I didn’t clutch my friend's hand but I needed to.  He was as excited as I was.  Driving into the city we’d ranted and raved over them, although he admitted he’d much rather look at their wives and girlfriends.

So August 28, 1965, was about to come to a climax that had begun to build several weeks earlier when the city was added to the series of concert dates The Beatles would play.  My girlfriend and I bought tickets and sat the summer away on the beach waiting for “B-day.”  “August 28 is Beatle Day” said the buttons KCBQ announced daily that the KG-Beatles were San Diego bound.

On August 25^th, my dad, a printer at one of the smaller papers in town, asked me how would I like to go to a Beatles press conference as a reporter.  OH MY GOD, YES!  That was Wednesday, and by Saturday night at 7:00, I was not ready to face The Beatles.  My friends were in the stadium now.  I was alone, 4 years younger than the minimum age The Beatles had agreed could come in.  They had also requested 4 televisions, several cots, and a bathtub of fried chicken, but this had no bearing on the press conference.

Neil dressed almost identical to George, had been wandering around the basketball court where we sat in folding chairs along with several members of the entourage and many traveling D.J.s.  An oblong table sat in front of us, one side laden with A Spaniard In The Works, a cake, and a gift wrapped in white tissue with red ribbons.  John would sit here next to the protecting figure of Mr. Barrow.  Ringo would sit between John and Paul, looking much smaller than his companions, and on the opposite end, a grim, cigarette-sucking Harrison.

He was my first in-person glimpse of a Beatle I had as a photographer lifted his arm and I caught sight of his narrow face shrouded by dark very bushy coarse looking hair.  I said to Pat, “I just saw George.”  And he told me he’d seen John sitting directly in front of us. When the photographers backed away, I saw The Beatles sitting behind the table certainly not an iota as interested in us as we were in them. 

Two trench-coated Teen Screeners walked up next to John and he mutter “Ah Teen Screen” in a mocking way.  Anyone who had seen the California Beatle press conferences will know Paul had a knack for getting the bum microphone – that night was no exception.  He leaned forward over the table to see the wires at his feet, obliging to a “hello hello…” until the microphone sputtered to life.

“Hey, Paul, do ya have a cigarette?” a fellow sitting directly behind me yelled.  Remember Paul used to be the pushover for fans?  Even though Paul wasn't smoking at the time and George was, giving his press barely a bored bunk of his eyes, he asked Paul, who I admit looked like Santa Claus next to grim George.  Paul took a rumpled soft pack from his back pocket.  “Throw it here,” from behind me he yelled unaware Pat and I were already making hasty plans to grab the sailing pack as it flew past us.  Paul tipped his head and said like a boy being caught at the cookie jar, “But it’s me last one.”

“Ah, come on Paul!” several people shouted but he put the cigarette up.  Maybe he thought George might run out. I don’t know what George would have done without them that night.  His was a monumental habit.  John was trading comments with Ringo (“Ah, little Richie”) and one man about being away from Maureen.

I was in a state of catatonic shock.  They were real, just a matter of 5 feet from where I sat.  John’s hair glowed golden red in the late-day sunlight.  He looked hefty in a white suit and black shirt.  I was overwhelmed by Ringo’s small statue and, of course, Paul’s eyes.  His hair glistened almost black and along with his mates, he showed no hint of having been in the sun even though Paul said later he did have a tan.  George flanked his left side leaning against one elbow with his chin resting on his fist for the most part.  His jacket was black, his eyes as bitter and brooding as the sarcastic way he responded to the questions.  A reporter said of him, “to the unpracticed eye, George seems the most egotistical Beatle. He seems to improve on that description of his attitude that night.”

John and Paul, at that time more the talking Beatles, answered most of the questions.  I wrote down answers fast and furious – and only later did I realize I hadn’t bothered to write a question to accompany any answers.  How did the Beatles answer questions 7 years ago?

Q:  Do you have any advice for teenagers?

John: Don’t get pimples. 

Is he putting us on? Everyone laughed dutifully, although a pimple-faced teenager thinks it’s no laughing matter.  Most of the questions were asinine, from mindless reporters who still doubted The Beatles were anything more than a spinning record.  They answered questions about their hair, Ringo’s’ rings, county and west songs (Act Naturally).  George pointed out with a you-dumb-ass attitude that several Beatle records were country if he’d taken the time to listen.  Paul really taxed his memory to tell us, “yea yea yea” He did like “Man From Uncle” and shot at us with his machine gun arm.

Q:  Do you have any ambitions?

John:  No.

George:  I’d like to race the Indianapolis 500.   Paul turned his head sideways and said, “Yes – on a horse.” And George even smiled.  We laughed at that witty McCartney.

I waited at least 10 minutes before I musted the guts to raise my hand, and as luck goes Tony Barrow pointed straight at me.  I pointed at myself and squeaked, “me?” and my life began to pass in front of me.  He nodded.  I stood on legs Jell-O products would have gladly packaged and whispered my question.  John looked at Tony and said, “I can’t hear her.”  Had I been prone to swearing, then my thought would have been, “Oh shit.”  I repeated it, “What was your reaction to Sukarno’s burning of anything by or about The Beatles?”  I thought it was a great question from a 14-year-old who would much rather have known how George’s mother was.  John said, “It was stupid.”  George raised his head and sneered, “We took it bitterly,” and my self-esteem took a hurling crash to my feet.  At the time, it hurt me that George would take that angry attitude with me.  Paul bashed on in with a lengthy reply telling me they should have sent it back so they could resell it.  I think, knowing I was dumbstruck with them all, he gave me a nod and a wink and a smile.  My legs melted, and I sat down, blushing purple I suspect in trembling.

Someone asked them what they did when they got to their hotel rooms.  Paul offered, “We shower, have a cup of tea, and brush our teeth after every meal,” in his best Crest toothpaste voice.  Questions about the MBE - John later returned – as to whether they thought they deserved them.   John replied, “A lot more than some who’ve got it.”  Everyone applauded him, and rightly so.  Making money by music will always be more positive than murdering in the name of any government.

A beach-minded California asked them did they like surfing.  It looks like great fun but very difficult and they didn’t have the time to learn, Paul answered.  He added with a twinkle they did have boards though, the ones with the little wheels that they ride in their hotel rooms.

One determined, hardened reporter asked George what he’d seen of San Diego.  Not too astonished at all at being questioned directly, he answered honestly with a slight grin, “I saw the freeways.”  John popped in, “I saw the sea.”  Someone ought to tell the boy that the large expanse of blue saltwater is the Pacific Ocean.  Seven years ago, he might have denied it, though.

John thought it was important since they were powerless to stop them, that we fans know that rubbish in magazines was all “trash and just printed to sell.”  (I can remember George tersely telling a D.J. that Pattie did not write that column in 16 Magazine and they didn’t even know the Ad Lib was not THE place anymore).

To the question of the Beatles being part of a communist plot to demoralize American youth, Paul laughed and said, “That’s a bunch of rubbish.  We’re not communists!  We’re filthy capitalists!”  Right on.

My date inquired after John’s reported sore throat which he said was fine now and then asked were they saving their money.  John told him that was easy because they didn’t have time to spend it.  Then George said ever so seriously in his clear but Liverpool mumble, “ I spent all mine on cigarettes.”

It had lasted no more than a half hour when Tony said that was all, and three Beatles beat a hasty retreat to their fried chicken, cots, and telly.  Paul stood and signed several autographs.  He looked to be enjoying the attention, and as always, in those days, we were enjoying him.  I stood next to him, amazed that he seemed so tall when my father, at the same height, had never struck me that way.  Even after this close in-person glimpse at the professional part of George, John, Paul, and Ringo, they were still bigger than life.  It took me months to come off this cloud.  I was struck most profoundly by George’s ill temper and Paul’s oppositely amicable replies, and John’s beautiful hair.

Pat and I both floated out.  We passed a sobbing girl near one of the gates who wept, “I saw Paul.”  I wish I could have wept and screamed and hugged my closest friend.  I was just 14 – I’d been near them – close enough to hear a cough and a striking match.  Over an hour later, the Beatles crossed the grassy field to the stage amid screams from thousands.  “I just saw them…” was all I could think and basically is the clearest memory I carry from the concert itself. 

It was a day like any other, except I was there.  What more could I ask for my first date?

"So You're the One!"

 So You're the One! 

By Patti Murawski

The Harrison Alliance

Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan 1976-1977

 

It was one of those rare times in my life filled with positive energies and everything seemed to be going right.  Even the weather, mild for mid-November, seemed to be indicative that something was indeed cooking in the cosmos.

I found myself full of energy and unusually happy for no reason at all.  It all seemed strange; stranger still, I kept having visions of the Dark Horse LP cover during my weekly hatha yoga class, when I was trying to direct my consciousness to relaxing my muscles.

Upon returning from yoga class, I found a note that my good friend Zig had called; he wanted me to call back immediately as the matter was urgent.  Jann and I agreed that something very important must have come up if Zip left a message like that, but little did we know….

When Zig answered the phone, he told me to grab a pencil and paper to copy down a phone number; it was a Boston number.  I was puzzled; “What, why, what is going on?”

“George is in Boston!” I was thunderstruck.  “Blue saw him, he’s doing a press party there, right now.”  Jennie, looking at the expression of disbelief frozen into my face, tugged at my sleeve insistently whispering “what, what is it?!?!”  “Blue saw George in Boston” I managed to gasp; Jenn’s eyes opened wide in disbelief.

“Call the number, ask for Blue.  It’s a phone outside the party.”  Zip said, “at the Copley Plaza.”  Quickly I hung up and we tried repeatedly to call the number until we finally reached our friend, Blue.  She was so filled with excitement that she could hardly tell us what was going on.  What we found was that George was on a promo tour and tonight’s stop was Boston.  Blue was at a phone right outside the room where the party was being held.  George was due to come out soon, so she had to go.

Several short phone calls later, past midnight now, we learned that George was leaving for Washington in the morning.  Tempy figured that he would leave around the time she had seen him leave Chicago, between 9 and 11 am.  Jennie was talking to Blue and Tempy when she suddenly stopped and asked me, “Do you want to go to Boston tonight?”  I asked her if she was kidding; she knew how I felt, one of my best friends had just seen George, and George himself was only a 2 ½ to 3-hour drive away.  She was willing to call in sick to work.

We were on the road at 1:30am and believe me, the Massachusetts turnpike is really spooky at night  There’s not lights on the pike, and we saw maybe ten cars and trucks the whole 100 miles to Boston.  We played the radio loud and opened the windows to let the cold night air in so that we’d stay awake.  We kept assuring ourselves we would see him and prayed that we would.

We were bound for Tempy’s apartment, so we had to get off the expressway at Copley Square.  I looked up at all of the Plaza’s six floors and supposed George was up there asleep; it was maddening to know there was only a few feet of stone and a few hours between us.  By the time we found a parking space on Beacon Street and dragged ourselves upstairs to Tempy’s apartment, it was nearly 4 AM.  After warming up with cups of tea and getting the details about the party and some other trivial conversation.  We decided to try to sleep for a few hours.  We got up at 7:30 to get ready and were soon on our trek to the Plaza.  We stopped at a donut shop for breakfast but hurried, fearing George would leave for the airport sooner than expected.

Tempy, Blue, Jenn, and I invaded the lobby and took strategic seats so that we had both sets of elevators covered.  Like the Plaza in NYC, the Copley Plaza has three exits on different sides of the building; however, the Lord’s grace was on us because at two of the exits renovative work was in progress.  There was only one exit George could use.  We smiled and sat patiently while the bell captain sneered at us from behind his desk and the housemen came through to check how many of us had infiltrated.  There were us four plus an acquaintance of Tempy’s, Tina.

A Warners honcho walked in and went upstairs.  I couldn’t miss the promo sticks on his briefcase of just about every artist on W/E/A.  Then, two Warners people came downstairs to the front desk.  One of them was the one that had just gone upstairs.  Jenn and I decided to take a walk past them and outside scan the street for limos.  Nothing.

Shortly after, Josephine, a middle-aged woman on the tour who coordinated the schedules, came down to the desk and then went to speak to the bell captain.  A garment bag and some cloth luggage soon arrived at the bell captain’s desk.  Tempy recognized it as some of the entourage’s luggage.  Jennie and I volunteered to check for limos again.  We walked past Jo into the tiny foyer and out the door; sitting there, lined p from the corner t the hotel door where four Fleetwoods with matching drivers and a plainclothes cop.  We stayed outside for a few minutes, then went in to alert the others with a quiet “it’s time to go outside.”  We got up and walked out to the street.  Tempy took one look at the limos and said, “this is it” but, she added, we would have to wait until the luggage was packed into the cars.

It was mild and sunny out; everyone began to light readings and adjust their cameras.  We tried to think of some way to get George’s attention to stop him for a few minutes.  Since I was the only one without a camera, I was elected to “run interference” so to speak.  The night before I’d grabbed two copies of the picture that ran in Billboard of George and Mo Ostin, thinking that if he was in the mood, maybe he’d sign for someone, and then I could get in on it too; but, I didn’t want to be the one to ask, since he’d been noted for an aversion in that respect.  However, it seemed that for me to ask would be the only way to stall him somewhat, so I mustered up all my courage and agreed.  I told the others I didn’t want to ask, but Tempy and Blue assured me he was in a great state of mind and that he had signed for countless people last night at the party, so one more person asking wouldn’t hurt.

As it happened, I was also wearing a Friar Park Studios t-shirt exactly like the ones I sent him last fall.  Since it was warm, I could wear my coat open, creating the perfect opportunity for him to notice; everyone kept saying the shirt would get his attention and perhaps stall him, but I kept saying, “What if he doesn’t notice?”

I began to get a case of nerves as the parade of luggage started out the door.  Assorted suitcases, cardboard boxes, and garment bags were quickly packed into the cars; the last item in line was George’s acoustic guitar packed in a blue travel case.  It was carefully taken into the back seat of one of the lead cars.

This is the picture of the November 13, 1976 ad from Billboard Magazine that she had Mo and George sign

Warners people began to filter out and find places in the car.  Mo Ostin came out the door and remembering that George had gotten a kick out of someone who had Mo sign the Billboard ad too, the night before, I slowly started over to him.  Tempy whispered, “Get Mo’s.”  I called to him as he passed me.  “Would you mind signing?”  I asked.  He chuckled at the picture as he took the pen from me.  “Let’s see if I can do this.” He began as he signed one.  He started to hand the pen back to me, then realized there was another to he signed.  He signed both of them on the note bad on the desk in the picture.  “Thank You,” I said as he gave me back the pen; “Thank you,” he said enthusiastically as he took a step towards the car, smiling.  He had put me totally at ease.

Some of my nervousness had melted away with the encounter with Mo, but I still felt a bit apprehensive about George.  More Warners people walked out, along with James Montgomery, the Blues artist.  Jo came out next; she silently walked past us.  As she was getting into the car the plainclothes cop asked her if it was alright to take photos and I heard Jo tell the cop, “It should be about five minutes.”

My eyes were glued to the door; no sooner had she said that when some Warners people came though the foyer door; through the glass I could see right behind them a fellow with a mass of long dark wavy hair wearing a grey and brown plaid cap, his head down as he started through the foyer door.  I was momentarily stunned.

‘Here he comes” I said quietly, now feeling totally at ease.  He came through the foyer door.  “There he is” Blue said excitedly.  He hesitated at the outer door.  George stood behind the glass for a split second, panning the five of us and the car; as he started out, his head came peeking around the glass first.  Everyone greeted him with a “hi” or “hello George” and cheery smiles; he smiled and said “ello” as he hesitated.  He started walking slowly down and across the sidewalk to the car.  I slowly approached him; as I took my first step /I noticed he had a yellow travel bag in one hand and a lit cigarette and his bicentennial sunglasses in the other.  I thought, “Oh, he won’t want to sign, he’s got his hands full.”

My first question was, “George do you got a minute?”  He looked at me and said, “Sure!”  “Would you mind signing?” I said gesturing with the ads and the already uncapped pen.

He stopped and put the bag down; a Warners person scooped it up.  I don’t know where the cigarette and sunglasses disappeared to.  I held the ads from underneath with one hand, and stepped closer to him; his left hand went under the ad to support it too.  He reached over to take the pen from me, grabbed a few of my fingers, and managing to place a blue ink streak across one of my fingers.  As he took the pen from me he noticed Mo had signed the ad.  He pointed to Mo’s signature; “Oh, you had Mo sign!” he said gleefully with a smile on his face, then added with much enthusiasm, respect, and affection, “Mo, he’s so GREAT!”  “Yeah!” I said agreeing as I watched him signing the ad across the belly in the picture.  I was searching my mind for something else to say and was about to say something about WB when Jenn spoke up.  She had realized George wasn’t noticing the FPS t-shirt.  “George…” she began.  He looked up at her; she gestured toward me and said, “Patti’s the one who sent you the shirts.”  He leaned over to see my shirt, then looked down at the ad for a moment.  He began to pick his head up and turn towards me.  I thought, “Oh no.  I can’t look….” Knowing he was going to look me in the eye, but I just had to!  His head came up and he looked me straight in my eyes with his intense dark eyes and said sweetly, “Oh, so you’re the one who sent them!”  “Yeah,” I said quietly.  He glanced down as he finished signing the first ad and looked up at me again, “Did you get the note I sent?” (referring to the postcard he sent me last year).  “Yeah!  Thanks!” I said, but at the same time he also said “thanks.”  He sort of leaned over to look at the shirt again and exclaimed, “I don’t know why nobody else noticed it.”

I asked him to sign the second ad for Jennie; he said, “Sure.”  I could hear all the cameras snapping away.  I noticed his hair was longer than the ad picture which had been photographed just weeks before.  He needed a shave.  Jenn and I both noticed that his hair and eyes are a beautiful matching deep brown.  He was wearing a green jacket styled after an army field jacket; on the left shoulder was a patch for the World Wildlife Fund with a Panda picture on it.  Under the jacket, he was wearing a sweater similar to the one he wore in the Billboard ad (not the same one though, it was of different colors) and a t-shirt.  He was wearing washed-out light blue jeans and his belt bore the familiar Dark Horse belt buckle.

 

As he was signing for Jenn he gestured with the pen and glanced up at me asking, “Where did you get these?” meaning the pictures from the ad.  “From Billboard” I answered.  “Oh, you bought Billboard!”  he said rather cutely as if to really say, “You don’t usually buy Billboard, but I know why you bought Billboard because Mo and I are in it!”  Tina asked him to sign an “All Things Must Pass” music book as he said the thing about Billboard.  He had a huge smile on his face as he finished signing for us.

He took a step to the side and raised his hand as if to wave “Well, I’ll see ya,” he said as he started for the car.  Everyone said goodbye and thanks; as he walked away from me, I said, “Enjoy your trip, George!” He glanced over his shoulder and called “Thanks!”

He walked to the car; it was funny how he climbed in.  He bent forward at the waist, his head going into the car fist; his legs and bum followed as he literally climbed into the car and sat down in the middle of the back seat.

Tempy, Blue, and Tina started to walk toward the square up the block.  “Well, what do you want to do now?”  I noticed the cars weren’t moving because the light was red and the cars were parked from the corner to the door.  I took a few steps up the walk where I could see George in the car, and strained to look through the glare on the window.  “Let’s wave,” I said, waving, gesturing to the others that the car wasn’t moving.  George leaned over and waved back.  The car moved a bit, then stopped.  George was watching, Jenn and I watched him; he began to talk to the person on his right.  You could tell he was talking about us as he would glance back and forth from the person to the window; he was smiling at us, then pointed to us, and turned to talk.  Jim Montgomery moved up in his seat and looked out the window; George leaned over further so that he could see us too.  I leaned over towards Jenn and said, “They’re talking about us…”  Then I started realizing why and laughed, “They’re talking about the shirt!”  I Was wearing a double-breasted coat and the flap on the front had closed over the Friar Park Studios shirt.  Deadpan, I reach over and pull the right side of my coat all the way open.  George began to laugh and pointed excitedly to me, shaking his finger to emphasize the fact that Jim should look now to see the FPS shirt.  Jim appeared in the window again to see what George was so excited about.  Jenn and I were standing n the sidewalk smiling; he was so cute, like a little kid!  He was getting a kick out of us getting a kick out of his reaction.  It felt good to make him laugh.

The car made move to pull away; George waved goodbye.  We waved back.  The car stopped for a second; the light turned green and as the car pulled away, he was smiling and waving goodbye to us once again; we waved goodbye for the last time.  The car pulled into traffic and down to the red light in the next block; the last thing I remembered as the light turned green was seeing his brown and grey cap bobbing the back window as he settled into the seat for the drive to the airport.

 

 

Live From New York - It's Saturday Night!

  

Liver From New York - It's Saturday Night!

By Madeleine Schatz

The Harrison Alliance

October/November/December/January 1976-77

 

On Wednesday night (November 17, 1976) Patti and Jennie called to tell me that George would be taping the “Saturday Night” segment on Thursday the 18^th.  Thursday morning after I got to New York I started calling different people and places who I hoped could give me information about the taping, press party, etc.  I wasn’t getting much of anywhere and eventually went to the Hotel Carlyle, where George was staying.  Some people I knew were waiting in their car and asked if I wanted to wait with them, so I got in the car and we waited together.  While waiting, we got out and talked to the chauffeur, but he wouldn’t/couldn’t say who he was driving.  After a while, it became apparent he was driving George though.

After waiting a while, we saw some people leaving the hotel with 33 & 1/3 t-shirts and other promo stuff.  Then around 4:30, we saw George coming out.  Olivia was with him, as well as some other people.  We got out of the car and went over to George.  Someone asked him “do you mind if we take pictures?” and he didn’t mind, so we were taking pictures and people were asking him stuff.  Someone asked for an autograph, but then seeing he was carrying a lot of stuff (including a pair of shoes) and had no hands free to sign, she said, “Oh I guess you could do it another time.”  He was really nice, sort of quiet and shy like he usually is.  He was slowly getting into the car and asking Olivia where she wanted to sit – “we’ll sit in the back” and “we’ll sit in the front” sort of thing, like in Yellow Submarine.  They eventually sat in the back of the car then left.

Our car was facing the wrong way on the other corner, so we had to go all the way round the block to go downtown to follow the limo.  By the time we got to NBC, they were already inside.  We parked there for a while but then figured the best bet would be to go back to the hotel as we figured we’d never get into the taping.  There were a million entrances and an underground garage, and someone inside had told us we’d never have a chance of getting in, that it was for invited guests only.  Before going back to the hotel, we went out to eat.  A little while after we got back to the hotel, the limo came back to pick up some more people to go to the taping.  We talked to the chauffer again, who once again couldn’t tell us anything definite, and then said, “Did you ever think of following limousines?”  We took that as a hint to follow him when left, so we pulled the car so that it was facing the same direction as the limo and waited.  As the limo left, we followed it all the way to NBC, really close.  We managed to park our car fairly near the limo.  Someone in the car had to go inside to make a phone call and while she was inside, NBC people in there were saying there were free standby tickets to see George Harrison.

There were about 25 people there and we joined them.  Everyone was pushing and shoving.  We were all worried about keeping our place on line, as we weren’t guaranteed in, only if there was enough room.  Finally, they said there was room for everyone, and we were let in.  This was around 7:00, and the taping was to begin at 8:00.  The rest of the time they’d been setting up/rehearsing.

We were shown seats in the balcony (last row), but the place was so small it was really good.  Paul Simon was closer to us than George, but George was facing in our direction, so we could see him really well.  We were told that they’d be taping “Here comes the Sun,” “Homeward Bound” and “Bye Bye Love” and that our main problem as an audience was going to be keeping it fresh, applauding each time as though it were the first time.  Of course, that was no trouble for us since everybody was so freaked out that we’d gotten in.  In our section there were mainly Beatle/George fans so we were kinda wild – we were really into it.  The announcer came on and explained what was going to happen, what songs, etc.

Then George and Paul came onstage and sat on high stools with their guitars.  While they were getting settled, George as asking if it would be okay to move the mike out just a bit because the guitar was hitting it.  He said it sort of quietly and slowly and he was trying to move the mike a bit.  Then Paul said could they move the mike because George’s guitar was hitting it, and someone moved it a little, then they went on with getting ready to tape.  It reminded me of “Let it Be” the part when George got the shock from the microphone.  It was such a funny feeling and I said, “Isn’t it a lot like ‘Let it Be?’” She agreed.

When they were ready to start, Paul had to introduce George – “My friend, George Harrison.”  There was an applause sign which came on at the appropriate time but we didn’t even have to look at it, we just applauded naturally.  (In the end, they weren’t even using it, because we applauded twice as much as they need us to!)  Some people in our section were clapping to the music but were told not to do that; it was so difficult no to because it was such a natural reaction to the music.   George and Paul went through the three songs with no mistakes, but then were going to do it again and after that, they never got through it without a mistake.  They’d do the first song and then would make a mistake in the 2^nd one and have to start over again.  They went through mainly the first two songs – I think they only did “Bye Bye Love” twice.  There were cue cards for George during “Homeward Bound” and when it came to the line about “the movies and the factories,” one time he forgot to sing “movies” and made this funny “woops” noise and then said, “You’ll have to put a red line under ‘movies.’”  (Later we sat in a different place and we could see that there was a red line under ‘movies.’)

The best part was the mistakes and the in-between parts.  In between, they had to adjust the cameras.  They asked for requests from the audience and people were calling out all different George songs.  He did a bit of “Dark Horse” and a bit of “She Said She Said,” and even a bit of “Yesterday!”  He did “Rock Island Line” as well – all the way through, with everyone clapping along and having a great time.  Then it was time to start again, and they kept going through the same songs over and over; one of them giggled or played a wrong note or something, and they would have to start over again with Paul saying, “My friend, George Harrison.”  Each time they made a mistake they had to start to form the very beginning.  It got really funny.  We had to applaud each time; the producers of the show were worried about everyone keeping the applause lively but after a while, it got so funny that we were applauding more than we had been at the beginning.

 After a while, they said there was going to be a break and they were going to show films.  They showed “True Love,” “Crackerbox Palace” and “This Song.”  After that they showed little bits on the monitors of what they had just taped, but after a while turned the sound off.  It was quite a long break; some people thought the taping was over and left.  When they were ready to start again, they wanted the audience to move closer together to fill in spaces left by the people who’d gone, so everyone in our section was moved.  We ended up downstairs on the floor – only a few yards away from George but behind him, so we had a great view of his back.  We could see the front view on the monitors, though so it was okay.  we were quite close.  They were warming up and joking around, and George said something about “So where’s the $750 then?”  (his share of the offer to the Beatles)

They said they’d go through the two songs and after that, Paul would do the introduction to the films George had brought.  They went through that over and over.  By this time George looked like, “Oh, we have to do this song again…”  A guy came to powder their faces a couple times.  Eventually, they got everything right but ended up having to do one more “just in case something happens, so we’ll have another one.”  When it was over, Paul and George went to a backstage area.  We weren’t supposed to go that way but quite a few of us did, and we were just standing there.  George walked back and forth a couple times, then went into a room and closed the door.  We were kind of just waiting around, but eventually, some ushers came and very rudely escorted us out via another route.

We went outside and waited. We waited in the car for a while, then went inside and waited in the lobby for a while, went back out – we weren’t sure which exit George would be using, the 49^th street or the 50^th street one.  When there was no one else around, the doorman told us it would be the 49^th street and we cut through the building to that exit.  We waited and waited and finally, George came out, surrounded by NBC people saying things like “clear the way,” “move over, he’s tired,” “let him through.” People were trying to ask him questions, tell him they liked the show, take pictures, as he was going out to the car.  Someone shouted “long live the Rutles” but I don’t know if he heard it or not.  He was sitting in the car watching everyone for a while, then as the car pulled away he waved to everyone out the back window.

By this time, it was quite late (about 11:30) and we had to work the next day, and also figured we couldn’t make it back to the Carlyle before the limo, so we got ready to head for home.

I remember we were saying we all had to be sure and give thanks the following week (Thanksgiving Day).  We had been so sure we’d never get in; we just couldn’t believe we were actually in there.  It was a funny feeling.  We kept saying, “It’s so hard to believe George Harrison was sitting there.”  I’ll be floating for a while!

The Prince Trust Concert

 The Price’s Trust Concerts

June 5-6 1987

By Petra Zeitz

My friends and I had ordered our tickets for the two Prince’s Trust concerts way back in March because of rumors that Paul McCartney would appear again.  My tickets arrived and I was in the 1^st and 4^th row!  When the line-up was published in advertisements some weeks later, we were totally disappointed.  By late March I was pretty sure I had wasted $50 on tickets, especially since Paul personally told us more than once when we saw him that he wouldn’t do the concerts this time.

Everything changed for me six days before the first show.  I was walking to the train station catching a newspaper headline: “The Beatles to play for Di!”  I immediately bought the paper and couldn’t believe what I was reading.  George and Ringo had agreed to do the Prince’s Trust Concert!  No way, I thought.  But somehow, I did believe it, as they were supposed to play with Eric Clapton and Elton John.  The four of them are playing on George’s new album and hanging out together quite a lot.  I remember I was crying on the train after reading the article, imagining how wonderful it would be if it was true.

The next day the papers didn’t even mention the concerts and my hopes began to fade.  Then on the day of the Sgt. Pepper anniversary, I got a phone call from someone having good contacts with Eric Clapton and he told me that George and Eric had been rehearsing all week at Friar Park.  That was it!  From then on, I knew something was going to happen.

During the week we went to Henley but missed George driving out by 30 minutes, but we did get the confirmation that he would be playing Friday and Saturday night.  We were thinking about what songs he would play.  We thought there was just no way he and Eric would play “While My Guitar” and so we were thinking maybe they’d do some old rock n roll stuff like “Johnny B. Goode,” something like that.

The day of the first concert arrived.  My friend Emily and I met early in the morning.  Our plan was to go to Friar Park and see George leaving there instead of seeing him at Wembley where there would be crowds of people.  In Henley, we soon found out that George wasn’t there anymore.  He must have stayed the night in London or at a friend’s place.  We took the next train back into town, and went by HandMade Films’ office and Ringo’s office, but nobody was there.

We decided to go to Wembley and arrive at the Arena at about 1:30pm.  Our pal Mick was there and told us Ringo and Eric had already gone in, but George was still expected.

Emily and I walked around the building to find out what the place was like.  One of the side doors was open a bit and we could hear Ringo and Eric jamming on stage.  It was the first soundcheck, but they weren’t playing any actual songs.  We stood at the door and listened, as this big blue Mercedes drove by.  Emily shouted at me, “Petra, is that George?”  I hadn’t really seen much so I said, “No. That guy’s got a beard.”  We ran to the gate anyway, just in case, and Mick told us that it was George and Jeff Lynne.  We could see George through the fence.  He was walking from the car to the stage door.  Jeff followed him.  We ran back to the half-open door to hear if they’d play together.  We could hear George saying something to Eric.  General rehearsal went on; we heard Level 42 and went back to the carpark gate.

More and more people were showing up.  We listened to Eric’s final soundcheck at the door.  He did two songs and we were wondering if either George or Ringo would be playing with him.

Nothing happened for about an hour.  I was getting excited.  I still couldn’t believe I was finally going to see George and live on stage from the front row!  Too much!  I was always hoping I would meet him one day, but it just never came to my mind that I could see him playing live on stage.

Emily and Craig wanted to go get some food.  They passed the spot where we had been listening to the rehearsals earlier on.  I just heard them screaming when they came by the door, so I ran up there as fast as I could – then I heard it loud and clearly – the soundcheck of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  I was freaking out!  It was just unbelievable. George’s voice sounded so wonderful.  I was in tears before the song had finished.  I can’t remember being as happy and excited in all my life.  He also did “Here Comes the Sun” which was even more unbelievable.   We all banged at the door to “applaud” when he had finished, and he did it again!  Afterward, it was quiet for a while and we were trying to calm down a little when Ringo started singing “With a Little Help from My Friends” and he, too, sounded great!  We knew that song would be the finale of the show.  When they had finished with it we walked back to the carpark gate.  Through some vans, we spotted George getting into Eric’s Mercedes.  We waited at the gate and that Mercedes came up.  I saw Eric sitting in the front and it drove past there were George, Ringo and Jeff squeezed in the back seat.  We waved at them, and George smiled and waved back, then they were gone.  I had been wrong before. George had actually grown a beard!  It all reminded me so much of the Bangla Desh Concert – those songs, and those people plus the fact that George looked a bit like he used to look in ’71 with the beard and rather long hair.  Emily and I were spacing out.  We were saying totally stupid things, just not behaving like ourselves anymore.  It was madness.

At around 6pm, Emily, Craig, and I decided to go back to the carpark gate in case George and Co were coming back.  By then, it was raining heavily and there were just the three of us waiting.  We hadn’t been there for five minutes when a big green car pulled up (They had left in a white Mercedes).  It had to stop for the guards to open the gate and there were George and Eric in the back of the car. We waved and did “thumbs up” and George did the same.  Craig shouted, “Good luck for tonight” and George said “Thank you” then they were ready to drive in.  We were so happy that they had paid attention to us and responded to our signs.  It was a great feeling.  It was the first time I actually saw George from that close up.  We always stood a few feet away from their car because we didn’t want to do any silly things like banging on their window as people di the next night.  We missed Ringo getting back as we got to our seats as soon as the doors opened.

The concert started on time and it started off very boringly with some teen-stars.  I was just too nervous and excited to enjoy any of the music.  Then the all-star band came on; it was good to see Eric Clapton.  Elton John did two songs, then a roadie gave Eric a different guitar which I knew he needed to play “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  I jumped up from my seat.  Eric went up to the microphone and said, “I’d like to bring on a dear old friend of mine, in fact several!  A big surprise for all of us, really – please welcome George Harrison and Ringo Starr…and Jeff Lynne!”

George came on stage with his guitar, and he looked so nervous!  The audience went wild when he started playing.  He looked a bit scruffy with the beard, but he was dressed very smartly.  Oh, I was just gone staring at him during the whole set.  It was wonderful!  I can’t describe what was going on inside me.  There – just for a few feet in front of me was the man I had been waiting to see for so many years.  And there were so many things I could see that the TV cameras didn’t get.  It was so funny when during “With a Little Help From My Friends” George, Elton, and Eric were sort of hitting each other to get closer to the microphone they were sharing.  I saw Eric pointing out his girlfriend to George.  She was sitting in the stalls and George and Eric both looked up to her.  Then there was a surprising second encore which was “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King and the All-Stars!  It was great to see George for yet another song.  Needless to say, I kept watching him instead of whoever was singing.  Then it was over.  Emily and I hugged each other.  We were stunned.  What a night!  We went back to the carpark, but now it was dark and there were hundreds of people waiting.  We saw Ringo leave, but not George.

Emily and I had found out about a party being held at Le Palais in Hammersmith.  We took the tube to Hammersmith, but it took us ages to get there, and it was still raining.  We arrived outside the club just in time to see Eric going in, but George and Ringo were already inside.  Alan Crowder came out – it was funny because we know him from waiting outside MPL.

At around 1:30AM Ringo and Barbara left.  All the people were cheering when they came out.  Ringo was really nice when I thanked him for the show.   There was this crazy New Yorker waiting whom we had seen outside Paul’s before.  As soon as we saw him jumping about and unrolling a poster, we knew George was going to come out.  As soon as George and Olivia appeared at the door, the New York Geek was right there jumping at George, “Sign this, George, sign this…”

There were many photographers crowding about George and Olivia and George looked straight into one of the cameras, pointed at the Geek, and said, “Spot the looney!  Where’s the car?”  That was just too funny!  Emily and I burst out laughing.  George and Liv made their way to the car very quickly and off they went.  It was almost 2:30 AM by now.  We were too excited to go home and so we spent the rest of the night at an all-night café in Soho.  It was pretty weird!

The next morning, we tried to find out if George was staying at a hotel in London but had no luck.  We then went to Wembley early, only to be told the rehearsals wouldn’t start before 4pm.  We spent the day hanging around. Emily fell asleep in front of the car park.

By 5pm everybody but George and Ringo came in.  The guards told us they didn’t know for sure if they would show up.  Zak Starkey and his wife arrived and so did Mary and Stella McCartney.  We were getting really worried that George would not come again, but finally, at around 7pm, his car pulled up.  We couldn’t see much of him as there were too many people jumping at the car screaming his name.  Needless to say, he didn’t stop!

As on the previous day, we could see him walking through the carpark towards the stage door.  He also had a look into one of the TV equipment vans.

I enjoyed the show in general much more this time.  I was much calmer and just looking forward to seeing the finale.  This time Elton John did the announcement. “This is something special, not just for you but for us, and tonight I think for everybody on this stage it’s a special night because to play with these next two special people is like a dream come true –without them, there wouldn’t us ‘us.’  So will you please give a wonderful reception – raise the roof!  Mr. George Harrison and Mr. Ringo Starr!”

This time George seemed much more confident, and the show was even better.  The guitar solo he played with Eric was just incredible.  The audience did raise the roof!  I was so happy seeing George getting all their attention.  He played “Here Comes the Sun” absolutely beautifully.   Unfortunately, “Stand By Me” was replaced by a Phil Collins–Paul Young duet without George and Ringo being on stage.  A super long version of “With a Little Help” ended the show.  Just before walking off stage, George stopped to wave at somebody in the stalls and as I looked up I could see Olivia.

So the concerts were over and seeing George and Co playing together topped everything I had seen before.

And yet little did I know that the night wasn’t over for me.  Emily and I and our other friends met outside.  We went along the fence around the carpark and spotted a hole in the fence.  It was quite high up, but nothing seemed impossible at that moment.  Tracy, Safia, John, Jennifer, and I climbed through the hole.  Unfortunately, the others weren’t able to follow us because of a guard.  At first, we hid behind the cars.  We could see a big hall in the backstage area, quite a lot of people were in there.  We decided the best thing would be to just be cool and walk in.  It worked!

We found ourselves standing in the backstage area.  We saw Denis O’Brien and many of the musicians.  We met Ringo and Barbara as they were leaving.  Then George and Olivia appeared.  Some people ran up to George to get autographs.  He stopped to sign, but then the guy he had borrowed the pen off left and there was nobody with another biro.  George was standing there with all these papers to sign asking if anybody had a biro.

We followed him outside.  He was talking to us but I can’t remember much of what he said.  I remember he shook my hand and he looked at all of us and said, “You’re all so young!”  I didn’t have my camera on me.  Safia had her little camera and when George was already walking to the car, she tried to stop him.  “George will you please have your picture taken with Petra?  She’s loved you for years!”  Suddenly George stopped, turned around, and said, “Sure.  Who is Petra?”  I couldn’t believe what was happening.  George looked at me and I had the feeling he was looking through me.  He put his arm around me for the picture.  I was so close to him.  It was a dream come true!  I thanked him and when he got into the car he turned towards me and Tracy and smiled.  Olivia waved.  A TV reporter briefly interviewed him about the concert. She said, “Will you do it again?”  and George answered, “Oh, I don’t’ know…”  Tracy said, “George, you have to!  It was brilliant.”  And he smiled “Thank you.”  Then he drove off and we kept waving until he couldn’t see us anymore.  I later heard our friends saw his car getting stuck in traffic and they talked to him for a few minutes through the car window.  HE said he had done it for Eric and because he likes the Prince. 

Now it’s over, but I will never ever forget those two days. 

George in London Summer of 1972

 

I am sure that you all have been wondering to yourself what exactly was George Harrison doing 50 years ago.  Well -- do I have a treat for you because I have found a diary written by a fan that was in London in late July/early August of 1972 and shared what was happening with George during that time. 

London 1972

By Kris Martell

The Harrison Alliance

January 1973

 

July 25^th - Saw Pattie today at the office, as well as Alf, Mal (He’s got new glasses!  Wire ones!), and Neil.  We saw Ringo come out again as well.  Joanne went over to Pattie when she came out and spoke with her for a while – her hair’s cut differently now and she’s got bangs.  She waved at all of us as she passed by in her red car!

July 26^th – Today was the premiere of the Bangla Desh film – Angela (an Italian girl) gave me an extra ticket she had, so I got in.  Joanne (who got in thru Alf) and I sat downstairs for a while then decided to try to make it upstairs. That was for “reserved” seats and anybody who was anyone was up there.  We managed to get up there and sat right behind Nilsson (who was making out with some chick) and to our right was Bolin – a few seats away.  George never showed up.

July 29^th – Today I went with Joanne to go to Chelsea and visit the antique market Pattie recommended to us (AntiQuarius).

August 1^st – It’s raining at Apple – we chatted with Alf.  Saw Ringo go in.  Found out George just started recording – saw him go in at 7pm.  “I’m late – good evening!”  He came out at 1:05am (he always made late nights) – smiled – and just waited like he usually does! (Klaus and Nilsson left with him).  Paul Mosian (a man who works for Klein at the NY office) showed up and I directed him down to the studio.  Lindsay – the night guard at the studio, sent cups of coffee up for us – god it was cold!

August 2^nd – George went in at 6:50pm.  Ringo said “Hello” to us – “Hi” to the 3 Scruffs.  When he came out the thanked the Scruffs for the cake, then said, “oh, you shouldn’t wait around, it’s been 10 hours!” His usual speech.  He said goodnight to us, as did Nilsson.

August 3^rd – Today my friend from California gave George a shirt that read “I Dig Love” – white lettering, blue background.  He smiled and said thank you.  Pattie went in at 10:20pm and came out about half hour later.  This was a long night and cold!  We had blankets and slept on the steps huddled against each other – singing sometimes to keep awake and normal.  A policeman greeted us midway through the night and chatted.  Anyhow there was always about six of us – no more – no less – and we sat huddled on the steps.  3 of the Scruffs and 3 of us.  When he came out it was light out (we must’ve looked a sight!) and he thanked the Scruffs for the present they’d given him.  Then my friend said “how’s it going?” to which George said, “now I know why Phil Spector is crazy.”  My friend, “why?”  George:  “Well you have to listen to the same thing over and over again and it makes you go crazy!”  Anyhow – you know how slow George is – talking about that took about six minutes (one must also include the one-minute state breaks he takes while talking).  As he drove past us, he waved – we waited for the trail and got home at 6am.

 

August 4^th – There were a lot of people at the studio today.  George went in and smiled while saying “freak show!”  He came out and said “good morning” to the 5 of us at 4:40.  My friend said “is it getting any better?” to which George said, “It always sounds better early in the evening and then it sounds worse as the night goes on.”  He strapped himself into this blue BMW before starting the car – then he went past us, and waved goodbye as he usually did.  Our friend in the studio arranged for us to have a little tour of the Studio – as soon as the Scruffs left and all the musicians.  So at 5am we were playing “Here There and Everywhere” on the control room piano.  He showed us all over and explained everything – really interesting.  I noticed that all of George’s instruments still had the tags on the Park Lane Hotel and the Queen Elizabeth II.

August 5^th – I think we slept till around noon today.  It was Saturday but George even worked on those!  When he came in today (6pm) we all sort of made a pathway for him – you could understand better if you could see what I’m talking about, but imagine 8-10 people in a cluster then they see George and immediately form a path and diverge on both sides – well that’s what we did and noticed and was trying to hold his laughter in while saying “hello!” as he went in.  One of the Scruffs gave a big whistle and everybody just about cracked up.  At 7pm he came out (which was unusual) and walked to Piccadilly to go to the movies with Phillip – a technician.  He came back at 8:45 and some Spanish girls were there.  As he came in, one went to go over to him but tripped on some wiring near the construction there, to which George noticed and said, “you’d better watch yourself!”  She got herself untangled and went over to him – stated her name and said she was from Spain.  Then she planted a kiss on his cheek to which George seemed quite delighted, and he said “oh – I’ve never met anybody from Spain!”  At 4:40am George came out, he gave us all long individual stares and said “goodnight.”  We had sent down some wine to them with a card that read “Here’s something to make it sound good all night long.”  Nilsson came out with the bottle, offered us some, and chatted.  He was really nice and thought it was great that we waited so patiently for George. He was a real nice down-to-earth human being.  I liked him a lot.

August 9^th - George has stopped recording for a while.

August 11^th – George expected for lunch at Apple but never showed up.

August 13^th-- George is in the studio again.  My 2 friends unexpectedly walked by and saw him, Nilsson invited them in to listen to the tapes in the studio afterwards!  After that night he stopped using the studio again.  He suddenly left for Portugal alone.  Nobody at Apple knew anything.  Pattie remarked that she hadn’t heard from him – “Oh I hope he’s alright!”  He doesn’t speak a word of French or Portuguese!  By the way, he drove down to Portugal, and in Spain he met up with Gary Wright. 

George in New York (1972)

This photo of Pattie and George is from May 1972.  There aren't any photos that I am aware of George on this trip to New York in June of 1972.

 

George in New York (1972)

 

This story was found in the September 1972 issue of The Harrison Alliance.  It was written by Pattie Chisari

 

On Thursday, June 8 (1972), Mary called me and said that Sharon (president of the Let It Be Chapter) had called her to tell her that she’d received a report that George was in New York.  We made a hurried decision to go, and on Friday, June 9, we arrived.  We went to his hotel, where we were pointedly refused a room.  After finding other accommodations, we went to Apple.  At Apple, Mary was going to ask what had happened to something she’d ordered.  We were waiting in the outside office May Pang, John’s secretary, walked out to talk to someone else.  Mary recognized her and called out her name.  When Mary explained why we were there, May remembered her name from a list of those who’d ordered and invited her and I into the office.

We were standing around (May had disappeared for a few minutes) talking when Mary suddenly sighted David Peel.  David, when he saw that we recognized him, approached us, put his arms around our waists, and kissed us before saying hello.  We took a few pictures of him with Pete Bennett and with May and talked a while before leaving for George’s hotel.

At the hotel, we were sitting in the lobby trying to look inconspicuous (it’s impossible!).  We’d been alternately sitting, standing, and walking around for a couple of hours, and we were standing by the hotel elevators at the front entrance when Mary said to me, “Pattie, that’s George Harrison walking in!”  I dismissed that as nonsense.  George, accompanied by someone whom I can only assume is his chauffeur, walked in and had almost passed us on his way to the desk, when Mary folded her arms and resolutely said, “Hello, Mr. Harrison.”    He stopped, looked at her, said “Hello,” and walked to the desk.  By this time we were standing there with our hearts WIDE open.  I approached George at the desk and put my hand on his arm.  “George,” I said, “We’ve been waiting here for three hours.  We don’t want to scream, we don't want to tear your clothes off, we’d just like to know if you’d mind having your photograph taken.”  He replied, “Well not here,” and we walked back to the elevators.  We talked for a while, I presented him with a photograph of himself taken from television (at which he smiled that beautiful slow wide of his) and we asked about the picture.  At that moment, an elevator opened, and George motioned, “In the elevator.”  We got in, (oh the agony of being with him so close!) and he told us “Okay, you can take it now, as long as it’s quick.”  I snapped the picture while we kept up a bit of banter (for the life of me, I can’t remember what we said), and put my camera away.  George then pressed an elevator button (18^th floor) and when the doors opened, said “Girls, this is your floor.”  I just didn’t understand and he repeated, “This is your floor.”  We said “Goodbye George” and said “Goodbye,” and the elevator doors closed on the most wonderful 15 minutes I’ve ever spent. 

Oh my God -- It IS George!

Tonight's story is written by Cindy Noe and was initially found in The Harrison Alliance March/April 1976 issue.

March 22, 1976 

Oh my God - It IS George

By Cindy Noe

We went to the Roxy an hour early, and the line was already down the street.  When we finally got in, we sat down where we could, and immediately started scanning the crowd for "familiar" faces.   Karen was also looking for a friend of hers from A&M, so she went to ask a likely looking guy who was standing in a doorway.   He said he didn't know (had an English accent), so Karen sat down again.  Linda A. came in and went to talk to him.  It then occurred to Karen that she had just spoken to Terry Doran.  We still didn't see George, and we began to feel that we had jumped the gun a bit -- that he wasn't going to show up after all.  So we stopped looking. 

Sue suddenly grabbed my arm and almost crushed it.   I jumped and said, "Where?"  "Over there at the table just sitting down," she said.   "Oh my God!  That's HIM!,"  I said, and I grabbed Karen.  She said, "What?"

"George -- over there!"  I told her, but Karen kept saying, "Where, where?" and when she finally saw where we were pointing she said, "Oh, that's not him."

Sue and I looked at each other and said, "Yes it is...."  Then Karen looked at his hands, and caught a glimpse of him from the eyes up, and said, "My God. It IS George!" and we all started laughing hysterically and ripping each other apart.  The other people at our table didn't know what we were carrying on about, and you should have seen some of the looks we got!  We slowly calmed down, but I must say that I never saw three bigger wrecks in my life.  Karen really pulled herself together after a few minutes, but Sue and I were absolutely spastic.  Both of us were visibly shaking.  

I think the thing that threw us most was that he looked so totally different from the way he had looked on television a couple of days before.  Picture him in 1969 (Hey Jude LP photo), and you've got a good idea of his appearance.  His hair was even all the way round, and shoulder length.  He also had a mustache and medium-length beard.  He was wearing a navy blue fitted jacket with epaulets; we couldn't see the shirt, but he wore cream-colored pants; couldn't see the shoes either, but who looks at his shoes when you can look at his face?  We got a good look at him as he was sitting only about 10-15 feet from us.  He was with Olivia - who looked lovely, with her hair on top of her head in a bun, wearing a white print Chinese-style quilted jacket and white pants.  They were accompanied by Terry, Harry Nilsson, Jim Keltner and a whole troupe of others.   The entire group took up about three tables.  I was amused at the way that George was very much the center of the group's attention.  Every time he spoke, everyone leaned in to listen to him.  It was really funny.

As I said earlier, Karen had really gotten herself together and turned to me and said, "I'm going to go over to talk to him."  I was still in pretty bad shape and said, "what are you gonna say to him?" and she said, "Just hello-- how are you."  She was very cool, and I was just amazed, so I said, "If you're going over to him, so am I."   Sue said, "If both of you go, I go."  We all got up and started to make our way to his table.  We were worried about bugging him, but we never got the chance.   A guy standing by his table said to us, "He doesn't want to be bothered," and Karen said, "Can't we just say hi?" and the guy said, "He doesn't want to be bothered," again as we watched some people getting George's autograph.  He was very nice to them, and I'm sure he wouldn't have been bothered by three cheerful "hellos!" but we could appreciate what the guy was trying to do, so we went back to our seats.  At least we got to stand very near him. 

Just then a whole bunch of people recognized George, and we were worried that he might feel harassed and go backstage, but the people were cool and decided to leave him alone after all.  Shortly thereafter the lights went down, and the show started. 

It goes without saying that Ravi was magnificent, but I daresay that George gave us quite a magnificent performance himself.  We all know how he loved the music.  He was really getting into all through the show... quite loudly.   He was so cute!  He'd be quietly listening to Ravi and just bobbing his and all, then you'd hear a light tapping on the table, getting progressively louder until he was hitting the table with his hands so loudly the people in the audience started turning around to find out where all the racket was coming from.  George would stop, realizing that he was making all the noise so it would be very silent again.  But a few minutes later you'd hear him back at it again, slapping his thighs, clapping his hands, stomping his feet; every time it was the same thing.  He's clap or stomp loudly by mistake, realize how loud he was being, and then quiet down...but only until he had forgotten himself again and become engulfed in the music.  Every now and then Ravi and Alla would play something that was particularly extraordinary, that really struck Geoge, and he's laugh so loud that he'd attract attention to himself again, or he'd just make some sound of ecstatic delight, you know?  All through the show he clapped and stomped and intermittently let out a whoop or a laugh.  He was so incredibly enthusiastic.  Ravi even had to shush the crowd a couple of times.   Still the peopel around Karen, Sue and I didn't know who it was, and just couldn't figure out why we were freaking out so much.  Really funny!

George also talked a lot.  Mostly in between numbers, but also during them.  He used his hands a lot to express himself, as everyone listened intently.  So here was George laughing and stomping and just having a wonderful time and it was so beautiful to see someone so expressive and full of life.   Of course, we watched him a lot but that is not to take anything away from Ravi's performance, which of course, inspired all the rasa in George.   The Indians have an expression, "Nada Brahma"  which means "sound is God," and to hear Ravi play is to really experience what that means.  Naturally, this audience had come exclusively to hear Ravi, so they were very, very warm and appreciative.  I could think of no better setting I'd rather see George up in it, than to be in a small, warm surrounding, with incense burning, and Ravi and Alla playing.  It was such a lovely experience for all of us. 

After the show was over, we rather expected George and company to cut out quickly, but we stayed in our seats and watched patiently as he sat there talking to his friends.  People were leaving and he was getting by relatively unnoticed for a while, so we went back to his table to try to say "hello" again, but he was talking so we stood and waited for an opportune moment to speak when he was suddenly mobbed.  He got up to leave with all the folks with him following suit.  We were still standing by his table as he walked away; he turned around once to look out at everybody.  He spotted Karen in her F.P.S.H.O.T. shirt, stopped dead in his tracks, opened his eyes and mouth wide in surprise and pointed directly at her!  Of course, everyone else looked too. Karen opened up her jacket to show him the shirt better, and he said to her, "Did you send them?" in the most beautiful, Liverpool accent you've ever heard.  We were just knocked over.  She said, "No, a friend of mine made them," and he did a very animated, "Ohhh!" and nodded and then walked up the stairs to the private room above the Roxy with friends.  I wish you could have seen his expression - the way he said: "Did you send them?"  He was darling.  Karen was staggering around saying, "George Harrison just spoke to me," and Sue and I were jumping around her because we were all so amazed that he had acknowledged any of our presences without, you know, our speaking to him first.  

We afterward went outside to wait for him.  We just wanted to see him one more time before we left.  It seemed to have gotten around that George Harrison was in our presence, to all those who hadn't known it before, and more than half the audience waited outside too, for about an hour, before they began to filter off.  Nevertheless, a very large crowd remained well over two hours to see him.  We hung around the back doors while everyone else stood at the front door.  At one point a cop car pulled up by us, in hopes of nailing us for curfew, and they kept nagging us about who we were waiting for.  I guess we looked too clean cut to be groupies, and they couldn't figure out what we were doing hanging around the back doors of the Roxy so late at night.   When we finally told them we were waiting for George Harrison, they didn't know who he was.  They said, "What group is he with?" and we kept saying, "He's not with a group."  We eventually said that he used to be with The Beatles if they could remember them.  Then they started going, "Oh yeah!" and tried to name them all; then they left. 

Out of about 13 people left waiting after some three hours or so, it was apparent that Karen, Sue and I were the only ones who were actually George Harrison freaks.  The rest were just out ot get the big signature and a picutre of a big rock star, so it were, and we were gettinga annoyed at their hanging around so long.  There was actually a man and couple of women (older poeple, in fact, in their 40's) who had the audacity to bring some old Beatle magazies and the "Illustrated Record" book with them for George to sign or an old picture of him.  We were just appalled at their mindlessness!   A young girl and her mother waited around saying things like, "When he comes out you grab his legs and I'll grab his arms.  We'll get him!  I'm gonna cut off a piece of his hair."  

Ravi left after abotu 2 1/2 hours and the lady managed to nab him - he was gracious enough to sign a photo of himself from an old Beatle mag.  As I said, we were really irritated at their thoughtless behavior.  We were the only ones who knew anything about George.  Some teeny-boppers hanging around couldn't be old enough to even remember back to 1964.  Fortunately, they left.  I mean, it was cold and besides a few brief flurries of excitement  (Pete Townshed and John Entwistle departed the Rainbow bar next door at about 3:00 -- Liza Minelli went into the Roxy at about 2:30), it was getting a little ridiculous for us to be waiting out there, but we did. 

That one particularly obnoxious lady came up with what she termed a "brilliant idea" which she told us was to honk the horn of the convertible in front of us to bring George down.  We all looked disgusted and Karen said, "You'd better not do that, lady.  He wouldn't like that."  She just looked insulted and said, "Why not?"  We all proceeded to explain to her that he'd rather not be disturbed, and he definitely wouldn't come down if he thought there was a group of people down there waiting to jump him.  He very definitely wouldn't take kindly to everybody sitting on his car.  We weren't very pleasant, I'm afraid, but she wasn't very smart.  Some guy kept asking us if we knew him.  We said not personally but he had spoken to us and we did in a round-about way, anyway. 

We could hear Olivia upstairs talking about someone being ill; she kept mentioning aspirin or Pepto Bismol or something.  I sure hope she wasn't referring to Geroge!  We were right under the window; everyone else was moving in on us, as I said, and some guy must have heard us mention Olivia's name because he said, "Who's Olivia?"  and asked if we heard a voice up there.  We said Olivia is George’s lady and no, we didn’t hear anything.  Some other lady said, “Whatever happened to Pattie?”  I just couldn’t believe that people who knew nothing about him would wait four hours for him in the cold.  Oh well.

Anyway, but six o’clock in the morning we were all dead from exhaustion and Karen and I had to drive back to San Diego, supposedly before her work and my school that day, and people were just going into the Roxy now.  No sign of anyone coming out!  He was just having a nice party upstairs (they played a lot of Rod Stewart).  So we made loud leaving noises and walked in front of the left-over people making it quite clear that it was no use waiting any longer, that the party was just starting.  We never heard when he eventually did come out into the daylight again, but I seriously hope those jerks weren’t still waiting when he did.  I cringe at the thought.