Yes, but John was also disappointed in many ways to be a Beatle, to miss a career in visual arts, to be stereotyped. And because he was murdered, he never had the chance to mature and to evolve.
"They were so busy being John and Paul, but they failed to realize who else was around at the time" I can sense his frustration and I'm happy that he eventually left the band...
Neil Murphy - You can see how that’s true (or maybe you can’t). To get what acid gives you is either a revelation that changes your life, or it confirms what you suspected all along. I was in that second category and never got any more than knowing what I suspected was true. I still took it for recreation, but it was just recreation. My wife was blown away and says it changed her life. Well, sure, she was raised a Mormon and their perception of “what is” is so fixed and inflexible, like we’d recall a mutual experience and she’d insist I saw it wrong. That’s what amazed her. Nothing happened the way you remember it, and no one shares an experience.(other than sharing the experience of two experiences and seeing what each had in common). The Mormons say, “there’s only one truth” and they really believe that.
Fucking brilliant isn’t it, love his cheeky smile at the end of the sentence. I know exactly what he means. I’ve not taken it for nearly 20 years but still treasure the times I had.
George at 5:40 "That's the thing about LSD, you don't need to take it twice?" Interviewer: "You only took LSD once?" George: "No, I took it lots of times. But I only needed it once." I love that exchange.
Harrison was saying that taking LSD even once allows you to perceive the universe in new ways, that the experience changes you. You don't have to experience LSD more than once in order to be changed... but that doesn't mean you won't want to experience it more than once. Harrison was (if I'm interpretting him correctly) saying "the first time I needed acid to open up my mind. After that I was pretty much doing it for fun."
Thanks for the insight. How does it change you? Do you really perceive the world differently or care more or less about things? Do you feel less inhibited? I'm just curious.
It's different for different people. It's different for the same person on different trips. Your mental state when you take it, the physical reality around you, and different impurities in the acid can all have different effects. Here's a link to other people describing their acid experiences: drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5085
I been seeing walls move and visions and dancing girls turn into clowns with bright lights flashing and the world expanding and such my whole life. So when people told me about it , I said, I don't think I need it thank you.
Fucking hell this interviewer is so blunt and undermining. Talking about johns death as though it's surprising that George felt anything about it. I hate how undervalued George is , much more of a hero for puttin up with the strain of being undervalued in the most successful band ever
Great interview. I always felt that George was his own self, though he obviously cared a great deal about all of his team mates. Nice to have it verified. How benign and caring.
Yeah, and he got the wife.... and settled down and now looks 10 years younger than he is, because he looks after himself these days. He was The Beatles drummer for one reason. He was about the best there was, and he probably always will be.
No, he was a court jester who made the others feel good about themselves. Put him in the same room with Mitchell, Bonham, or Watts and it gets embarrassing.
Sorry (sentiment does't enter the debate) but he was ok doing the Beatles stuff, but was extremely limited & couldn't cut it with the next level of musicians. You ever heard of Ginger Baker or any jazz drummer for that matter?
*dave himlin* On this I can only agree 100%. And Led Zeppelin were my favorite band AFTER the Beatles. Ringo was a VERY GOOD drummer! Very underrated, and John was wrong Ringo WAS the best drummer in the Beatles! (And I am such a Lennon fan I still wear the same glasses he wore (National health round one's and played lead guitarist with his best friend David Peel in Dec 1980 when Lennon was murdered; right after his political enemy Reagan was elected!!). I was supposed to play lead with John at 123 Prince studios only 3 days after his murder as John had promised to come in an put down a couple of rhythm parts for his old buddy; I was 3 days from meeting and more important playing with him. I did NOT get paid for my time! The biggest what if of my life!
Geez, they could sing that three part harmony. awesome. George wasn't the quiet beatle, he was the grumpy beatle. he got tired of being a professional little brother, which I can relate to. eventually you want to be full grown.
Phillip Norman wrote a needed biography of the Beatles back when the only book available was Hunter Davies. Since then we've had Steve Gaines and others reveal a more down to earth history of who the Beatles were. It wasn't all sweetness and light.
Seems like a great guy, down to earth. It's interesting and ironic that he was sick of hearing about the Beatles. Yet, being a Beatle gave him many extraordinary opportunities. As has been said by others, he comes across as honest, to the point and a gentleman. A real mench.
Seems like he was a nice fellow; just don't leave him alone with the misses! I'm sure George would get a chuckle out of that last line. R.I.P, and may you be freed from rebirth
He was also important because he was actually very talented. One of the miracles about the Beatles is that 4 lads who lived close, were all so talented AND got together as a band. I will never tire of listening to the Beatles and the best of their solo stuff too. Its such a unique musical gift they gave to the world. It will never happen again.
So weird to see George comments on a possible assassination of himself when a few years later on, he'd be the victim of an assassination attempt that left him stabbed several times.
I have a hard time listening to rich famous and popular people complain or talk about what a burden it all is,try the life of the average person who's hopes and dreams are buried in a life of endless toil where you earn every bit of love and respect you will ever get if you get any. George Harrison as a man living on this planet so I'm sure he had troubles but he also had resources that made those troubles way more bearable than the average guy.
Are you kidding???? He re-writes it to this day! You only have to go to Many Years From Now to see a man completely re-writing his own history, but seemingly oblivious to the facts, dates, and events within that life. He's the only musician I know who can't clearly remember when he got his first guitar. Harrison remembered when McCartney switched from trumpet to guitar, but McCartney can't! And that's unheard of in a musician, it's a pivotal event in their lives. My first bass guitar. 1983!!!!
It's a shame that neither Paul or John took him seriously, or treated him as equally important. I reckon 'What Is Life', 'Give me Love' and 'My Sweet Lord' would have been magnificent Beatles songs. When I think of Beatles music the first two that come to mind these days are 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' - both Harrison songs!
John had rough edges because of previous pain suffered at formative times in his life. He and Paul were collaborative and competitive alternately. George was marginalized as a result and he had no choice but to tolerate the strong pecking order that was established. Ringo had to accept and tolerate it as well.
The attitude that Norman had towards Ringo is exactly what drove The Beatles to break up...John and Paul took the credit, while George and Ringo stood back...and were basically seen as dispensable. Georgie's always been my favourite...
I think the reason that Philip Norman has not got the story off The Beatles is that they were not prepared to tell him at the time as they just wanted to get on with their lives as themselves. I guess as time went on they became more open regarding their past.
For any fans of George's guitar solos, there is a great one I've only just heard on this guys channel, called The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun (Explained) by The HollyHobs at 3.28mins. Perhaps George M left it off because it strayed from the simplicity of the song. Who knows but it's interesting.
He says he was not ALLOWED to offer anything until he brought in the sitar! Did you actually listen to the interview or are you just hearing what you want to hear? He said bringing in the sitar gave Harrison leverage in the band, and stopped Martin telling him what to play on guitar note for note. Talk about assassination! It doesn't matter what Philip Norman says, because you don't hear him when he says it. :)
Here's an example of a McCartney untruth. About his trip to Africa, he says he met Mal Evans at a church in Bordeaux on the 12th November. He then states they drove with the intention of meeting John Lennon in Spain. He then says they met with Jane Asher in Africa. This is NOT what Mal Evans said at the time. He made no mention of Jane Asher or meeting her. He said he met McCartney at a theatre in Bordeaux on the 8th November (at 7 'o clock precisely.)
George was a great talent and produced a lot of good music but clearly as can be seen in this video he was the least comfortable Beatle and the most bitter about the breakup. He never got used to the fame and his post Beatles career had the most quirky ups and downs after they disbanded. Still all and all an amazing talent whch is sorely lacking in music today.
I think what the guy was saying was that Ringo didn't get involved in the central decisions and disputes which went on between John Paul and George. Ringo went along... didn't get too upset about stuff and had his area to deal with and that was that. Therefore he couldn't tell you about the central STORY of the Beatles because he didn't know as compared to a Mal Evans or Neil Aspinall.
+John Smith It's not that they were trying to suppress him. It's just they had their own songs they wanted on the albums. There wasn't room for George's songs. George's role had always been to be the lead guitar player. John & Paul were the singer/songwriters. So when George started bringing his own songs in, it upset the apple cart. It disturbed the dynamic and the balance of the group. And is one of the main reasons they broke up (the other being John wanted out).
George did plenty of writing, he just couldn't get his songs on the Beatle albums. Notice once the Beatles split, George came out with All Things Must Pass in 1970. That was a triple album with a bunch of George songs that would have taken him 20 years to get heard on a Beatles record. He was more than ready to leave the Beatles...
George didn't start writing prolifically, nor with any consistent quality, until around the time of the White Album. That was the time The Beatles pretty much stopped being a band, and became solo artists helping each other out. And that's when the songs began to pour out of George. It's not like he had half a dozen songs that were left off, say, With The Beatles. He had Don't Bother Me, which fit beautifully. But little else to offer. By Revolver, he was getting better - and got the opening track on the album, Tax Man, and two other songs on there. But Within You Without You on Pepper was considered filler by many at the time (including George Martin). For some of us, it was a masterpiece. But then he got four cracking songs on The White Album. What I'm saying is, it's not really fair to say Lennon & McCartney kept him down. He just didn't have the songwriting chops, nor very many actual songs until much later. Then of course, as the Beatles broke apart, he ended up with a triple album - mind you, the third disc was nonsense; just jamming. But there wasn't one dud amongst the first two discs.
You're quite right. It's like the 4 don't even own their own story any. So many experts... I guess that's why they even bothered makeing the antology stuff later on.
good point.. also.. Ringo guested on three McCartney albums in a row in the early 80s.. since then essentially nothing. McCartney tolerates Ringo but doesn't deal with him much anymore... still shuting him off as a secondary member...
One has to ask how someone could actually get Ringo Starr to quit a band. This person that seems to want no trouble, get along with everyone, get his drum parts done to the satisfaction of everyone involved, and be signature in making Beatles songs SOUND like Beatles songs, and seems to be the only one who could get along with all of them AFTER they met in court. How do you get Ringo to quit a band? Well don't ask Paul because he still takes credit for the entire drums in Dear Prudence!
Harrison was the Coolest Beatle and as interesting as Lennon. George told it like it was. John would as well but depending on his mood Lennon would only talk about the bad and be very dismissive. In fact they all could be unless, interesting enough someone would bad mouth "The Beatles" then they would remind people of the greatness of the band.
Evans then states regarding Lennon that they called London only to find out Lennon (John, Neil Aspinall, Cynthia) were on their way back from Spain, and were not in London yet. Which is a lie. Lennon came back from Spain on the 6th November, the same day McCartney left for France. Mal Evans NOT knowing Lennon was back in London, when it was in the newspapers, and he, of all people, would most likely pick the Lennons/Aspinall up from Heathrow Airport, or at least be informed of it!
I haven't read that guy's book but I know that McCartney changed some of the Beatles song writing credits from Lennon-McCartney to 'McCartney-Lennon' after Lennon's death. I think that counts. Other than that I find McCartney to be a pretty straight up, beautiful and emotional guy.
But he was telling the truth! The only person you could go to about The Beatles history and get a somewhat accurate picture (even if sarcastic) was from Harrison. Even Lennon would constantly change his mind whether he liked them or not, so you can't get truth there. But it was honest at least for the time. But McCartney? He constantly re-writes history and tells stories that do not match the history of the band, and even suspend belief! And Ringo follows a script. Same words, every time.
The author of "Shout" sure seems like he doesn't know much of anything about the Beatles, although he sure seems confident that he knows everything about them.
Well, he's probably wrong about Ringo, but he's right about Paul. Over the years he has told us 3 different stories about why he's barefoot on the Abbey Road cover. He wants us to think that The Beatles were always nice to each other, everything was great, why do you think the Let It Be film still hasn't been reissued on DVD/Blu-ray?
Paul likely had no great memory of his being barefoot to tell. He wore flip flops and took them off on a few of the photos. he had no idea people would make a big deal about his feet for the next 50 yrs. So he embellishes a bit. that is what storytellers do and songwriters are storytellers! Especially paul.
If someone said to me 'I'm sorry but you're now not the leading authority on things you've done and said in your own life"...I wouldn't be very happy, to be honest.
You don't do so much work together through your growing years without having a bit of stress. These folk did the business and the World is a different place because of them. Scousers are like this.
It's hard to disagree with something when you make out of it what you wish. That's not disagreeing. That's just making up stuff :) He never said anything like Harrison contributed nothing in the above interview. He said he wasn't allowed to. Simple as. :)
My goodness, Phil -- er DrT. I didn't realize I was assassinating anyone, I thought I was just disagreeing with an interpretation. I also didn't realize Martin ALWAYS dictated what Harrison was supposed to play (although I am aware Martin composed the solo in "Michele"). But Harrison WAS "allowed" to contribute the intro to "And I Love Her" (according to Paul) and WAS allowed to contribute the slip into waltz-time on "We Can Work It Out", to name 2 examples.
+godriczimmerman I heard him in an interview saying "when me and John wrote a day in the life together...." when they didn't. John wrote a day in the life and Paul put some rubbish in the middle of it. they didn't write it together.
+Ste Oc I understand you're just giving an example, but i think that something like that could have simply been a slip of the tongue on Paul's part. What irritates me is that this guy who wrote a Biography basically accuses Paul in a T.V. interview of lying and rewriting Beatles history for his own personal gain, without giving any reference as to what he's talking about.
Phillip Norman talking bollocks again, about Ringo not knowing anything about the Beatles, and that McCartney rewrites history, no wonder Norman's book's are crap
It must be awfully annoying to have someone like Norman to write about you. That 'John Lennon is 3/4 of the Beatles' crap is one of the biggest jokes on earth.
11:51, "I don't think anybody could be killing me, you know, what's the point of killing me?" very creepy that 12 years later a psycopath almost killed George stabbing him several times in the chest...
He says 'I don't feel that important " but you know what? That's the point! George was very damn important! R.I.P. George... we love you!
George is the best! Just the coolest person to ever live, so honest and sincere.
Guitarkid 1991 and non of that ego stuff John had
Yes, but John was also disappointed in many ways to be a Beatle, to miss a career in visual arts, to be stereotyped. And because he was murdered, he never had the chance to mature and to evolve.
George you are so loved not only for your music ,for bring such a great man.
"They were so busy being John and Paul, but they failed to realize who else was around at the time"
I can sense his frustration and I'm happy that he eventually left the band...
"You only need it (LSD) once" "you only took it once?" "Oh no, I took it lots of times, but I only needed it once" love that line....
Neil Murphy - You can see how that’s true (or maybe you can’t). To get what acid gives you is either a revelation that changes your life, or it confirms what you suspected all along. I was in that second category and never got any more than knowing what I suspected was true. I still took it for recreation, but it was just recreation. My wife was blown away and says it changed her life. Well, sure, she was raised a Mormon and their perception of “what is” is so fixed and inflexible, like we’d recall a mutual experience and she’d insist I saw it wrong. That’s what amazed her. Nothing happened the way you remember it, and no one shares an experience.(other than sharing the experience of two experiences and seeing what each had in common). The Mormons say, “there’s only one truth” and they really believe that.
Fucking brilliant isn’t it, love his cheeky smile at the end of the sentence. I know exactly what he means. I’ve not taken it for nearly 20 years but still treasure the times I had.
It's such a Rutles line! And biscuits too.
Great interview. This is why George is my favorite Beatle.
George at 5:40 "That's the thing about LSD, you don't need to take it twice?"
Interviewer: "You only took LSD once?"
George: "No, I took it lots of times. But I only needed it once."
I love that exchange.
Having never taken LSD I don't get that at all... what am I missing?
Harrison was saying that taking LSD even once allows you to perceive the universe in new ways, that the experience changes you.
You don't have to experience LSD more than once in order to be changed... but that doesn't mean you won't want to experience it more than once. Harrison was (if I'm interpretting him correctly) saying "the first time I needed acid to open up my mind. After that I was pretty much doing it for fun."
Thanks for the insight. How does it change you? Do you really perceive the world differently or care more or less about things? Do you feel less inhibited? I'm just curious.
It's different for different people. It's different for the same person on different trips. Your mental state when you take it, the physical reality around you, and different impurities in the acid can all have different effects.
Here's a link to other people describing their acid experiences:
drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5085
I been seeing walls move and visions and dancing girls turn into clowns with bright lights flashing and the world expanding and such my whole life. So when people told me about it , I said, I don't think I need it thank you.
Great interview. George was a thoughtful, humble soul, capable of genuine reflection.
Fucking hell this interviewer is so blunt and undermining. Talking about johns death as though it's surprising that George felt anything about it. I hate how undervalued George is , much more of a hero for puttin up with the strain of being undervalued in the most successful band ever
Great interview. I always felt that George was his own self, though he obviously cared a great deal about all of his team mates. Nice to have it verified. How benign and caring.
"He drank the drink, he smoked the joints, he had the girls and he drummed the drums and that was all."
That's pretty much every band's drummer, ever.
Yeah, and he got the wife.... and settled down and now looks 10 years younger than he is, because he looks after himself these days. He was The Beatles drummer for one reason. He was about the best there was, and he probably always will be.
No, he was a court jester who made the others feel good about themselves. Put him in the same room with Mitchell, Bonham, or Watts and it gets embarrassing.
Sorry (sentiment does't enter the debate) but he was ok doing the Beatles stuff, but was extremely limited & couldn't cut it with the next level of musicians. You ever heard of Ginger Baker or any jazz drummer for that matter?
*dave himlin* On this I can only agree 100%. And Led Zeppelin were my favorite band AFTER the Beatles. Ringo was a VERY GOOD drummer! Very underrated, and John was wrong Ringo WAS the best drummer in the Beatles! (And I am such a Lennon fan I still wear the same glasses he wore (National health round one's and played lead guitarist with his best friend David Peel in Dec 1980 when Lennon was murdered; right after his political enemy Reagan was elected!!). I was supposed to play lead with John at 123 Prince studios only 3 days after his murder as John had promised to come in an put down a couple of rhythm parts for his old buddy; I was 3 days from meeting and more important playing with him. I did NOT get paid for my time! The biggest what if of my life!
That's the rudest thing ever said about Ringo.... I wouldn't fetch a soda for Phil Norman.
Geez, they could sing that three part harmony. awesome. George wasn't the quiet beatle, he was the grumpy beatle. he got tired of being a professional little brother, which I can relate to. eventually you want to be full grown.
the beatles are all so interesting
I like the mood of the interview very much. Thanks for sharing!
10:58 Interesting. I like George's style. So honest and to the point.
I needed it more than once for the record.
Phillip Norman wrote a needed biography of the Beatles back when the only book available was Hunter Davies. Since then we've had Steve Gaines and others reveal a more down to earth history of who the Beatles were. It wasn't all sweetness and light.
I am glad George found life more fulfilling after the Beatles, after what he had gone thru. Life is just too short for him.
George a deep man so talented and smart RIP
Want to know how George felt about John?
Listen to "All those years ago"
"But you point the way to the truth when you said 'All you need is love'."
God bless you, George.
Miss you.. and John, too.
Seems like a great guy, down to earth. It's interesting and ironic that he was sick of hearing about the Beatles. Yet, being a Beatle gave him many extraordinary opportunities. As has been said by others, he comes across as honest, to the point and a gentleman. A real mench.
By far, George is my favorite Beatle.
Seems like he was a nice fellow; just don't leave him alone with the misses! I'm sure George would get a chuckle out of that last line. R.I.P, and may you be freed from rebirth
George was the best of the four
He was important precisely because he thought he wasn't! How ironic that a few years later someone almost killed him too.
zephyrquartz Well said! I miss this man so much. I love his music and I love how real he was after going through all he went through.
He was also important because he was actually very talented. One of the miracles about the Beatles is that 4 lads who lived close, were all so talented AND got together as a band. I will never tire of listening to the Beatles and the best of their solo stuff too. Its such a unique musical gift they gave to the world. It will never happen again.
zephyrquartz How genius comment: ".....he thought he wasn't " !!!!
Brian Ruhe No, he knows the truth that reincarnation is the bunk
Tears roll down my eyes
Oh why don't you play chords again
George
Here comes the sun
I am born again
So weird to see George comments on a possible assassination of himself when a few years later on, he'd be the victim of an assassination attempt that left him stabbed several times.
I have a hard time listening to rich famous and popular people complain or talk about what a burden it all is,try the life of the average person who's hopes and dreams are buried in a life of endless toil where you earn every bit of love and respect you will ever get if you get any. George Harrison as a man living on this planet so I'm sure he had troubles but he also had resources that made those troubles way more bearable than the average guy.
"let the other egos be at the front..." hilarious!
I clicked because the thumbnail gave me hope that Michael Palin would be interviewing George. Of course Michael trolled me
Me too, but the funny thing is: Palin is interviewed by Harrison in THE RUTLES!
Reality4Peace same haha
Are you kidding???? He re-writes it to this day! You only have to go to Many Years From Now to see a man completely re-writing his own history, but seemingly oblivious to the facts, dates, and events within that life. He's the only musician I know who can't clearly remember when he got his first guitar. Harrison remembered when McCartney switched from trumpet to guitar, but McCartney can't! And that's unheard of in a musician, it's a pivotal event in their lives. My first bass guitar. 1983!!!!
You get the impression that if George had to do it all over again, he would choose not to be a Beatle.
only because he was very left out, I felt it before but not to that extent
71hammyman Because the fame was so immense, and intense...
Lynn Turman we will never know for sure...
71hammyman No we won't.
It's a shame that neither Paul or John took him seriously, or treated him as equally important. I reckon 'What Is Life', 'Give me Love' and 'My Sweet Lord' would have been magnificent Beatles songs.
When I think of Beatles music the first two that come to mind these days are 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' - both Harrison songs!
his comments seem calm & sincere
She has a lovely demeaner to her.... classy, stern,cool..yet warm and delicate.
Oh no I took it lots of times lmao ya gotta love George
John had rough edges because of previous pain suffered at formative times in his life. He and Paul were collaborative and competitive alternately.
George was marginalized as a result and he had no choice but to tolerate the strong pecking order that was established. Ringo had to accept and tolerate it as well.
softclay4thought good comment
The attitude that Norman had towards Ringo is exactly what drove The Beatles to break up...John and Paul took the credit, while George and Ringo stood back...and were basically seen as dispensable.
Georgie's always been my favourite...
Given this is an interview in 1987, Palin's comments at 11:02 are pretty prophetic.
George Harrison: No one's going to kill me...I am not that important
Lol you have no idea XD
I think the reason that Philip Norman has not got the story off The Beatles is that they were not prepared to tell him at the time as they just wanted to get on with their lives as themselves. I guess as time went on they became more open regarding their past.
Palin's bits were particularly insightful.
He's so right about lsd. You only need it once, but you'll take it lots of times. That's so true. Anyone who's taken it knows now spot on that is.
Oh the line " I don't think anyone would assassinate me" hurts a bit.
My favorite Beatle!
For any fans of George's guitar solos, there is a great one I've only just heard on this guys channel, called The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun (Explained) by The HollyHobs at 3.28mins. Perhaps George M left it off because it strayed from the simplicity of the song. Who knows but it's interesting.
He says he was not ALLOWED to offer anything until he brought in the sitar! Did you actually listen to the interview or are you just hearing what you want to hear? He said bringing in the sitar gave Harrison leverage in the band, and stopped Martin telling him what to play on guitar note for note. Talk about assassination! It doesn't matter what Philip Norman says, because you don't hear him when he says it. :)
Here's an example of a McCartney untruth. About his trip to Africa, he says he met Mal Evans at a church in Bordeaux on the 12th November. He then states they drove with the intention of meeting John Lennon in Spain. He then says they met with Jane Asher in Africa. This is NOT what Mal Evans said at the time. He made no mention of Jane Asher or meeting her. He said he met McCartney at a theatre in Bordeaux on the 8th November (at 7 'o clock precisely.)
George,if i could say that He Is the,best Singer that i love him from the boom
he was the most humble beatle
George was a great talent and produced a lot of good music but clearly as can be seen in this video he was the least comfortable Beatle and the most bitter about the breakup. He never got used to the fame and his post Beatles career had the most quirky ups and downs after they disbanded. Still all and all an amazing talent whch is sorely lacking in music today.
Great interview.
I think what the guy was saying was that Ringo didn't get involved in the central decisions and disputes which went on between John Paul and George. Ringo went along... didn't get too upset about stuff and had his area to deal with and that was that. Therefore he couldn't tell you about the central STORY of the Beatles because he didn't know as compared to a Mal Evans or Neil Aspinall.
The chemistry was John, Paul, George and Ringo. Equal parts made the Beatles magic, no matter who wrote the songs. And I speak as a huge Lennon fan.
Thanks.
The wit... wot's yr favourite song? White Christmas... they were a tonic!!!
I wish Paul and John had allowed George to do more writing.
Me too
+John Smith George was always my favourite of the
Beatles.
+John Smith It's not that they were trying to suppress him. It's just they had their own songs they wanted on the albums. There wasn't room for George's songs. George's role had always been to be the lead guitar player. John & Paul were the singer/songwriters. So when George started bringing his own songs in, it upset the apple cart. It disturbed the dynamic and the balance of the group. And is one of the main reasons they broke up (the other being John wanted out).
George did plenty of writing, he just couldn't get his songs on the Beatle albums. Notice once the Beatles split, George came out with All Things Must Pass in 1970. That was a triple album with a bunch of George songs that would have taken him 20 years to get heard on a Beatles record. He was more than ready to leave the Beatles...
George didn't start writing prolifically, nor with any consistent quality, until around the time of the White Album. That was the time The Beatles pretty much stopped being a band, and became solo artists helping each other out. And that's when the songs began to pour out of George.
It's not like he had half a dozen songs that were left off, say, With The Beatles. He had Don't Bother Me, which fit beautifully. But little else to offer.
By Revolver, he was getting better - and got the opening track on the album, Tax Man, and two other songs on there.
But Within You Without You on Pepper was considered filler by many at the time (including George Martin). For some of us, it was a masterpiece. But then he got four cracking songs on The White Album.
What I'm saying is, it's not really fair to say Lennon & McCartney kept him down. He just didn't have the songwriting chops, nor very many actual songs until much later. Then of course, as the Beatles broke apart, he ended up with a triple album - mind you, the third disc was nonsense; just jamming. But there wasn't one dud amongst the first two discs.
You're quite right. It's like the 4 don't even own their own story any. So many experts... I guess that's why they even bothered makeing the antology stuff later on.
good point.. also.. Ringo guested on three McCartney albums in a row in the early 80s.. since then essentially nothing. McCartney tolerates Ringo but doesn't deal with him much anymore... still shuting him off as a secondary member...
Wow...this was great
Selina Scott was a nice bit of totty.
very
Totty? What is a totty?
Pir8jove George always had an eye for the ladies, he probably enjoyed this interview!
In many ways, George is the only Beatle who matters.
Name three ways.
Your Daddy was such a lovely man Dahani(just in case you see this vidio)
One has to ask how someone could actually get Ringo Starr to quit a band. This person that seems to want no trouble, get along with everyone, get his drum parts done to the satisfaction of everyone involved, and be signature in making Beatles songs SOUND like Beatles songs, and seems to be the only one who could get along with all of them AFTER they met in court. How do you get Ringo to quit a band? Well don't ask Paul because he still takes credit for the entire drums in Dear Prudence!
Wonderful.
Never knew George had anything to do with Mona Lisa, my mum's best friend was one of the main character's in that
i was born in 1957 and lost my child in 1987
Harrison was the Coolest Beatle and as interesting as Lennon. George told it like it was. John would as well but depending on his mood Lennon would only talk about the bad and be very dismissive. In fact they all could be unless, interesting enough someone would bad mouth "The Beatles" then they would remind people of the greatness of the band.
Very keen insight. For all the misery being a "Beatle" brought onto them, they really were the only ones who could correctly comment on it.
***** +1!
Mr Norman looks like he could be in the mccartney family tree.
+Geritopia He must be from one of the lower branches. That's why he has it in for Paul.
Evans then states regarding Lennon that they called London only to find out Lennon (John, Neil Aspinall, Cynthia) were on their way back from Spain, and were not in London yet. Which is a lie. Lennon came back from Spain on the 6th November, the same day McCartney left for France. Mal Evans NOT knowing Lennon was back in London, when it was in the newspapers, and he, of all people, would most likely pick the Lennons/Aspinall up from Heathrow Airport, or at least be informed of it!
Paul knew that the answer was to continually seek the solution.
That's what you came up with. I was expecting more. And to think by now we were supposed to have hoverboards. I think you're holding us back.
says here Martin told Harrison what "notes' to play,i suspected some of that went on i guess.wonder how much?
George is right
I only 🙏🙏the rumours of Norman writing a George book are completely untrue.
"So you only did it once?"...."Oh no,I did it lots of times" lol I love the Beatles
I haven't read that guy's book but I know that McCartney changed some of the Beatles song writing credits from Lennon-McCartney to 'McCartney-Lennon' after Lennon's death. I think that counts. Other than that I find McCartney to be a pretty straight up, beautiful and emotional guy.
My god, which song is played at 5:24? And does it do anything with the Yes graphics?
'It's All Too Much' from the Yellow Submarine album. Graphics are simply psychedelic stuff from the movie.
I found out and forgot to tell, but thank you for the reply. Such a great and proggy song
that's a interesting thesis: Paul re-writes history, ringo doesn't know anything and George is th one to tell you something 'bout the Beatles.
Paul does just say what the nicest thing is to say
But he was telling the truth! The only person you could go to about The Beatles history and get a somewhat accurate picture (even if sarcastic) was from Harrison. Even Lennon would constantly change his mind whether he liked them or not, so you can't get truth there. But it was honest at least for the time. But McCartney? He constantly re-writes history and tells stories that do not match the history of the band, and even suspend belief! And Ringo follows a script. Same words, every time.
Miss you George
The author of "Shout" sure seems like he doesn't know much of anything about the Beatles, although he sure seems confident that he knows everything about them.
Yeah I got really annoyed every time they let Philip Norman speak in this thing. He seems like a complete jackass.
a complete ass indeed
Crappy opinion of Ringo
Well, he's probably wrong about Ringo, but he's right about Paul. Over the years he has told us 3 different stories about why he's barefoot on the Abbey Road cover. He wants us to think that The Beatles were always nice to each other, everything was great, why do you think the Let It Be film still hasn't been reissued on DVD/Blu-ray?
Paul likely had no great memory of his being barefoot to tell. He wore flip flops and took them off on a few of the photos. he had no idea people would make a big deal about his feet for the next 50 yrs. So he embellishes a bit. that is what storytellers do and songwriters are storytellers! Especially paul.
I love Selina Scott.
Ringo "just drumming the drums"? Really? I wonder how would The Beatles sound without him.
Who were the Beatles anyway?
That isn't Frank Sinatra. It is Murray "the K" Kaufmann, who was a New York DJ, who was an early US supporter of the Beatles on US radio.
If someone said to me 'I'm sorry but you're now not the leading authority on things you've done and said in your own life"...I wouldn't be very happy, to be honest.
I don't believe the dentist trip was accidental.
You don't do so much work together through your growing years without having a bit of stress. These folk did the business and the World is a different place because of them. Scousers are like this.
It's hard to disagree with something when you make out of it what you wish. That's not disagreeing. That's just making up stuff :) He never said anything like Harrison contributed nothing in the above interview. He said he wasn't allowed to. Simple as. :)
What a great interview! I'd imagine George chanced his arm with Selina Scott after this interview.
My goodness, Phil -- er DrT. I didn't realize I was assassinating anyone, I thought I was just disagreeing with an interpretation. I also didn't realize Martin ALWAYS dictated what Harrison was supposed to play (although I am aware Martin composed the solo in "Michele"). But Harrison WAS "allowed" to contribute the intro to "And I Love Her" (according to Paul) and WAS allowed to contribute the slip into waltz-time on "We Can Work It Out", to name 2 examples.
3:44 Paul rewrites history. Sound about right.
+Peter Gear Like what? whats something he's lied about?
+godriczimmerman I heard him in an interview saying "when me and John wrote a day in the life together...." when they didn't. John wrote a day in the life and Paul put some rubbish in the middle of it. they didn't write it together.
+Ste Oc If thats the worst he's said then i think this smug "Biographer" is being very harsh on Paul.
+godriczimmerman that's just an example.
+Ste Oc I understand you're just giving an example, but i think that something like that could have simply been a slip of the tongue on Paul's part. What irritates me is that this guy who wrote a Biography basically accuses Paul in a T.V. interview of lying and rewriting Beatles history for his own personal gain, without giving any reference as to what he's talking about.
Phillip Norman talking bollocks again, about Ringo not knowing anything about the Beatles, and that McCartney rewrites history, no wonder Norman's book's are crap
What an arrogant creep, he is.
It must be awfully annoying to have someone like Norman to write about you. That 'John Lennon is 3/4 of the Beatles' crap is one of the biggest jokes on earth.
WHERE IS THIS PLACE AT , AT 1987 WEST 57 TH STREET ?
Well...have a copy of Shout but never read it, and really don't care to after seeing that author. The Beatles Anthology is the definitive book!
what the beatles did collectively none could do on there own
its easy there were four Beatles, apart from Pete Best, who missed loads of shows, the story, the fact is brilliant
11:51, "I don't think anybody could be killing me, you know, what's the point of killing me?" very creepy that 12 years later a psycopath almost killed George stabbing him several times in the chest...