George Harrison: All Things Pass (FULL MOVIE)

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Wonderful movie. You were such a beautiful person George...RIP 🕉

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/PennyLane62 📅︎︎ Aug 12 2020 🗫︎ replies

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[soft rock music playing] [narrator] George Harrison was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer, who initially achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of The Beatles, but went on to sell millions of critically acclaimed solo records. Harrison was referred to as "the quiet one," often in the shadow of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. However, he later acquired the respect of critics worldwide, and is now considered to be on the same level, if not surpassing Lennon and McCartney as a songwriter. A result of creating songs such as "Here Comes The Sun" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Rolling Stone magazine even ranked him number 11 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. And he is a two time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. His guitar playing was superb. He was the quiet one, but the calm one. [man] He would craft his music meticulously, with every little stitch in the canvas, and gradually built up his songwriting to a point where he became a great writer. [narrator] This documentary will delve into Harrison's life. From his rise to fame, to his struggles with the law. Former Beatle George Harrison has been giving evidence to the high court in an attempt to prevent the release of an album based on one of the group's early performances. The CD has been produced from a recording made in Hamburg, in 1962. The three surviving Beatles and Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, claim it breaches their copyrights. [narrator] And his brutal stabbing, and tragic struggle with cancer. He wasn't just a great musician and artist, but he did an immense amount of charity as well. So he will be very, very sadly missed by people around the world. George Harrison, as an Irish friend of mine always tells me, is the only Englishman in the Beatles. I said, "What are you talking about?" He said, "Starkey, Lennon, McCartney... Those are Irish names. And I get a big kick out of that, 'cause the Liverpool Irish aren't really quite a community. And of course, Lennon, Starkey, McCartney, those are..." It was originally O'Lennon. "Those are Irish, you know, Celtic names. But George Harrison, that's your proper English name." Harrison was nominally the quiet Beatle. Which is obviously rubbish. Because when you read his interviews, or his pronouncements, or this autobiography of his, it's been reissued in an expanded version, called I Me Mine, he had something to say. I think he's called the quiet Beatle for one, 'cause when you've got Lennon in front of you, and McCartney right behind there, you might as well just let it go. You know? You might as well just let that cocktail party roll, 'cause you're not gonna get a word in with those characters. When I was a young lad and Beatlemania hit the States, George Harrison was my favorite Beatle. And I can't quite put into words why. He remains a fascinating guy to this nanosecond in regards to my life and the lives of so many others. He was a quiet, working class... Like Ringo, a real proper scouser. I mean that in a great way. He had the accent of a Liverpudlian. He had the mannerisms and tastes of a Liverpudlian. He entered the world and grew in the way that people from all around the world, mush less Liverpool, don't get to quite grow so often in life. [Othen] If I was to encapsulate what I found George to be, and I only knew him in the sort of between about five and about 20 years old, I'd have said he was a quiet sort of guy. Wicked sense of humor. Always in mischief. Certainly in Dovedale, in trouble for doing all sorts of things. Pulling girls' hair... Which we had, until about the age of seven. Climbing up on the old air raid shelters. Throwing paper balls around the place and passing notes in class, as I remember. He was... Although being quiet, didn't suffer fools gladly. Even at a very early age. Uh, and he certainly was very anti-bullying. If he saw anyone being bullied, George used to sort of tried to step in. And there were sort of a bunch of us that seemed to get on well together. Personal growth of a guy like George Harrison is just incredible. You look at this guy that was a happy kid. His mother Louise loved him to death. His father was a bus driver I think, named Harold. And... Good family. Brothers, you know... and a sister that moved to St. Louis before The Beatles broke. You're talking about a guy who was a quiet... But not that quiet. ...normal boy, that later became a Beatle and a successful solo guy. Later invented the Rock Benefit concert, and the rock charitable idea and all that. I mean, only Monterey Pop was before him. He's the guy that really got that going in terms of charity. He became a successful movie producer. And on top of all that, he became a gardener. He needed time to himself. He became a fabulous gardener towards the end of his life. A flora and fauna kind of guy. So the George Harrison story is one of enormous personal growth. I first saw George Harrison, I think it must have been autumn of 1962. I'd been called by Brian Epstein to organize publicity for this band called The Beatles. They had a record coming out on Parlophone called "Love Me Do." The four of them arrived. Ringo didn't say a word. George said, "Hello." Paul McCartney did most of the talking until the very last interview. John took over and nearly separated the guy's body from his head. And as I put them in a cab to go to the station so they'd get the train back to Liverpool, George said, "Thank you very much." [Othen] He was always very available to people. I bumped into him in town just after he'd come back from Hamburg the first time. George always stopped and talked to you. And he was genuinely interested in what people had to say. He'd have a good old natter. This particular time he said to me. He said, "Look, the first all nighter's at a club called The Iron Door." He said that was along with people like Gerry and the Pacemakers, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and sort of whole variety of Liverpool groups at the time. Got a couple of tickets for that. Went along to it. Had to queue to get in the flipping thing, even though you had a ticket. It was a pretty seedy backstreet place just off Dale Street. I guess she was still a black starting as a hatchet girl. And they were half and hour late coming in. They then sort of tuned up for three quarters of an hour. And the place was sort of getting a bit restless by then. But when they went into this, they left everybody else up standing. It was pure magic. Afterwards, I went up to see them in the upper tier room. And I went up to see George and say, "Great show." And he came across. He got up from there and he came across and we were having a natter. And then along comes John Lennon. I'd never met John Lennon in my life and he comes across and says, "Hey, how are you, man? How are you doing?" Sort of, "Great to see you again." And he started to push George out of the way. He wasn't taking it that... I wouldn't say he's subservient. Not at all. He sort of said... He just looked at him and he said, "Don't be so bloody stupid, John." He said, "You don't know him. Now piss off." [chuckles] And we can always rephrase that if you like, but he basically was not gonna be put aside by him at all. I found that he stood up for them very well. People get this idea that, you know, he was in the shadow, but I don't think... He wasn't in the slightest. He just was a quiet guy, and when he had something to say, he said it very forcibly. [Calder] My first impression of George was that he was very shy. But when I saw John's outbreak towards this journalist who told him that beat groups, guitar led beat groups ...groups would never happen... I realized that he may well have been intimidated by both Paul, Mr. Smooth, with all the rapport, you know, all the repartee all day, and John, who, once he lost, or appeared to lose his temper, was absolutely brilliant with his oratory. [narrator] Harrison attended the Liverpool Institute, where he met Paul McCartney. His school years had a significant impact on the rest of his life. [Othen] George's attitude, I think, was very much colored by the type of school, institute he went to. A guy called Ian Taylor was in that same form with us at Dovedale, scholarship form, who remembers very well George being really chuffed to have passed the scholarship and to be going to the institute. I mean, it was known as the best school in Liverpool, there's no doubt about it. When he got there, however, what he found was a public school of the certain way it was run. Very, very mixed social strata in the school. People who attended there... But they also had one thing in common. They're all bright. The masters wore gowns, the prefects wore gowns. You wore a uniform. If you didn't sort of wear a uniform, you didn't wear your school cap, and you were caught, it was bend over the sort of platform. Each of the masters used to be up in a raised platform in the classrooms, either sitting at the desk or working at the blackboards. But they were raised about three feet above everybody. The handiest thing me and Frank built when they used to welly George and other people. He actually was a very caring teacher, but he used to say, "Obey the rules, or you're gonna get wellied." And he'd say, "Out here, bend over." And he'd bend over the platform and he'd say, "Bend to the border." And so, people used to face the border as they bent over and Frank would give you a wellie with his slipper. And that, as I said, was the story before where George had been slippered so many times by Frank, he actually presented him with one of his plimsolls when he left the school. [interviewer] How does it feel like to be 21? Uh, the same. I don't really fancy 21. I much rather liked 20, you know, sort of nice round figure and all that. Happy birthday to you, though. Twenty-three. Today. [interviewer] Thank you very much. [indistinct clamoring] Four foot high cake and 52 bags of stuff to be looked through. So I can't say at the moment. I'd like to say thanks a lot anyway, you know, thousands of people have sent me things. Thank you, everybody. Very nice. [narrator] In 1965, The Beatles' success was gaining so much traction, that they all received MBEs, which came as a surprise to the general public, but was something to celebrate for their millions of fans worldwide. Many of which stormed Buckingham Palace to show their support. Well, gentlemen, first of all, many congratulations on your MBEs. The whole country seems very delighted indeed. But how do you feel about it, Paul? Delighted indeed. You know, I'm glad everyone's delighted. I love it. But I mean, is it fun for you? Yeah, of course. I mean, it would be fun for you, wouldn't it? You know, he just woke up one morning and he said, "Mmbh-eh!" [chuckles] You know, it's great. [interviewer] Ringo, how did you first hear about it? Well, we heard about it six weeks ago, when we got the forms to fill in. And then, we knew that we were gonna get it two days ago officially. [interviewer] How did these forms come? Straight through the post, or in the fan mail, or what? I don't... Just in brown envelopes. They were delivered by somebody, by hand, I think one of Brian's secretaries-- I'll tell you. I'll tell you. They were sent from the Prime Minister at Downing Street to our manager's office. And they were delivered from there to Twickenham, where we were filming. -And then-- -Filming... About a day later we just found them and we thought we were being called for the Army. And then we opened them and we found out we weren't. I just said that line. I know, but this is ITV. That was the other one. [interviewer] Why is the MBE awarded? Um, I don't know. In fact, I didn't know nothing about it. It's just that we've got it, and... it's nice to have. But it doesn't make you more respectable or anything. I don't think of it. Maybe other people think it does. It doesn't make me any more respectable. I'm still a scruff. [all laughing] [interviewer] Well, I was wondering about that. Ringo, how do you feel about going to the Palace in a morning suit and all that? I don't mind, you know. It's all right. When I buy one. [interviewer] You haven't got one? No, not yet. I've got an evening suit. That will do. [interviewer] I don't think it will. You have to wear a morning suit. Well, I'll just go in my pajamas then. [narrator] Even from a young age, Harrison was shy and private. He rarely shared his love life with the public. However, in 1966, he married model Pattie Boyd. [Calder] I got involved with a dress designer called Ossie Clark, who in the '60s was... We worked with him as our hero and what have you. And he went through the drug period, like so many of the musicians. And I tried to help him get back on his feet. And one day, in came Pattie Boyd, who was George's wife. I mean, we all fell in love with Pattie Boyd. She was just incredible. Ossie fortunately was gay, and Pattie knew that. And Ossie did this incredible routine. He just ran his hands right over her body, right the way down, said, "Do you like this fabric?" And he just sat down, cut the cloth, stitched it all up, put it back on, and made this absolutely perfect cut on the bias dress for her. It made her look even better. I gotta tell you, she looked fantastic. We all love Pattie Boyd. She was in and out of our lives very early on. And when she married George, it was "the fairytale glamour wedding." It was a glam wedding compared with Paul... compared with John's wedding. It was the glam London wedding of that year. [interviewer] Pattie, do you think you can ever live the life of a normal housewife now? Yes, of course. Why not? [interviewer] Are you going to stay out of the limelight? Uh, yes. [interviewer] Out of your own choice? Yes. And what about a family? How many children do you want to have? Um, about three. -Thirty-nine... -[interviewer] Give up at eight. Can I have the story of your romance? Pattie, how did it all start? Um, we met on the sets of A Hard Day's Night, when George and the others were filming it. And I was chosen to play the part of a schoolgirl by Dick Lester and Walter Shenson. Good old Dick Lester and Walter Shenson. I had nothing until them. And take it off from there. What happened then? Um... Well, actually, I asked Pattie out when we were making the film, and she said no. Which was very embarrassing at the time. [clears throat] But it all worked out right in the end. And... Yeah. In fact, I asked Pattie to marry me while we were making A Hard Day's Night. So, see... It turned out right. Oh, I thought he was joking. I thought, "Oh, poor boy." You know. "He doesn't really mean it." He hasn't said it. And it's taken you this long to convince her? No, not really. I just sort of wanted to stake my claim on her. ["In Spite Of All The Danger" playing] [Calder] We all love Pattie Boyd. She was fantastic. It is no wonder that Eric Clapton wrote that incredible song for her. When Eric wrote that lovely song Wonderful Tonight, dedicated to her, you just knew that there was gonna be no animosity between George and Eric. And I think it was at a period when George and Pattie had drifted apart. So whilst everybody wants to make up stories about George was angry... He wasn't angry. He understood, because he was already on the path. He knew that he'd moved on spiritually from that relationship. And in a way it was just... It was beautiful. And that's all you can say. [narrator] Many people believe Harrison's first album All Things Must Pass, to be the best solo album by any Beatle. ♪ Watch out now Take care ♪ ♪ Beware of falling swingers ♪ But in his time with the band, his songs were often overlooked. And he regularly found that McCartney and Lennon's music was getting more respect from their producer. However, his influence was unquestionable. He almost always got two songs on each of The Beatles' albums. Bob Geldof said something very eloquent. He says, "When we listen to a Beatles song, you can whistle, hum, or tap your feet to the George Harrison guitar solo, forgetting the rest of the song." And by God, he's right. Harrison was a brilliant guy to come in for, "We need eight bars here," or whatever, "for this solo, George. And it needs to reflect the melody of the song, yet move the rhythm forward. What do you got?" That's where George Harrison collected his mail. The question of George's contribution to The Beatles, what would they have been with him or without him, probably really is a two part question. Initially, he was really the third member of the band. Once they hit that roller coaster ride of success, and he started to play some of those great solos, he was then accepted, I think, musically by Paul and by John as being a very, very integral part of the group. [Martin] With talents like John and Paul, who are probably the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, as far as we're concerned, it's tough opposition. And they collaborated and kind of also rivaled each other in their writing. George didn't have anybody. George had to do it by himself. [Griffin] It was both hard for George Harrison and beneficial to be in the flight path of Lennon and McCartney. I say this because he wasn't a songwriter early on. So he's the fly on the wall. So he gets to learn at the hand of the masters, Lennon and McCartney, right? [Martin] He worked away at it. He had tremendous determination and application. He would... He would craft his music meticulously with every little stitch in the canvas, and gradually built up his songwriting technique to a point where he became a great writer. He wasn't to begin with, but then he started writing great songs. And I've said, "Something" I think is one of the greatest love songs ever written. It's a wonderful song. ♪ Something in the way She moves ♪ I saw Frank Sinatra sing in '79. The band started a little string section of smooth woodwinds and Sinatra walked to the front of the crowd. "I'd like to send this song out to Mr. Lennon and Mr. McCartney, in tribute." And he sings "Something." Which of course, is George Harrison's song. And of course, people in the audience are giggling. "Something" is... one of the most popular songs of all time. It's up there, not far behind McCartney's "Yesterday." It's the most covered song of all time. It's way up... It's in the top ten. And everybody and his brother have done a take of it. [Calder] It really was John and Paul's band, and it was that magic chemistry. What George did after a couple of years of the roller coaster, he added something with his guitar solos that neither John or Paul could... Well, they didn't think about it. He just added. I think George realized what he was up against with both John and Paul, and also me to a certain extent. Because I must confess that I would obviously concentrate on the guys who were giving me the hits. And... in the beginning, George's work was kind of tolerated. "Oh, yes. We must have a George song in this thing." It's kind of saying, "Well, it's not gonna be as good as the others, but we'll let him have it on." Which was terribly unfair. I know that. And I do regret that. But you can't blame me, because I had to deal with two marvelous people as well as him. You've got to admit that McCartney and John Lennon were... brilliant songwriters. McCartney also, you know, once he started playing the bass guitar became one of the best bass guitarists we had in this country. Really learned his trade. They seemed to be the upfront characters. But I think George Harrison kept them together. He also did... With The Beatles, he also did wonderful things. Like, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Just the metaphor right there, forget the song. The metaphor of the guitar, the great instrument of the blues and jazz. The great gift that Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt showed us how to play electrically. The guitar weeping, it's just such a great metaphor. Harrison... I guess the three best Beatles songs are "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Something," and of course, you know I'm gonna say this, "Here Comes The Sun." ["Here Comes The Sun" playing] ♪ Here comes the sun Doo, doo, doo, doo ♪ ♪ Here comes the sun ♪ [narrator] Harrison's first marriage ended in divorce in 1977. But the following year he married Olivia Arias, with whom he had one son, Dhani. Dhani was named after a small settlement in India, the country where Harrison acquired his spirituality. After several trips to India, Harrison became a very spiritual man, who embraced Hinduism and Indian culture. This brought in the influences The Beatles drew upon and significantly altered Western pop music forever. There were two sides to George in his path. One was spiritual. Especially the Krishna Movement and all the spin-offs. He was obviously very generous with them. On the other hand, if it was to do with music, or even HandMade Films, he would scrutinize the budget, he would argue with Dennis over costs. Obviously when you're making movies, they spiral. Slightly different to the music business. However, he obviously had a different feeling for the money he gave, he gave the people, the Krishna people, that wonderful house out in Hertfordshire. And that was publicised and he didn't like that. How much he gave thereafter I don't know, but I do know he carried on giving, and not just to them, but to other little groups. And he was always giving to groups that didn't come from what we would probably call established religions. He gave it to people that believed in God. Not necessarily believed in the people that were meant to carry the word of God. If I was given the opportunity to pick out four or five words to describe George Harrison, the first one that would come to mind will be "spiritual." "Commitment" will be another one. I suppose in a way if there was one word to say a developing guitarist, um, would be another one. And in his own public persona, he was probably quite shy. George Harrison very early on took up a spiritual path. Unfortunately for George, he was laughed at and derided by certain sections of the public, because they couldn't quite accept that George could be involved with Hare Krishna, the movement, these kids walking up and down High Street banging the tambourine singing "Krishna Hare Krishna." But what George discovered, which most of us discover in the end, that there is only one God. And that all these so called avatars or holy men may or may not have existed. And what these other religions, which are called esoteric religions teach you is that it's more likely than not they didn't exist. So the idea of Moses and Muhammad and Jesus were all based on folk stories to provide the public, or the proletariat, with a fear-like given situation. So they were kept under control by this thing of fear that if you don't do good you'll be in trouble. George found there was an alternative answer to that, and that most of this really wasn't true, and it didn't sit well with him spiritually. Therefore, when something like the Life of Brian came on, which people had said was blasphemy and it was against Jesus, it wasn't a problem to him. Because it wasn't something he really believed in. Because he'd found a different path that he felt very, very comfortable with. And it's something I can really understand, what he found. [movie narrator] Far from the noise and pace of city life, in the cool, clear air of Rishikesh, North India, Matthew News reports from the meditation retreat of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The man who through transcendental meditation is currently bringing peace of mind to the people. Flower loving yogi told reporters that his brand of peace of mind could only be truly appreciated by intelligent men of the world with rewarding activities and high incomes. Among his most valued disciples were The Beatles. Top of the pop pupils. He did his best to keep them away from outsiders, but George had a way for us. Keeping company with himself, it could be popular treatment. John stalked along the shady paths. Ringo enjoyed the peace of togetherness with Mrs. Ringo. It was a very peaceful scene. Paul and Ringo shed the cares of their successful world. Close behind, George and John, complete with blanket for even more peace. That great screen star, Greta Garbo, used to crave solitude. In these days, it's even harder to come by. But The Beatles have found it. [narrator] In some down time between recording and touring, Harrison made a pilgrimage to India with his then wife, Pattie. Here he studied sitar with Ravi Shankar, who became a lifelong friend and musical partner. [Griffin] Ravi Shankar was a classical Indian sitar virtuoso that was moving in Indian musical terms, into a slightly more accessible folk realm. A very, very incredibly disciplined man. But Shankar, I think, liked Harrison on a personal level. Certainly the body language shows that in the footage. And I think he'd have been crafty enough to know that if I get George Harrison on board, it's good for me and my music, and the whole category of Indian classical music, folk music, and pop music that I'm playing right now. And they had a friendship that lasted till death. So there's a deep, deep bond there. And I'd also like to interject the point which others have made, that with Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, I think you're getting the mass public's first taste of what is now world music. Yes, the hipsters knew what Tuvan throat music was, and there were those that knew what Burmese folk music was before then. But the masses... the middle American, middle England and elsewhere, I think the first time they were introduced to what we now call world music is when George Harrison started screwing around with a sitar. I really believe that. I do believe that his spiritual path took him into a whole new domain of songwriting. His commitment to... do and organize... in as much detail as he did for the Bangladesh concerts, wouldn't have come unless he discovered his own spiritual path, or discovered the part of his path he should start on and move forward with it. And obviously affected his songwriting greatly through the rest of his career. [narrator] This was around the time Harrison and Ravi Shankar's relationship really began to flourish. [Shankar] All these what we call mantras, or chants, these are thousands of years old. They have been handed down by person to person, like all our art form, and kept very secretively to the families to recite at different occasions, you know. Whether it could be marriage or birth ceremony, or any special occasion, or for the harvest, or whatever. And these are mostly playing for well-being, peace, and good health, physical as well as mental, as well as spiritual. So I chose this particular mantra, the shlokas, as we call them. And they are all pertaining to this mood of leading to peace. [Harrison] It was just great excuse to be able to surround myself with these great musicians and the great words that are being said in Sanskrit. It was, um, it was... quite a blessing, really. So it is a spiritual experience, but it's all down to the individual, you know, what you can manifest within yourself as to value of anything. Really, the whole of life should be a spiritual experience, because we are spirits who are encased in bodies. People forget and think they're just this body, but we're actually spirits in bodies. I felt like it was my duty almost to bring it to the West and make them understand the greatness of our music. And that's how I started in 1956. Ten years before I met George, and I was already performing all over Europe. But it was more or less like a classical musician, you know, big hall, 2,000 seats, 2,500 seats. But it was something else when George and we got connected in '66. It was like wildfire, you know. And all the younger generation, they rediscovered me. And it was something which I couldn't believe what was happening. Well, it's such a beautiful record. It's something which, you know, I was proud to be able to contribute a little bit towards. And like with anything, in this world there's so much, um... There's so much material. Whether it be books, films, records, whatever. And in order to get it across to the public, that there is something there that we'd like them to hear. You know, it's the only way of doing it is to come out and go on and do some interviews, but... I think it's a worthy thing. You know, it goes beyond the profit motive of the record companies, or us as individuals. It's something which I think has a value and I think a lot of people can benefit by having this kind of music in their lives. It helps as a balance towards a more peaceful daily life. Or his lyrics sent to me. Same thing. -Sometimes I feel like his dad as well. -[laughing] He can be... [interviewer] In what way? Well... Well, you see... With my past, with The Beatles and stuff, we were thrust heavily into the music business. Whereas Ravi was, you know, doing his performances in the classical context, and so... in some respect I've been able to try to help him, or protect him from a vicious... world. You know, in terms of, you know, contracts or different things like that. And in that respect I feel almost like... You know, I have a kind of guardian type of attitude towards him. But most of the time I just feel like friends, and you know, we just feel like kids, really. [Shankar chuckles] It's just our bodies that are old. -Inside we're like... -Mine's older. ...six years old. [Martin] George was a very spiritual person. And I think he was brought up in the first instance as a Catholic. I'm not sure about that. I think he was. But certainly he took to Indian religion, and assimilated it and became a great devotee and a great believer. He really firmly believed that the soul was the most important thing of all. And he often said, you know, "What are we here for? We got to find out. We got to find ourselves." And he believed very firmly in goodness and love, and tried always to give that to other people. This was the ironic thing when he was attacked, because it came as a terrible shock to him. He couldn't imagine anyone being evil enough to want to kill him. But it did happen, and he couldn't understand that. [narrator] On the 30th of December, 1999, Harrison and his wife were attacked at their mansion. A lifelong fan of Harrison's broke in and confronted him with a kitchen knife. 'Causing over 40 stab wounds, puncturing a lung, and causing several head injuries. George Harrison's house has a fence around the periphery. And there is a multiplicity of signs in different languages that basically say "private property." On a December morning in 1999, he found a guy in his house. The guy was non compos mentis. I think we're safe to say. And Mr. Harrison in an ensuing struggle was wounded. Michael Abram believed he was on a mission from God to kill the formed Beatle, George Harrison. And he very nearly succeeded. A court has been hearing how Abram unleashed a frenzied attack on the musician and his wife at their luxury home. Abram, who comes from Merseyside denies attempted murder on the grounds of insanity at the time of the attack. The courtroom in Oxford has been listening to graphic details of the attack from Harrison's wife this afternoon. Our social affairs correspondent Dave Guest was in court as the story unfolded. Dave, the events that night sounded like everyone's worst nightmare. An intruder believing he had a mission to kill. That's right, Gordon. Can you imagine, you wake up in the middle of the night after hearing breaking glass. You go downstairs and there's a man there, screaming, shouting, waving a knife at you. But that's just what happened to Olivia and George Harrison. Only it got worse, because the man then attacked George Harrison, stabbing him several times, and attacked is wife, too. That man was Michael Abram. So, Michael Abram is that man, you say. I mean, what is his defense for this? He is basically pleading insanity. He's pleaded not guilty to attempted murder on the grounds of insanity. Opening the prosecution today, Simon Mayo said that Michael Abram has had a delusional illness, which made him think that he was possessed by George Harrison, and that he was on a mission from God to go and kill George Harrison. A mission which very nearly succeeded. And was George Harrison in court today to give evidence himself? He wasn't. His evidence was given in a written statement, which was read to the court. But it lost nothing in that. In fact, the court was silent, apart from the sound of journalists scribbling to get everything down. George Harrison described how he tried to calm Abram down, by shouting, "Hare Krishna! hare Krishna!" at him. That didn't work. The men grappled. The man stabbed Harrison several times. Harrison said he remembered lying on the floor, feeling the knife going into his chest, feeling his mouth filling with blood, and he thought he was going to die. George Harrison, as you say, wasn't there today in person, but his wife was. What did she tell the court? She was. She gave the account of how she had tried to defend her husband. She had attacked Abram with a poker, and then with a table lamp. But that has simply provoked him to attacking her. [Griffin] And the day was saved by his very amazing wife, Olivia, who took, I think it was a lamp and swung through, as if she was gonna hit a home run like Babe Ruth, yeah? And that put Michael out of commission for a while. And the authorities came and peace was restored. It's tragic anyone should suffer such a mental breakdown, and commit such a brutal act. We can never forget that he was full of hatred and violence when he came into our home. [narrator] Abram's descent into madness was fueled by his drug habit. On the streets of Liverpool he became a familiar sight. Wandering aimlessly in a world of his own, listening to music. He was often to be found outside the HMV shop, singing at the top of his voice. Abram became obsessed with The Beatles. He was convinced Paul McCartney was a witch. And I said to Michael, "They're just words in a song. You know, The Beatles write beautiful words, wonderful music, But they are just songs. Stop reading things into them." But of course, by that time, you know, Michael wouldn't listen. [narrator] But the obsession continued and George Harrison became the focus of Abram's deluded thoughts. He believed Harrison was a sorcerer, taking possession of his soul. He thought he had a God-given mission to destroy the former Beatle. [reporter] Behind the gates of the Harrisons' home tonight, police forensic teams are still gathering evidence at the scene of the attack. The house sits in 30 acres of garden, on a hill overlooking Henley-on-Thames. Police say the intruder broke in through a kitchen window. He was carrying a seven-inch knife, and managed to stab George Harrison and his wife Olivia in a ten-minute rampage around their mansion, before being overpowered by staff. Harrison was taken by ambulance to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. He had a knife wound an inch deep in his chest, which had deflated his lung. And after treatment he was transferred to another hospital in North London, which specializes in chest wounds. Doctors there said he had a narrow escape. The chest is full of main blood vessels and arteries, and the lungs are full of main blood vessels as well. So as I said, it's just by chance that it wasn't more serious. There were two new gardeners that day at Harrison's house. This is the gospel truth. Two new gardeners. They never worked a day for the Harrison family yet. They were hired and they started that morning. So they get to work, and there's the police and their boss on a stretcher being carried to the hospital to see to his wounds that his assailant had put on him. Harrison motions the two guys over to the stretcher. Motions the two guys... "Does he want us?" "Yeah, go over there. He must wanna say hi." So the two guys walk over to George Harrison, who's wounded on a stretcher. They've stopped the bleeding. And he beckons them down. And with a friend of mine watching, these two new gardeners lean forward to a wounded Beatle. How often do you say that phrase? "wounded Beatle." They lean forward to a wounded Beatle and they go, "Yes?" And Harrison goes, "How do you like working here so far?" [reporter] Later, police in Liverpool broke into a flat in the Huyton area of the city, and carried out a detailed search. The flat's occupied by a 33-year-old Michael Abram, who has a history of psychiatric problems, and according to his family, has developed an obsession with The Beatles. Thames Valley Police, who are investigating the attack on Harrison, say they're still unsure about the motive. Who knows? It could be a number of things. It could be obsessive fan. It could be somebody who simply didn't like him. Uh, I don't know. Detectives questioned the man they're holding for a short time this evening and will resume again tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, George Harrison is expected to spend another 48 hours in hospital. But doctors haven't ruled out the possibility that he may yet return home for the millennium celebrations he's been planning. Harry Smith, ITN, Henley-on-Thames. [narrator] As well as being a multi-talented musician, George was also making a name for himself in the film industry. And was keenly aware of the importance of visuals for his music videos. Videos such as "Faster," where he is playing the guitar and singing whilst sitting in the back of a racing car, pushed the boundaries of music videos at that time. ♪ His wife held back Her fears ♪ ♪ The headlines gave acclaim ♪ ♪ He'd realized their dreams ♪ Furthermore, his video for Crackerbox showed his well-known humorous side, as it depicts him in a pram, being pushed along by an older lady, with a broad smile on his face. ["Crackerbox Palace" playing] ♪ I was so young When I was born ♪ ♪ My eyes could not yet see ♪ ♪ And by the time... ♪ Well, it's funny about George Harrison, because his music videos are kind of underrated. And here's a guy that did HandMade Films. And this is not an inexperienced guy when it comes to cinema. Just look at the two Dick Lester films. They're terrific. Terrific stuff. Who's that little old man? What little old man? That particular little old man. Oh, that one? That's my grandfather. Your grandfather? Yeah. That's not your grandfather. And then his experience with HandMade Films. This is a guy that knew cinema. I don't know if he ever picked up a camera in his life. But I like a lot of his videos. "Crackerbox Palace" and Your Song. There's a Lewis Carroll absurdity to them. They could be almost considered over the top in a way. And then in the video, like, "Got My Mind Set on You," where the... Obviously I pray. I can imagine stunt double George jumps out of the chair and starts dancing. ["Got My Mind Set On You" playing] I mean, it's wonderful stuff. I mean, he, like Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, was in on the ground floor with rock and roll, being attached to film and video as a promotional film. And so of course a lot of his videos are moving. Are very, very entertaining. And this is a guy that knew the importance of visuals. As any Beatle would. [narrator] Although he was still writing exquisite solo music, the ghost of The Beatles still loomed over Harrison, who, along with the remaining members, brought copyright cases in court. ["My Sweet Lord" playing] [Calder] I feel for me, personally, "My Sweet Lord" was the all time George Harrison song for me. However, at the time, he had some business involvement with Allen Klein, leftover from The Beatles' days. And while George was being sued for an infringement of copyright, I understand that Allen went out and bought the original copyright of The Chiffons' song "He's So Fine." So Allen really ended up with both controlling and, or administering George's version of "My Sweet Lord" and The Chiffons' "He's So Fine." Former Beatle, George Harrison, has been giving evidence to the High Court in an attempt to prevent the release of an album based on one of the group's early performances. The CD has been produced from a recording made in Hamburg, in 1962. The three surviving Beatles and Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, claim it breaches their copyrights. [reporter] Once a member of the most famous group in the world, George Harrison now leads a secluded life. And his irritation showed as he arrived to defend The Beatles' name and to try to prevent the sale of the bootleg CD. [newsreader] People had different ideas of what had happened, or what might have happened 30 years ago. [reporter] The former Beatle gave a fascinating insight into life in Hamburg in those early days. He described it as a lot of teenagers getting drunk and playing rock and roll. And a lot of crazy Germans jumping around. "It was a wild thing," he said. He went on, "One of the problems with The Beatles is the phrase "well documented." Self proclaimed experts," he said, "try to tell what they knew and ended up telling more than they knew." The case is expected to last until the end of the week. [narrator] In 1997, Harrison was diagnosed with throat cancer and treated with radio therapy. However, after several years of battling cancer, it eventually spread to his brain. And on the 12th of November, 2001, Harrison died at a friend's house in California. Aged 58. I remember I was driving up the A1, and there was a sign on one of those sandwich boards outside a news agent's that said, "Beatle George died." The cancer had gotten him. He was a lifelong smoker. When you get cancer in one place, it doesn't stay there. And as it starts to mobilize in force and move throughout the body to different organs and different parts of the body, at some point there's a tipping point and it's a losing battle. And I believe Mr. Harrison had a... It was in the brain by that point. But it doesn't much matter. He was gone too soon to a disease that we will one day conquer. ♪ You're looking through My eyes like a window ♪ ♪ Wherever it takes me I will know ♪ ♪ In spite of all the danger I will go ♪ ♪ You know just what I found when I see there ♪ ♪ As long as you're with me I don't care ♪ ♪ 'Cause in spite of All the danger I'll be there ♪ ♪ You're the only one That keeps me satisfied ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ It's hard for me, because I really loved The Beatles. I have almost all of their CDs. I listen to them all the time. ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Sometimes you never call When I'm lonely ♪ ♪ And then you pretend You don't know me ♪ ♪ But In spite of all The dangers you show me ♪ I was born in '57, so I grew up with The Beatles. Um... I feel just as sad as when John Lennon died. We knew it was gonna happen any time. But tears went ahead this morning. He was one of four lads that shook the world. And it's a sad loss. ♪ Wherever it takes me I will know ♪ ♪ In spite of all the danger I will go ♪ ♪ In spite of all the danger I will go ♪ Well, I never had the privilege of meeting George Harrison. But the generation of... certainly myself, we grew up with The Beatles. You know, their music and the personalities of the band were the background to our lives. I think people will be very sad of his death. I think it's worth pointing out that he wasn't just a great musician and artist, but he did an immense amount of charity as well. So he will be very, very sadly missed by people right around the world. I've been in awful shock today, because, I mean, we've known it had been coming for a long while, but it still doesn't prepare you for the day when it actually happens. George was a wonderful man and... fine musician. But most importantly, I think he was a very loving person. Full of humor, and... I don't think he really wanted to be a famous person. I think he wanted to do his own stuff by himself. And fortunately he had, in Olivia and Dhani, he had a wonderful family. And my thoughts are with them right now, because they've looked after him. Olivia saved his life when he was attacked. There's no doubt about that. And since he contracted cancer, she's... she's borne wonderfully through the... Borne him up and given him courage through his time. And so has Dhani. Dhani's been a wonderful son. So they're great people. And my heart goes out to them. It's great when I look back and think about a guy like George Harrison. Because someone like myself... Look at this stupid haircut. I'm 61-years-old. Come on. I think if I spend too much time with rock and roll, and with things like The Beatles in my life, and when I look back, now that I'm almost 62, and I listen to Beatle lyrics, and think about what they said and stood for, it wasn't a waste of time. There's something great about being involved and inspired with the art of somebody like... Not just John Lennon and George Harrison, but all four of The Beatles. And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. And that's not even their best lyric. But it's one of their most true. And Harrison stands out as strong as anybody in The Beatles with pop music, as a guy that for all his personal flaws, which we all have, is someone to be respected and admired. He could have retired to that fabulous mansion in England and just had a hedonistic, pointless lifestyle. But he continued to delve in the arts with HandMade Films and his solo albums. And none of those films and none of those songs say, "It's useless, give up. Life is bad. Just party." They're all a positive, life affirming message that has the weight of the ages with it. We pray for his soul and to Lord Krishna that he gives all the blessings for the departed soul. And also pray to give strength to his aggrieved family. His wife and his son, and other family members and friends. In his honor and for his spiritual upliftment, we're praying to Lord Shri Krishna, so that Krishna can give him his transcendental loving, devotional service. George Harrison leaving this planet is a great loss to the music world, but also for devotees. And especially for me, because I was very inspired by his music. And he was also responsible for me to come to spiritual life through his wonderful spiritual music. Especially the album that he made, which is The Radha Krsna Temple, which has very beautiful compositions of devotional songs. I'm very sad. Devastated. We've known he's been ill for a long time. And just very sad to hear that he's passed on. I've spoken to Olivia, and... she's been very strong. She's, uh... I'd like to ask people maybe to be very kind to her and Dhani at this time, George's son. He was a lovely man. I love him dearly. I grew up with him, and I'd like to remember all the great times we had together in Liverpool and with The Beatles. And ever since, really. I'm very sad for him and his family, and for all of us. A fantastic guy. Lovely man. Great sense of humor. I was lucky enough to see him couple of weeks ago, and he was still laughing and joking. Very brave man. And I'm just privileged to have known him. And I love him like he's my brother. It's a very sad day for me and for a lot of other people. But I think he would've wanted us, you know, to get on and be loving and remember him as the great man he was. It's sad. It's a sad day. But I hope people remember his tunes, along with his membership of the greatest band that's ever been. And they have to classed as that, and they were. But he was a fine, fine talent on his own. You know, damn good musician. Nice fellow. And I send my sympathy to his wife and family. He's died too young. George, I think his music will live on forever. And his personality. He's a very strong, loving man. But he didn't suffer fools gladly, as anyone who knew him will know. And he's a great man. I think he'll be remembered as a great man in his own right. If George... was still alive today, he would probably want to have one more great peak musically. Either another band, or some record that he would make that would be different to everything else he's done before. Or even making a movie that causes everyone to stand up and think, "Wow! George Harrison made that?" Unfortunately for George, his path was not what everybody expected it to be. And this is to do with his spiritual path where he was trying to learn what he was here to learn spiritually. So it showed that his spiritual being wasn't meant to be here for long. Because no matter what he did to himself physically, and what help he got, his spirit was ready to leave. I think the legacy of George Harrison rests upon not just being a Beatle... That's enough for a lot of people. It's enough for all of us. I think you've got someone that's beyond special. I can't really think of anybody else in The Beatles or out that done quite all of those things. He was a remarkable man in many ways. And we saw that in the concert for George. The marvelous Royal Albert Hall concert that his peer group gave him, where McCartney, Ringo, Tom Petty, various Heartbreakers, Jeff Lynne... So on and so forth. All came together in tribute to the great man. I mean, I thought that was really something that you're gone and your friends throw you this marvelous party. I was very moved by the film. And what I got from it wasn't just the marvelous music by all these people. But it was that George Harrison had some crackin' friendships. ♪ [narrator] Harrison was one of the most famous men in the world, but hated the limelight. He preached minimalism, but lived in a 120-room mansion and owned a million pound car. His songs focused on the glory of God, and also every day life. He was known not only as being a part of the most successful band ever, an unrivaled guitarist, one of the best songwriters of all time, but a man with a brilliant sense of humor, who was kind, spiritual, thoughtful, and loving. His death was a tragedy for the world. But his life was a gift to us all.

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Channel: 1091 ON DEMAND

Views: 378,876

Rating: 4.888484 out of 5

Keywords: beatles, the beatles, george harrison, music, all you need is love, all things pass, biography, freemovie, fullmovie, Movies, On Demand, fullfilm, movie, stream, documentary, streaming, 1091, 1091pictures

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Length: 55min 34sec (3334 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 11 2020