The youngest member of the Fab Four went on to say he “never” wanted to be a Beatle again – but that didn’t mean he completely hated his time in The Beatles
George Harrison often said ‘Beatles George’ wasn’t his true self(Image: Roger Viollet via Getty Images)
Music legend George Harrison once confessed that he merely “acted out the part” of “Beatle George,” suggesting it was a persona that didn’t reflect his true self.
As the youngest member of the Fab Four, Harrison was swiftly labeled the “Quiet Beatle” after the band skyrocketed to international fame in the early ’60s.
Post-Beatles, though, Harrison frequently discussed the various pressures, uncertainties, and both physiological and psychological burdens of Beatle life. His salvation, his sense of grounding, was found through spirituality and the catharsis of creating new music, much of which he stashed away for future use.
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In a candid conversation with David Wigg for a BBC Radio-One program in October 1969, Harrison expressed readiness to leave The Beatles behind. He had sampled this exit about 10 months earlier when he walked out on the stress-riddled Let It Be sessions, only to rejoin, albeit fatigued, some days later.
George Harrison often disassociated himself from The Beatles(Image: (Image: Getty))
During the discussion, Harrison articulated a detachment from the Beatle identity, viewing it as merely a role to portray. He stated: “All I’m doing, I’m acting out the part of Beatle George and, you know, we’re all acting out our own parts. The world is a stage and the people are the players. Shakespeare said that. And he’s right.”
Probing further, Wigg inquired: “Do you expect another part, later?” To which Harrison answered affirmatively, “Oh, many parts. Yes.”
Seeking clarity, Wigg then asked: “Is that why you’ve come to terms with it?” Harrison answered: “Yes, because you just do whatever you can do. I mean, even if it’s being a Beatle for the rest of my life, it’s still only a temporary thing. And, I mean really, all we did was get born and live so many years and this is what happened.
“I got born seemingly to become Beatle George. But it doesn’t really matter who you are or what you are, because that’s only a temporary sort of tag for a limited sort of period of years.”
In conversation with Wigg, Harrison was asked if he still enjoyed what he does. He compared it to any other job, stating: “It’s the same as any job, you know. It’s up and down, you know. Life is up and down all the time. And maybe for us it goes up higher but it comes down lower. Relativity.
“So, you know, if we have a bad time, it’s really bad. (laughs) And if we have a good time, maybe it’s really good. But it’s only the same, you know. It’s relativity. So the same law operates for everybody.”
Yet, the identity of “Beatle George” wasn’t his authentic self. As per Rolling Stone, Harrison once insisted: “The Beatles exist apart from myself. I am not really Beatle George. Beatle George is like a suit or shirt that I once wore on occasion, and until the end of my life people may see that shirt and mistake it for me.”
He described himself modestly by saying, “I play a little guitar, write a few tunes, make a few movies, but none of that’s really me. The real me is something else.”
George Harrison said it was sometimes hard being in The Beatles(Image: (Image: Getty))
The true essence of who he was remains a mystery, as he was frequently seen as an enigmatic person prone to self-contradiction.
Rolling Stone magazine reflected on the enigmatic nature of Harrison, noting: “Harrison was many things – including a master of understatement,” and “But he was right to point out that his true character remains elusive. He was one of the most famous men in the world, but he loathed superstardom.
“He preached piety and simple pleasures, yet he lived in a 120-room mansion and collected ultra high-end cars. His studious facade belayed a brilliant sense of humor, which led him to produce some of the greatest comedies of all time. The songs he wrote focused on both the glory of God and the petty annoyances of day-to-day life.”
In an intimate 1979 conversation with Rolling Stone, Harrison expressed a definitive stance on his Beatles past, saying he “never” wanted to revisit being a Beatle.
“Not in this life or any other life,” he declared. Yet, he acknowledged that his tenure as “Beatle George” wasn’t devoid of joy and happiness.
“I mean, a lot of the time it was fantastic, but when it really got into the mania it was a question of either stop or end up dead,” he recounted.
“We almost got killed in a number of situations – planes catching on fire, people trying to shoot the plane down and riots everywhere we went. It was aging me.
“But we had a great time. I think fondly of it all, especially as we’ve been through all the aftermath of Apple. Everybody’s sued each other to their hearts’ content, and now we’re all good friends.”
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