George Harrison Was ‘Absolutely Livid’ When John Lennon Canceled a Meeting Because of an Astrologer
When The Beatles broke up in 1970, George Harrison was not on great terms with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Several years later, the former bandmates maintained friendlier relationships. Things took a turn for the worse when they decided on the terms of The Beatles’ separation. Lennon canceled an important meeting on the advice of an astrologer, which infuriated Harrison.
The Beatles broke up in 1970
By the mid-1960s, Harrison had grown weary of fame. The crush of screaming fans everywhere The Beatles went became frightening to him. They’d also dealt with political unrest, natural disasters, and band infighting while on tour. They stopped touring after a show in 1966, and Harrison said this came as a relief.
“There was a certain amount of relief after that Candlestick Park concert,” he told Rolling Stone in 1987. “Before one of the last numbers, we actually set up this camera — I think it had a fisheye, a very wide-angle lens. We set it up on the amplifier, and Ringo came off the drums, and we stood with our backs to the audience and posed for a photograph, because we knew that was the last show.”
While they continued making music for several more years, Harrison said that the end of the band felt inevitable.
“There was a sense of relief after that, getting home,” he said. “Then we spent what seemed like fifty years going in and out of each other’s houses, writing tunes and going into the studio for Sgt. Pepper and the White Album. But for me, I think for all of us, it was just too much. The novelty had worn off. Everybody was growing up. Everybody was getting married and leaving home, in effect. I think it was inevitable, really.”
George Harrison was furious with John Lennon for canceling a meeting
Though the band announced their split in 1970, they hadn’t hammered out the terms of their separation by 1974. When they finally agreed on the terms of a separation document that would end their partnership, they decided to meet in New York to sign. McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison were all in the city, so they sent documents to England for Ringo Starr.
Per the book George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door by Graeme Thomson, Lennon backed out at the last minute. His girlfriend, May Pang, called to say that he wouldn’t be attending the meeting on the advice of his astrologer. The astrologer had warned that the date was “ill-starred.”
“George was absolutely livid,” David Acomba, who was filming Harrison’s North American tour, said. “I have footage of him on the phone but I didn’t put it in the film.”
George Harrison and John Lennon didn’t always get along
While Harrison and Lennon’s relationship improved in some ways after The Beatles broke up, they didn’t always see eye to eye. They tossed barbed comments at each other in the press. When Harrison published his memoir I Me Mine, Lennon complained that he didn’t get much credit for his former bandmate’s success.
“My glaring omission in the book, my influence on his life is absolutely zilch and nil,” Lennon said. “Not mentioned. He remembers every two-bit sax player or guitarist he met in subsequent years, yet I’m not in the book.”
Harrison said this was indicative of his problems with Lennon and McCartney.
“He misread me,” he said. “He didn’t realize how I was, and this was one of the main faults with John and Paul. They were so busy being John and Paul they failed to realize who else was around at the time.”
