George Harrison Never Missed His Beatles Bandmates, Said His Wife
With The Beatles, George Harrison achieved previously unseen levels of celebrity that would likely have been impossible for him to have reached as a solo artist. The band brought him massive success, but he wasn’t necessarily sad when they broke up. When looking back on his time with the group, Harrison said he didn’t miss them. Of all The Beatles, he had the most reason to be frustrated.
George Harrison said it was a relief when The Beatles stopped touring
Even by the mid-1960s, Harrison had grown weary of his time with the band. Touring was chaotic and sometimes even dangerous, and he couldn’t step outside without being swarmed by fans. They decided to stop touring in 1966, which he said was 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.”
He admitted that the novelty of fame had quickly worn off. At that point, it was a distraction from his music.
George Harrison said he didn’t miss being in The Beatles
Four years after they stopped touring, The Beatles announced that they had split. Tensions among the band members had been mounting for a long time. By the time they broke up, their relationships were acrimonious. Harrison’s first wife, Pattie Boyd, said that while he didn’t resent his bandmates, he didn’t miss them either. He was much more interested in cultivating his spirituality.
“George doesn’t miss anyone,” she said, per The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies, adding, “He’s very independent and he’s breaking out more and more. He’s found something stronger than the Beatles, though he still wants them to share it. He’s the source, but he wants them to join in.”
In later years, though, Harrison’s feelings toward his former bandmates softened.
“The fab four were good because if one was in a bad mood, the others would cover” he told Davies in the 1980s. “We protected each other. Now, you have to be more on your guard when you’re alone. I miss them at times. We had great love for each other.”’
He had the most reason for being frustrated with the group
Harrison’s relationship with his former bandmates vastly improved in the years after The Beatles split. Still, he had reason to be frustrated with the band, particularly because of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
As Harrison grew increasingly interested in writing, he found obstacles in getting his bandmates to care about his songs. They overlooked his contributions and favored what they were writing over what he was. Because of this, Harrison had a large backlog of songs once he embarked on his solo career.
The Beatles gave Lennon and McCartney an incredible opportunity to showcase their songwriting. While Harrison did have several hits for the band, he could have had more if they had nurtured, rather than rejected, his writing. Long-lasting frustration would have been understandable.
