George Harrison Said He ‘Tricked’ Jeff Lynne Into Working on ‘Cloud Nine’ With Him
George Harrison wanted to work with Jeff Lynne on his 1987 album, Cloud Nine, more than any other producer in the music industry. However, the former Beatle didn’t want to scare the former ELO frontman away by asking for his help. After they met, George eased, or in the “Something” singer’s words, “tricked” Lynne into working with him.
George Harrison knew it was ironic that he wanted to work with Jeff Lynne on ‘Cloud Nine’
In the early 1980s, George had become disenchanted with the music business. They were too serious for him, and he was sick of doing everything himself. So, he took a five-year break from releasing new material. However, in 1987, George wanted to record again.
Lynne’s name came to mind when George thought of who could help him, even though George had called the producer a Beatles copycat. During a 1987 interview with Entertainment Weekly, George said he knew wanting Lynne was ironic. However, George wanted to work with Lynne because he understood his and The Beatles’ sounds.
“That’s one of the reasons why I tried to get Jeff Lynne, because he knew about… Okay, most people knew about the Beatles, but he really knew about ’em,” George explained. “And I was looking to work with somebody who would know my past and not disregard that, but who I would also respect, as a writer and producer. But it is a bit ironic, I know.
“I think in those days I was a bit sensitive to all that kind of stuff, having just got nailed in court for the other song [‘My Sweet Lord‘ and its similarities to ‘He’s So Fine’].”
George told Anthony DeCurtis (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters), “I had to have somebody who I respected and who I felt had a legitimate input and, likewise, somebody who was aware of my past and wasn’t just going to crowd me out, or turn me into some sort of thing that I wasn’t.”
If George got along with Lynne, he wanted to ask him to co-produce Cloud Nine, but he didn’t know the producer. Eventually, a mutual friend, Dave Edmunds, set up a meeting.
George ‘tricked’ Lynne into helping him on ‘Cloud Nine’
The former Beatle met Lynne for dinner. He told Guitar Player that they were a bit shy with each other initially, but George got Lynne’s number, and they started hanging out.
George invited Lynne to visit and asked him to come to Australia with him. Before they started working together, he wanted to get to know Lynne and see if they’d be good songwriting partners.
“When you’ve written on your own for so long, it’s difficult to just suddenly sit down with somebody,” George explained to Entertainment Tonight in 1987. “I think you need to really know the person, and it’s all the stuff that doesn’t really count in the song that is important.”
During a 1987 interview with Charles Bermant (per George Harrison on George Harrison), George explained that he got to know Lynne over 18 months and “suggested that I’m going to make a record and just sounded him out. And he said he’d help, but he never committed himself,” George said.
He told DeCurtis there was no discussion about working together; they just started doing it. George said, “We started the album, and we never really talked about ‘OK, will you be the producer or the coproducer?’ He’d said, ‘Sure, I’ll help out, I don’t mind helping you out,’ and it was just on that basis.”
In multiple interviews, George said he “tricked” Lynne into helping. He told Guitar Player, “Eventually, I sort of tricked him into producing the thing [chuckles].” He told MuchMusic he “hunted” Lynne down and “tricked” him into producing Cloud Nine. Lynne could’ve been too shy to ask if George needed his help.
However they came to work on Cloud Nine, it all came together seamlessly.
The former Beatle said Lynne’s input gave him a ‘lift’
George said he and Lynne were a perfect fit. It was challenging and fun working together. Lynne also made the former Beatle feel like he was back in a band. They had similar views on popular music, were always on the same page about Cloud Nine‘s direction, and made the album as authentic as possible.
Most importantly, Lynne’s input gave George a “lift” in more ways than one. George said Lynne put a lot into the record in a “selfless way” and challenged him in his songwriting and singing.
He told Ray Martin in 1988 (per George Harrison on George Harrison), “As to the performing and singing, being in better voice, I’ll tell ya, Jeff Lynne, who coproduced the album with me, has got such a good voice that it made me really want to try hard, you know, to do some decent vocals, and I think they’re sort of quite good. Not bad, anyway. I think it’s the reason of Jeff being there, you know, during the production that helped me try harder.”
George told Musician Magazine that Lynne got him to do something he never did in the songwriting process.
Working on “When We Was Fab,” George explained, “This was an odd experience for me; I’ve normally finished all of the songs I’ve done–with the exception of maybe a few words here and there-before I ever recorded them. But Jeff doesn’t do that at all. He’s making them up as he goes along.
“That to me is a bit like, ‘Ohh nooo, that’s too mystical. I wanna know where we’re heading.’ But in another way it’s good because you don’t have to finalize your idea ’till the last minute.”
Lynne was everything that George needed him to be and more. The producer was enough like George but different at the same time. He showed George things the former Beatle didn’t even know he wanted and shook up George’s process. Lynne breathed some life into the album.
“It still sounds like my record,” George told Guitar Player. “His contribution was done tastefully, and not trying to overpower it. I really appreciate that, and quite honestly it wouldn’t be the same album without Jeff.”
George undeniably found his creative match in Lynne, who took on the job better than John Lennon or Paul McCartney.
