How George Harrison Surprised Eric Idle the First Time They Met
George Harrison surprised his friend and comedian, Eric Idle, the first time they met. The former Beatle brought his soon-to-be friend to the recording studio, where another singer-songwriter was recording.
The two celebrities met at a screening of ‘Holy Grail’
In his memoir, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography, Idle wrote that he met George at a Monty Python and the Holy Grail screening.
Idle wrote, “I had heard that George wanted to meet me, but I was somewhat shy of meeting him. I was shy and tried to avoid him, but he snuck up on me in the back of the theater as the credits began to roll. I hadn’t yet learned he was unstoppable.
“We began a conversation that would last about twenty-four hours. Who could resist his opening line? ‘We can’t talk here. Let’s go and have a reefer in the projection booth.’ No telling what the startled projectionist felt as a Beatle came in with one of the actors from the movie he had just projected and lit up a joint.”
Idle couldn’t get rid of George after that.
How George surprised Idle the first time they met
Meeting a Beatle is never a normal situation. Anything could happen. Even the biggest celebrities get starstruck, and the experience can be very shocking. George managed to surprise Idle that first night they met.
After smoking a joint at the screening of Holy Grail, the pair went to dinner with Terry Gilliam and George’s wife, Olivia Harrison. Then, George insisted Idle come with him to A&M Studios, “where we talked and talked and talked for the rest of the night.”
Idle told Yahoo! George surprised him when they got to the recording studio. “And he said, ‘Do you want to meet Joni?’ I said, ‘What? Absolutely, I want to meet Joni!’ So, I met Joni Mitchell that night. And then we went back to the hotel and we talked all night.”
In Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Idle said they engaged in a 48-hour dialogue where they talked about their similar roles. “What was it like to be a Python? What was it like to be a Beatle? A thousand questions,” Idle continued.
Idle told Rolling Stone, “It occurred to me later that we both played similar roles inside our groups with big power blocks. Once I was moaning a little bit on Brian, saying, ‘It was hard to get onscreen with Michael Palin and John Cleese.’ He said, ‘Well, imagine what its like trying to get studio time with Lennon and McCartney.’
“I said, ‘All right. Absolutely. Got it. OK. Check. I’ll shut up now.’ Then it occurred to me that yes, in fact, we were slightly the outsiders, playing similar roles in our groups.”
How George changed Idle’s life forever
George changed Idle’s life in more ways than one. Idle told Yahoo! that their talks had a massive impact on him. “I’d never had a friend like that,” Idle said.
Idle wrote in his memoir, “Funny and serious and wise, he changed my life. We played together, partied together, argued together. He was irresistible. It was definitely love at first sight.”
Although they had different views of spirituality, George taught Idle to live in the here and now and to find humor in every situation. The comedian said the ex-Beatle was his guru. In an interview with The Off Camera Show, Idle explained, “He was a remarkable influence on me.”
Idle also called George “one of the few morally good people that rock ‘n’ roll has produced.” George personally funded Monty Python’s Life of Brian after Idle told him their producer backed out. Idle was also one of George’s many friends who visited him as he died in 2001. They had a beautiful long-time friendship.
