He Was A Rogue Saint
George Harrison might have been known as the Quiet Beatle, but his guitar spoke volumes. Not only did he blow minds by weaving Indian music and spirituality into the Fab Four’s playful pop, but he also flipped the script on what rock could be. As talented as he was, though, he was also a walking contradiction—a peaceful sage with a legendary temper, a philanthropic philanderer, and a man who strummed his way to enlightenment while tearing through every rock star cliche in the book.
1. He Contradicted Himself From The Beginning
Being the baby of the Beatles and among his three siblings may have given Harrison a mischievous streak—one that even messed with his own birthdate. Officially, Harrison was born at home in Liverpool just after midnight on February 25, 1943…or was he? In the 1980s, he thought it would be funny to release an official-looking hospital record that claimed he was born on the 24th.
Wha? The stunt caused so much confusion that even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame changed their listing to the 24th—at least for a while. Just another reason why pinning down Harrison was never easy.
2. His Mom Gave Him A Head Start
Forget the Baby Mozart effect—Harrison was vibing to sitars long before he was even born. His mother, Louise, had music in her DNA, and she found a unique way to pass it on. While pregnant with George, she tuned into Radio India, filling their home with the hypnotic sounds of the sitar and tabla, hoping it would bring her baby peace.
Despite her best efforts, his life would be anything but peaceful.
3. He Heard Something That Changed Everything
Heartbreak launches many folks into music—literally, in Harrison’s case. In 1956, while riding his bike, he heard Elvis’s “Heartbreak Hotel” blasting from a house and was instantly hooked. Rock and roll, and especially the guitar, became his obsession. Not long after, his mother scraped together what would be a couple hundred bucks today to buy him his first guitar. It set him on a journey that would change the world.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
4. He Had To Prove Himself
Harrison and his guitar were inseparable—and it showed. In 1958, at just 15, he auditioned for the Quarrymen, but there was one problem: John Lennon thought he was too young. Luckily for George, Lennon’s bandmate, Paul McCartney, wasn’t so quick to let him go. McCartney set up a second audition in the strangest place imaginable…and this time, Harrison made sure they couldn’t say no.
5. He Auditioned In The Most British Place Possible
Picture this: You’re on a packed double-decker bus, just trying to get to work when a teenager suddenly whips out a guitar and shreds a rock and roll solo. What teenager? George Harrison. His second audition for the Quarrymen didn’t happen in a studio or a garage—it happened on the top deck of a Liverpool bus.
Harrison’s playing was so flawless that even Lennon had to admit he had been wrong at first.
Alan Murray-Rust., Wikimedia Commons
6. He Started Off Strong
That same year, the group recorded an amateur track featuring an original song with a rare songwriting credit: “McCartney-Harrison”. McCartney wrote the lyrics, and Harrison provided the guitar solo—no big deal, right? Except soon, the Lennon-McCartney credit would become legendary. With his ability clearly proven, a life-changing future came hurtling toward the young teen at warp speed...
7. He Was About To Grow Up…Fast
In 1960, the Beatles (as the Quarrymen were now called) weren’t legends—they were just a scrappy band cutting their teeth in Hamburg’s seedy club scene. Music promoter Allan Williams had the wild idea to send British bands there where rowdy servicemen craved booze, babes, and live rock and roll.
Dressed in black leather and playing marathon sets in dive bars surrounded by strip joints, the Beatles were breaking the rules and playing a dangerous game.
8. He Was In Deep
It’s no wonder one biographer called this era the Beatles’ “apprenticeship in the underworld”—because they were acting like total devils. First, their promoter had snuck them into West Germany without work permits. Then there was George, who was only 17 and too young to even be in the clubs they were playing.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, George had another, much more embarrassing problem brewing…
9. He Had Some, Er, Supportive Friends
Being the baby of the Beatles meant endless teasing—especially about his virginity. When Harrison finally had his big moment, it was anything but romantic. The band’s living quarters were akin to Alcatraz: think bunk beds, a bare lightbulb, and cinderblocks to set the mood.
To make things worse? Lennon, McCartney, and drummer Pete Best were in the room. When Harrison finished, they erupted into cheers and applause. Too bad he was about to attract the wrong type of attention.
Eric Koch for Anefo , Wikimedia Commons
10. He Took The Band Down With Him
Harrison may have, ahem, become a man in Hamburg, but German authorities didn’t see it that way. After months of slipping under the radar, he was suddenly caught and expatriated for being underage—likely thanks to a vengeful club owner. His bandmates didn’t last much longer. In a final act of defiance, they set a rubber on fire at their old club—earning their own one-way ticket home.
Turned out, it was the best thing that could’ve happened. They were all on the brink of something way bigger.
Capitol Records, Wikimedia Commons
11. His Life Took A Turn
Getting booted from Hamburg’s underworld was the best thing that happened to the Beatles. Within a year, they had they had a new manager (Brian Epstein), an updated image, and a debut single, “Love Me Do,” climbing the charts. But when “Please Please Me” dropped in 1963, Beatlemania exploded.
Suddenly, privacy was a thing of the past—not great news for introverted George.
The Most Important Debut Album In History | The Beatles Please Please Me, Parlogram
12. He Grabbed Headlines
The fan mail was flowing, girls were screaming, and the famously vicious British press put down their poison pens to gush over the Beatles. How bad was the mania? Journalists breathlessly wrote entire articles on such hard-hitting topics as Harrison trying his first avocado (cue a knowing nod from Meghan Markle) and his preference for egg sandwiches over caviar.
Unlike Markle, though, the tabloids weren't hunting down and ripping apart the Beatles…at least, not yet.
Cyrus Andrews, Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
13. He Was On The Brink Of A Now-Or-Never Moment
America was in a funk when the Beatles touched down. It was 1964, and the nation was still mourning JFK, and no one knew if Beatlemania would catch on across the pond. But while Beatle fever was about to infect America, Harrison was battling something far less fun. Burning the candle at both ends had left him constantly sick, and this time, it was worse than ever.
The timing? Perfectly disastrous.
United Press International, photographer unknown, Wikimedia Commons
14. He Had An Awful Secret
No matter how stiff your upper lip is, being sick as a dog in a strange country at the very center of a cultural revolution is a crushing burden. With a fever of 104 F, a doctor said, “This is a very sick boy” and ordered Harrison to the hospital immediately. This sent the band’s manager into a total panic.
Just 24 hours before their Ed Sullivan Show debut, Harrison’s condition had to stay hidden from the ever-prying press. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
15. He Was In The Fight Of His Life
Desperate times call for the heavy hitters, which, in this case, was Harrison’s sister, Lou. It took her a while to get past the skeptical security guarding George’s hotel door. His sister? Suuurre, missy. Haven’t heard that one. But with Lou’s presence and a big bag of meds, Harrison somehow made it to the stage. His temperature was still a scorching 104 F, but the show’s 73 million viewers didn’t notice a thing.
Global superstar status: unlocked.
Bernard Gotfryd, Wikimedia Commons
16. He Was Left In The Cold
During the Beatles’ seven-plus years, Harrison wasn’t just famous—he was mega famous. Too bad fame doesn’t cancel out loneliness. While Lennon and McCartney were busy churning out hits, they often sidelined Harrison. As he put it, a certain attitude took over: “We’re the Beatles, we’ve got the grooves, and you two are just watching”.
Yet, when they did throw him a bone, he knocked it out of the park with “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and “Taxman”. Makes you wonder why they didn’t hand him the mic more often.
United Press International, photographer unknown, Wikimedia Commons
17. He Mixed Business With Pleasure
George may have been lonely among the Beatles, but his love life was a different story. In 1964, while filming A Hard Day’s Night, he set his sights on 19-year-old model Pattie Boyd, who was playing a schoolgirl. She sat beside him during lunch and later gushed that he was “the best-looking man she’d ever met”. Harrison, meanwhile, barely said a word, leading her to believe he was painfully shy. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
18. He Had A Heck Of A Pick-Up Line
Classic mysterious Harrison: After barely speaking to Boyd, he suddenly turned and asked, “Will you marry me?” She laughed it off, so he tried again: “Will you have dinner with me tonight?” Boyd declined, telling him she had a boyfriend. Her friends promptly called her insane. Realizing they were right, she dumped the guy. Ten days later, at a film photo shoot, she got her chance to tell Harrison she was single.
The rest is rock and roll history—the two tied the knot in 1966.
Aubrey Hart, Evening Standard, Getty Images
19. He Took A Wild Detour
Love may have given Harrison a spark, but in 1965, something else sent his creativity into overdrive—acid. He and Lennon dove headfirst into psychedelics, forging a deep connection with Eastern spirituality. For Harrison, it was like coming full circle to his Radio India days—except this time, he wasn’t in utero.
Suddenly, his guitar solos got more intricate, and he introduced Indian instruments like the sitar, forever changing the Beatles’ sound. By 1966’s Revolver, Harrison was no longer the “Quiet Beatle”—he had officially arrived as a songwriter.
UNBOXED: The Beatles Revolver [SUPER DELUXE EDITION], Track X Track
20. He Totally Would Have Shopped At Lulu
With their trips to India, vegetarianism, yoga, and jam sessions with sitar legend Ravi Shankar (aka Norah Jones’s dad), Harrison and Boyd were living a lifestyle decades ahead of its time. It wasn’t all zen, though. While the pair were seeking enlightenment, the authorities were looking for something else entirely.
John Malmin, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
21. He Was Targeted
Talk about a rude awakening. In March 1969, a sergeant with a serious axe to grind shattered the couple’s peaceful existence. During a raid of the couple’s home, a sniffer dog (ironically named Yogi—after the bear, not the guru) allegedly found hash hidden in Harrison’s shoe. Just like that, authorities fingerprinted the Beatle and his wife and charged them with possession.
That wasn’t the whole story though—it was going to be a long day for the couple…
George Stroud, Express/Hulton Archive, Getty Images
22. He Had A Great Idea
Most people would lie low after getting busted, but not George and Pattie. That same evening, they strolled into a high-profile party where Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were mingling. George, terrified at the thought of the slammer, saw a chance to get Snowdon to pull some strings with the authorities. But just as he was about to make his move, Pattie froze.
Michael Webb, Keystone, Getty Images
23. He Was Thwarted
You gotta love those celebrity perks—like getting the Royals to help you dodge the big house. But just as George approached Snowdon, Pattie spotted her sister across the room, casually offering the Princess a joint. Pattie bolted over, whispering a frantic warning just in time. Getting busted twice in one day was definitely not on her to-do list.
Crisis averted. At least this time.
24. He Was Veering Off The Rails
Call it irony, luck, or just another one of Harrison’s baffling contradictions—the fuzz could have busted him for much worse than a little hash. His personal assistant, Chris O’Dell, saw it firsthand: One moment, Harrison was all about Hindu virtue, the next he was “wanting to drink, take coke, and party”. His spiritual side had its limits, too—like the time he told a flight attendant to F off for interrupting his meditation.
As his trouble with the Beatles and his personal life heated up, Harrison was about to face a whole new kind of karma.
Keystone Features, Hulton Archive, Getty Images
25. His Beatle Bonds Were Breaking
Like any disaster, the Beatles’ breakup didn’t result from just one thing—it was a slow-motion train wreck. In the late 60s, Harrison started hanging out with Bob Dylan and the Band in Woodstock, and let’s just say it was eye-opening. Unlike the Lennon-McCartney dictatorship he had known, these guys were a brotherhood with a one-for-all, all-for-one ethos.
Suddenly, the seed of resentment Harrison had been nursing for years got a lot more sunlight…
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
26. He Was Finding His Voice
The making of the White Album (aka The Beatles) wasn’t just tense—it was downright brutal. The band was at each other’s throats, fighting for creative control. At one point, Ringo quit for two weeks, leaving the rest of them to stew. Yet, amid the chaos, Harrison was writing more than ever. Maybe it was his time with The Band, maybe it was pure defiance.
Either way, his songs weren’t exactly getting the love they deserved—yet.
William Lovelace, Getty Images
27. He Was About To Hit His Breaking Point
Anyone who’s seen Peter Jackson’s doc Get Back can feel Harrison’s pain—especially when McCartney accused him of vamping. Vamping? George? “It never came to blows,” Harrison later recalled, “but I thought, ‘What’s the point of this? … I’m getting out of here’”. Clearly not cut from the same cloth as the Kardashians, Harrison added that being filmed having a fight made it much more difficult.
After Harrison stormed out, Lennon cruelly said that they should just replace him with Eric Clapton. Ouch.
28. He Finished What He Started
Harrison’s time with The Band and a back pocket full of songs gave him a new swagger. But after five suspenseful days, he returned to the Beatles to finish the album. Just months later, on January 30, 1969, they performed their legendary rooftop concert, followed by the release of Let It Be. And then…it was over. Harrison was only in his late twenties. He had his whole life ahead of him—or so he thought.
29. He Was Living Large
As Harrison entered his post-Beatles era, he was riding high. Free from Lennon-McCartney and armed with a stockpile of solo songs, he was ready for a fresh start. On the personal front, he’d just bought Friar Park—a sprawling Victorian Gothic mansion with 25 bedrooms, a ballroom, and 20 acres of land west of London. It was the perfect place to fill with kids. Oh, but about that…
30. He Was Living The Rock Star Dream
Life at Friar Park was like something out of Saltburn—wild, inebriated chaos behind posh estate walls. Harrison’s wife called it “a madhouse” and admitted, “That whole period was insane”. Fueled by booze and coke, they lived without structure or responsibilities. It was a powder keg—especially when it came to staying faithful.
31. His Home Was A Powder Keg Of Chaos
Friar Park wasn’t just a madhouse, it was part spiritual retreat too. Harrison had invited three Hare Krishna families to live at the estate, adding another layer of chaos. But while Boyd struggled with their laissez-faire parenting (one of their toddlers nearly drowned in the pond—twice), she and Harrison were quietly facing a heartbreaking truth about their own family.
32. He Was Vindicated
Chaos may have reigned at Friar Park, but somehow, Harrison found the time to make music. And not just any music—All Things Must Pass, his epic triple album, dropped just months after the Beatles’ breakup. Grieving fans were drawn in by its sheer brilliance—and by the Easter eggs (Harrison posing with four garden gnomes on the cover. Hmm…).
Critics lost their minds. Melody Maker exalted, “Harrison is free,” while The Washington Post called him “the [real] genius behind the Beatles”. The result? The most successful album ever released by an ex-Beatle.
All Things Must Pass - The ORIGINAL UK Box Set - Trash or Treasure?, Parlogram
33. His Dream Fell Apart
While Harrison was enjoying a career high, he and Boyd faced a heartbreaking truth—there would be no pitter-patter of little feet echoing through Friar Park. Boyd later admitted that realizing she couldn’t have children was “a very hard pill to swallow”. To make matters worse, Harrison flat-out refused to adopt. It was just another crack in their already crumbling marriage.
Evening Standard, Getty Images
34. His Wife Couldn’t Compete
As the old saying goes, “Show me a beautiful woman, and I’ll show you a man who’s tired of sleeping with her”. Being married to a rock star wasn’t all glitz and glamor—just ask Boyd. Despite her model looks and Harrison’s so-called spiritual devotion, temptation was everywhere. And Harrison? He wasn’t exactly fighting it.
35. He Wanted To Live Like A God
During an India trip, Harrison became obsessed with the god Krishna, who was always surrounded by concubines. Inspired, Harrison told Boyd he wanted to follow Krishna’s example. A devastated Boyd confessed that having all the other women in his life “really hurt”. Whenever she confronted him, Harrison gaslit her, brushing it off as paranoia.
Unfortunately for Boyd, she wasn’t imagining things—and an affair was about to push their marriage over the edge…
Cummings Archives, Getty Images
36. He Shattered The Bro Code
Coke is a heck of a drug—and according to Boyd, Harrison was in deep. She said that it “froze his emotions and hardened his heart,” which is the only way to explain the affair that destroyed their marriage. At first, Boyd found some photos of Harrison and the other woman together. Then the woman would show up at the house to “listen to George playing in the studio”.
Boyd wasn’t stupid—and she had finally reached her breaking point.
37. He Took Betrayal To A New Level
As if cheating wasn’t bad enough, Harrison’s mistress wasn’t just some rando. She was Maureen Starkey—Ringo’s wife. When Boyd finally snapped, she stormed upstairs to the locked bedroom where they were. As Boyd pounded on the door, screaming, she heard something that made her blood run cold: Harrison laughing.
When he finally opened the door, his excuse was jaw-dropping. “Oh, she’s just a bit tired, so she’s lying down”. Wait, what? Oh, but it gets so much worse.
38. He Turned Up The Gaslight
Harrison didn’t just gaslight Boyd—he blasted her with it. When she confronted him about the affair, he flat-out denied everything, forcing Boyd to take matters into her own hands. And oh, did she. She went straight to Ringo and spilled everything. His reaction? Pure, unfiltered rage. But Harrison wasn’t done humiliating his so-called friend just yet.
Shepard Sherbell, Getty Images
39. He Dropped A Big One At The Dinner Table
The very next evening, at a dinner party no less, Harrison turned the tension up to 100. He loudly told Ringo that he was in love with Maureen. The room went silent—cutlery clattering as jaws hit the floor. John Lennon would later compare Harrison’s actions to a taboo relationship between family members.
At a New Year’s Eve party to ring in 1974, Harrison asked for a divorce. What happens next makes you wonder if karma might just be real.
Cummings Archives, Getty Images
40. He Couldn’t Win ’Em All
Hit records aren’t a given, but Harrison was on fire—until he wasn’t. Enter the disastrous Dark Horse Tour of 1974, a train wreck that left fans baffled. He packed the setlist with Ravi Shankar’s Indian music, butchered Beatles’ classics by changing the lyrics (Why, George, why?), and to make matters worse, he croaked his way through a brutal case of laryngitis. The result? A new, painfully accurate nickname: Dark Hoarse.
Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of Harrison’s health battles.
41. His Fate Was Written In The Stars
Fate? Destiny? A little help from the cosmos? Whatever it was, Harrison’s next great love seemed written in the stars. While still married to Boyd, an astrologer warned him that a dark-haired woman would soon change his life. Enter Olivia Arias, a 26-year-old American working at his record label. Deep into meditation and a follower of Boy Guru Maharaj-Ji, she was exactly Harrison’s type.
They married in 1978, just a month after she had given birth to his only child, Dhani. But Olivia wouldn’t just bring Harrison love—she’d end up saving his life in ways no one saw coming.
42. He Bet It All
Harrison was serious about spirituality—but no one expected it to lead him to Hollywood. As the 70s came to a close, he took a wild detour and launched his own film company, HandMade Films. His first mission? Saving a Monty Python movie after the controversial religious comedy had lost its funding. Harrison didn’t just write a check, though—he bet the house to make it happen. And the stakes? Higher than anyone could have imagined.
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL - OFFICIAL TRAILER - 1975, Movie Trailers
43. He Was Crazy Like A Fox
Harrison had a wicked sense of humor, and he didn’t just like Monty Python—he risked everything for them. When their “blasphemous” Life of Brian lost funding, he mortgaged his beloved Friar Park to bankroll the whole thing. Python member John Cleese called it an “act of generosity and utter, glorious madness”.
But the gamble paid off. Life of Brian didn’t just survive the controversy—it became a box-office smash and one of the greatest comedies of all time. Perhaps all the success eventually went to his head, considering his response to one harrowing event...
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Trailer #1 by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
44. He Was Cringe
Harrison was famously tactless (Remember the dinner party?), but after John Lennon’s brutal slaying, his reaction was downright cold. While the world reeled, Harrison shared that his wife woke him with the news—so he rolled over and went back to sleep. “And when I woke up, it was still true”. Ouch.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lennon’s words would soon haunt Harrison from beyond the grave.
45. He Had Bad Blood
The loss of Lennon wasn’t just a tragedy—it was the nail in the coffin for any hope of a Beatles reunion. And even though he was gone, the wounds still lingered. In one of his final interviews, Lennon dismissed his old bandmate as a bitter “young follower” who “bears resentment for me being the daddy who left home”. Yikes.
Zen warrior that he was, Harrison didn’t lash out—he wrote a tribute. “All Those Years Ago” honored Lennon, but one lyric stood out: “I always looked up to you”. Sweet farewell or a subtle clapback? Just like George to keep us guessing, even to the very end.
Eric Koch / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons
46. He Struck Gold—Er, Triple Platinum
Only Harrison could turn a bunch of rock legends into a band of goofy, pseudonym-using “Wilburys”. In 1988, he joined forces with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne to form The Traveling Wilburys. Built on creative equality (though Petty later admitted Harrison was the real leader), the band thrived on camaraderie and laid-back humor.
But behind the laughter, Harrison had no idea of the darkness that lay ahead.
The Traveling Wilburys - End Of The Line (Official 4K Music Video), The Traveling Wilburys
47. He Faced A Tough Battle
You don’t need eagle eyes to notice that Harrison often puffed on cancer sticks in a lot of documentary footage—and for that, he paid the price. In 1997, while gardening at Friar Park, he discovered a lump. Doctors removed it and gave him the all-clear. Crisis averted, right?
He might have thought so—until one night, when his worst nightmare came crashing through his front door.
48. He Was In The Fight Of His Life
Harrison and his wife were spending a quiet night at Friar Park on December 30, 1999—until terror came storming in. A deranged intruder broke into their home on a twisted mission. Armed with a kitchen blade and an unhinged obsession, he launched a frenzied attack, plunging the blade into George over 40 times! As the blood filled his mouth from a punctured lung, Harrison had one harrowing thought: This is how it ends.
Aaron Rapoport, Corbis, Getty Images
49. He Faced A Bloodbath
Like a scene out of a Tarantino flick, his young wife burst into the chaos and went full action hero. Grabbing a fireplace poker, she unleashed her fury on the 34-year-old attacker, taking him down and saving Harrison’s life. In true Harrison style, he refused to dwell on the horror. When asked about the terrifying ordeal, he quipped, “He certainly wasn’t auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys”.
Dove/Daily Express, Getty Images
50. He Caught A Cosmic Wave
Harrison may have joked about the attack, but the brutal ordeal left its mark. Those closest to him believed the event triggered the return of his cancer—and this time, it spread to his lungs and brain. Not even the world’s best doctors could save him.
Harrison’s spiritual practice had prepared him for this moment. On November 29, 2001, surrounded by his loved ones, he let go. And when he did, something extraordinary happened. According to Olivia, “There was a profound experience that happened when he left his body,” she later said. “It was visible. Let’s just say you wouldn’t need to light the room if you were trying to film it. You know, he just lit the room.”
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
