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This is one of most beautiful things I've ever heard

On June 3, 1979, George Harrison took part in the Gunnar Nilsson memorial race. The proceeds from George’s single “Faster” also went to the Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Fund. “I knew him [Gunnar] for about 18 months before he died. I met him at a lot of races and spoke to him. I met him at some other things apart from races and spoke to him quite a lot on the phone. He was a very sweet person, you know. It was very sad indeed, but at least he did something. I mean, it was fantastic what he did, despite all the misery — it was wonderful what he did, that’s why I’m here.” - interview at the race (June 1979) “It’s Jackie Stewart in the Tyrrell he won his ‘73 championship in; James Hunt in the McLaren. Phil Hill in his famous Ferrari. I’m walking to my car while chatting with driver John Watson about the pleasure of the run we’re about to take, and he says, ‘You’re joking. There’s no racing driver that goes in formation! As soon as they drop that flag, they’ll all be gone like crazy!’ Sure enough, as soon as the checkered flag fell, the other cars went whoosh as mine puttered along in a haze of smoke! By the time I got to my first lap they were already coming behind me for their second lap, screaming away! Scared me stiff! [wild laugh] But at least I did better than James Hunt, who broke down on the first pass.” - George Harrison, Goldmine (1992) “His driving was not great! We did the Gunnar Nilsson tribute with Fangio at Donington in 1979 and I’ve got a picture that he drew of us with two speech bubbles. He was driving Stirling’s Rob Walker Lotus 18 and is ahead of me going down the Craner Curves. My bubble is saying, ‘Jesus, I got him to drive and now he won't let me past!’ He’s saying, ‘well, I’ve got Jackie Stewart behind me — and he can’t pass!’” - Jackie Stewart, Motor Sport Magazine (December 2011)

“We’d take a break [during Dark Horse recording sessions in 1974] to go for fish and chips, and there were two ways you could go. One was through this very winding road through the woods from Friar Park to the little fish place. And that’s the way we went. The first time, he took me in a Ferrari. Well, he really liked racing. I’m telling you, man, when we came back from getting our fish and chips, he drove through those winding roads as if he was on a racetrack. I mean really, really going for it. It was serious, and I’m holding on, thinking, ‘Wow, man, I sure hope we stay on the road because if we miss, we’re history.’ Well, we made it home in the Ferrari. The next time we went for fish and chips, he took a Porsche and he took the same route. The Porsche seemed to handle the road better, so he started speeding up. I just thought, ‘He’s such a fan of racing, I guess there’s this little racecar driver inside him.’ But then he really started going, and when we got into Friar Park we were really flying so fast that the car got away from him. There were these high hedges that lined the driveway to the garage, and we’re running through the hedges — and I just sat there acting as normal as I could, but I was praying, O Lord, please don’t let them read about us in the newspaper. Just get us back to the house. After he came out of the hedges, he shrugged and gave me a little laugh as though it never happened. I’m looking at George, and he just looks away like, Don’t say nothing. Well, we went into the house and neither of us ever said a word.” - Willie Weeks, Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison (2006) A note about this fan photo: “We congratulated him on the arrival of Dhani (pronounced ‘Danny’ I’ll never forget how he said it) and said how excited we all were when we heard the news. He gave a big grin and said, ‘Thanks, we think it’s pretty exciting.’ […] ‘Well, uh, we don’t want to keep you from what you’re doing…’ I started, to which George said, ‘It’s okay, really.’ I stepped away from the car and said, ‘No, we won’t keep you.  Say hello for Olivia for me.’ He put the car in gear as he replied, ‘Yeah, I will. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you later.’ He started to drive through the gates, slowed and shouted back, ‘Enjoy your holiday!’ and waved again as he left.   As I watched the car disappear, I couldn’t believe that George had thanked US for stopping by when we had imposed on him in the first place!” - Sue Link, Harrison Alliance (January 1979)

“Just remember, he [George] has enormous intellectual curiosity; he wants to know everything. […] George may be the youngest Beatle and all that, but he is beyond his years in his values, and in his pursuit of the truth, and I might add quite candidly, his ability to [be] direct and sometimes painfully honest.” Derek Taylor; interview conducted by Larry Kane, quoted in When They Were Boys (2013) (x)

Klein

Kinfauns also became something of a refuge for other musicians: “In the mid-Sixties [Brian Jones] used to come out to my house — particularly when he’d got ‘the fear,’ when he’d mixed too many weird things together. I’d hear his voice shouting to me from out in the garden: 'George, George…’ I’d let him in — he was a good mate.” - George Harrison, The Beatles Anthology “Another session found [David] Redfern at George Harrison’s house in Esher, photographing Donovan to tie in with the release of his single Mellow Yellow [1967]. ‘I think Donovan was going off the rails, and George had taken him in to try and help straighten him out. They were friends. So I took these photos of Donovan in a white suit against a white wall in George’s house. And then after they’d been processed, his people decided that they wanted them to be yellow to tie in with the single, so I had to go back to the lab and dye them…’” - The Beatles: Classic, Rare & Unseen The poolside mosaic at Kinfauns — featuring artwork by John Lennon — may have been moved to Friar Park: “[Derek Mann] recalls seeing Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Friar Park, 'They always seemed to get on extremely well,’ he said. […] ‘John Lennon built a mosaic of what looked like an alien in the garden which was surrounded by roses named after Paul McCartney. George had a pet Yorkshire terrier called Winston, John Lennon’s middle name.’” - Henley Standard (December 2001) Soon, Kinfauns turned colorful: “During autumn George asked Simon and me to paint a mural around the fireplace in the living room at the ‘Kinfauns’ bungalow in Esher. The mural portrayed George and Pattie as ‘Music Boy’ and ‘Flower Girl,’ as they lovingly called each other then, attended by a Yogi surrounded with an Aura of Light as the focal point to express their interest in Hinduism. We stayed at their lovely place about ten days to complete it.  Inspired, George started decorating the exterior of the house, graffiti style with spray cans […]. George was kind and funny but would also be quiet and pensive at times. […] George also turned us on to Paramahansa Yogananda’s book; ‘Autobiography of a Yogi,’ whose large portrait was watching us from the wall while we were painting the mural.” - Marijke Koger, marijkekogerart dot com (August 11, 2021) (You can find a photo of the mural in the book Living In The Material World.) “George grabbed a paintbrush as well, and [we all] set to work on George’s fireplace.” - Klaus Voormann, translated from Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? (2003)

P: We had all that craziness, but if someone took one of your wedding photos and put ‘funeral’ on it, as he did on that manuscript, you’d tend to feel a bit sorry for the guy. I’ll tell you what, if I’d ever done that to him, he would’ve just hit the roof. But I just sat through it all like mild-mannered Clark Kent. Q: When did you actually get a perspective on it? P: I still haven’t. It’s still inside me. John was lucky. He got all his hurt out. I’m a different sort of a personality. There’s still a lot inside me that’s trying to work it out. – 1986

(A note: The article excerpted below misspells her nickname as Bobbie.) “Roberta — known to her friends as Bobbie — was the original Beatles Fan Club Secretary. It was she who ran the first Fan Club ever formed for The Beatles, and she was a great friend of theirs during their early Cavern days. […] ‘This girl Maureen started a Beatles fan club [before The Beatles were signed by Brian Epstein] for a few weeks, but she couldn’t really manage it. Then I started to run it. We didn’t have enough money really for all the necessary tings, like stamps and stationary, but we managed somehow. Then Brian Epstein signed The Beatles up, and in April [1962] he got in touch with me and asked if I’d keep the fan club on. Another girl, called Ann Brown, was helping me with it a bit, and Brian Epstein said he’d help.’ […] As the boys’ fame grew, the Fan Club became too much for Bobbie to manage. A friend of hers, Freda Kelly, started helloing, and then eventually Bobbie handed it over to her.  […] ‘They’re all lovely. They’ve each got individual characters. John’s humor is very intelligent. Half the time you couldn’t understand his jokes. He’s very comical, but he’s a serious person really. I think he’s very shy and to cover up his shyness he his this was of being funny. ‘Ringo’s very nice. He has a way of making you feel at ease.He’s very funny, as well. He’s a real nut. ‘George is shy. I don’t think he likes to push himself really, while the other boys don’t mind doing it. If you see what I mean. ‘Paul’s very kind. He’d act daft sometimes as well.  […] Ringo used to call me Robot.’ […] The Beatles gratitude to Bobbie is symbolized in a huge 24” by 18” autographed photograph of the Beatles which hangs on her bedroom wall. […] ‘It was my 19th birthday and I went to see The Beatles play at the Majestic Ballroom, in Birkenhead. I was looking up at the stage, watching them playing, when all of a sudden they started to play “Happy Birthday” and calling for me to come up onto the stage. I started hiding behind a big crowd of people, but George spotted me and made me come up onto the stage. They presented me with the LP “West Side Story” and the framed picture.’ [The main inscription reads] ‘All our love to Bobbie — for all you’ve done.’” - article by Cheryl Hillman, Hit Parader (March 1966) “George was quiet, shy, and totally honest — a truthful, good person.” - Roberta “Bobby” Brown, The Beatles — All These Years: Tune In Extended Special Edition

They remained friends and allies against Paul/The Eastmans but that's different than George following John around.

The Beatles by Bob Spitz.

“Apart from girls, and listening to records with girls, I put driving as my big hobby. I thoroughly enjoy a long drive, but though I rate myself good behind the wheel, I’m not so sure the police agree.” - George Harrison, The Beatles Monthly (August 1963) “Girls at the British Motor Corporation’s M.G. works at Abington, Berkshire, heard that George Harrison of the Beatles was having a two-seater built. So they planted lipstick kisses on the bodywork and hid love letters in door pockets, glove compartments, in the boot and under the bonnet, says the ’Sunday Mirror.’ But George will never get the secret notes. He changed his mind about the car, a black 110 m.p.h. M.G.B., in favor of an E-type Jaguar. A B.M.C. spokesman said the car had since been disposed of through an agent.” - The Sydney Morning Herald (March 9, 1964) “Beatle George Harrison’s new E-type Jaguar was in collision yesterday with a green Ford Anglia in New Kings Road, Fulham. The wing of George’s car was dented and people dashed to pick up pieces of broken glass for souvenirs.” - Liverpool Echo (July 13, 1964) “George, watching the raid on the car—499HLX—was mobbed by teenagers and had to ask police to help him get away.  […] George said of the accident: ‘When the other fellow suddenly turned right, I put my foot on the brake, but the road was wet and though I was going slowly the car skidded a bit and we collided.” - article by an unnamed reporter, Daily Herald (July 13, 1964) “In the other car was a family of four. The husband told me, ‘It’s nice to meet you.’” - George Harrison, Daily Record (July 13, 1964) Q: “George, what ever became of the car wreck that you had in London?” George: “Oh, it wasn’t a wreck. I only just tapped into some fella and knocked the headlamp in. But you see, the further away you are the worse the damage appears. I mean, over here the car was a write-off, but actually it wasn’t. And it was fixed within three days… The other fella’s insurance company paid ‘cos it was his fault. [pause] I’m a good driver.” - The Beatles’ Kansas City press conference (September 17, 1964)

And yeah, Paul definitely started developing the aw-shucks persona as a kid. Though I'm a little skeptical of Astrid saying he was too nice -- even by Paul's own recollection, he really wasn't that nice. My instinct is he was good at being winning and likeable -- something a lot of adult children of addicts or kids from abusive homes learn to do, especially if they were more the golden child -- and came across like someone who NEEDS you to like them. But Astrid doesn't want to straight up call him smarmy or fulsome because she does like him, so she calls him "too nice."

G-George with his hair tied back... fuck...

Picture collage from Beatlesresearchsociety ig

“We did stay friends for a long time. He tried to help me get an acting job when I first went down to the Smoke and he would always come and see me even after they became famous. It was my fault we lost touch because I started to feel a bit alienated by all the famous faces he’d introduce me to when I went to see him. In the end, I felt it must be a bit of a drag for him to have to tout me around.” - Arthur Kelly, Liverpool Echo, October 9, 1982 (x)

Derek Taylor for Al Aronowitz in August 1964, published in The Saturday Evening Post

“Konrad Engbers [founder of a garden center] recalls how George visited the centre just after he started. ‘He came in to see me and asked how things were. I told him it was a little slow and he said “I’ll give it a little push for you.” He then bought almost every tree I had in stock and first thing the next day a motorcycle courier turned up with payment. ‘Ever since then he was one of my most loyal and regular customers.’ […] ‘He would wait in the queue, take his turn and never expected any preferential treatment.’ […] ‘He was such a kind man with no airs and graces — a man with a truly big heart.’” - Henley Standard (December 2001) “[Derek Mann, former head gardener at Friar Park] said that George was a kind and gentle man, who was genuine and totally unpretentious. ‘I first met George and his wife Olivia when I was working as a gardener at a hotel in the Virgin Islands,’ said Derek. ‘I took them on a guided tour of the grounds and we spoke at length about gardening. He said that if I was to come back to the UK to get in touch and he would give me a job. ‘When I returned he was as good as his word and I started at Friar Park in 1991. ‘We would regularly walk around the grounds together so he could tell me what he wanted done. Sometimes he would have a ukulele with him and play a few chords while we wandered around. ‘There were a couple of spots in the garden where George would sit, watch the sun go down and meditate. There I planted night scented stock plants, which gave off a very strong perfume. He thanked me and said it reminded him of his mother who used to plant the same flowers in their council house home.’ Derek, who was forced to retire due to ill-health in 1994, recalls seeing Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Friar Park, ‘They always seemed to get on extremely well,’ he said. ‘The tennis star John McEnroe paid a visit once. He played a few sets with George, Olivia and their son Dhani on their own court in the gardens.” - ibid