#georgefest

Int: A while back, you were one of the performers at a big tribute concert to George Harrison; you sang “What Is Life.” Obviously that was a bit different from your usual performances: it was fun, but it wasn’t comedy. It seemed like it meant a lot to you.

Weird Al: It was a big deal for me. I’ve always been a big Beatles fan and a huge George Harrison fan, and I’ve become friends with Dhani [Harrison, George’s son], and the fact that I was even invited to be a part of that show was just an unbelievable honor for me.

And I had the best time that night. I think it came across in the performance. It was just such a joy to be onstage with that band behind me and the singers and the horns, and man, that was fun. I think it turned out to be a nice little moment in the show.

I was told — and this still kind of blows my mind — that George Harrison was kind of a fan of mine, which is hard for me to wrap my head around. But I was told he loved my movie UHF, which came out in the late ’80s, and he had a VHS [copy of it]. That’s the only movie that he had in his Hawaii house for some reason. But when I was told that, it was hard to compute.

Int: I get it though; he was a guy who loved Python-esque humor, it’s not a total shock that he would like you.

Weird Al: Yeah, George had a great sense of humor, and he personally funded Life of Brian, and he was tight with the [Monty] Python guys. I’m really sad that I never got to meet the man, because I think we probably would’ve gotten on pretty well.