Do you know how many pets George had?
I donāt know how many pets he ever had exactly, but I think he had quite a few - however, finding info about them seems very difficult! (Hence why itās taken me so long to answer you!)Ā
George liked cats. I think you could definitely say he was a cat person. He had at least one dog as well, and he may have had other animals at other times - Friar Park was enormous, it almost seems a waste if he didnāt have a few animals running around.Ā
Hereās Georgeās pets that I do know at least a little about:Ā
Korky (often spelled Corky, but Pattie spells it with a K and he was her catā¦) was Georgeās white Persian cat. I believe he could be Georgeās first pet, as Iāve never heard of him having any as a child (although his family did keep chickens at 12 Arnold Grove apparently - where, goodness knows, because it was tiny!) He got Korky c. 1964, not very long after moving into Kinfauns. He had one blue eye and one green eye, which I think you can just about tell from the photo above from c. October 1965. Although I donāt have any evidence of it, Iāve often wondered if Korky was partially or totally deaf, as its quite common in all-white cats with mixed colour eyes (we had a kitty like that who was).Ā
āIāll never forget coming home one day and finding the boxes [of Georgeās fan mail] all over the floor, the letters scattered far and wide. It looked as thought we had been burgled. As I put it back I noticed that one envelope had been opened. It was addressed to Korky, our adorable white Persian cat - named after the character in the Dandy comic - and contained a ball of catnip, the herbs cats go mad about. Clever thing, heād found and opened his own fan mail.āĀ
[Pattie, Wonderful Tonight]
Pattie also says Korky used to spend more time at the girlās school next door to Kinfauns than at home. George had Korky for a few years, but not very long. I think, poor Korky (brace yourselves) was hit by a car (I donāt know that for 100% sure, but Korky does seem to disappear mid - late 60s).Ā
Iāve also heard an unsubstantiated story that when Pattie moved to live with George at Kinfauns she had Dalmatian dogs who didnāt get on with Georgeās cat(s). I donāt know if that is true though.Ā
RUPERT & JOSTICK THE SIAMESE TWINS
While living at Kinfauns George also had 2 Siamese cats called Jostick and Rupert. Hereās a photo of George took with his fisheye lens camera of Brian Jones and either Jostick or Rupert (Iām not sure which is which!) And another one:Ā
ā¦or maybe heās the same oneā¦
You might assume that George got the Siamese cats as a pair, but according to this storyĀ from Mike DāAbo of Manfred Mann he bought one Siamese kitten from him as a gift for Pattieās birthday in c. 1968. (Iām not convinced that heād get one kitten and then another later, but its possible. I think perhaps he got two together from Mike DāAbo).Ā
āHe came over and climbed up the four flights of stairs to my flat in Knightsbridge and there he was, George Harrison was standing at my door wanting to buy a kitten. I invited him in and showed him all of the kittens and he chose the one that had climbed right to the top of the curtains saying, āThat one looks like an individual; I think Iāll have him.āā
[Mike DāAbo,Ā Nottingham Post, 2nd MarchĀ 2017]
(I donāt know why Georgeās cats never want to sit with him!)Ā
Georgeās gives Rupert and Jostick a credit on his second solo album, Electronic Sound, writing:Ā āRecorded at Esher in Merrie England; with the assistance of Rupert and Jostick The Siamese Twins ā February 1969ā³ about the trackĀ Under the Mersey Wall. Jostick made the cover of Electonic Sound too (honest).
āāThatās me making the tea (Small Blue Face Smiling) and thatās the cat, Jostick,ā he said pointing to the small green demon like figure on the front cover.ā
[Dhani, quoting Georgeās explanation of the cover painting in the liner notes for Electronic Sound, part ofĀ āThe Apple Yearsā box set]
George still had his Siamese cats when he moved to Friar Park, with Jostick (I believe) being photographed there with George (andĀ Ronnie & Krissie Wood and Kumar Shankar), photographed by Pattie in 1973.
I wonder when Pattie and George split up, who kept the Siamese cats - or did they take one each?Ā
This is all I have for Billy, who looks to me like he might be a Bengal cat (though he could be a tabby!) This is a photo fromĀ Living in the Material World, taken at Friar Park (looks to be the same spot as the photo above) in 1974. George is photographed with Ravi Shankar,Ā Music Festival from India musicians and Billy the Cat. This is the only info I have on Billy.
THIRTY THREE & 1/3 KITTY:Ā Ā
I looked all over the internet and couldnāt find an example anywhere of this picture, so this is snapped on my phone from the inside of the gatefoldĀ Thirty Three & 1/3 album cover, so sorry for the bad quality. This unnamed kitty is included with the photos of the musicians who played on Georgeās album, Thirty Three & 1/3, from 1976. I assume this is one of Georgeās cats. I think this could be the same cat too:Ā
George and Dhani with Winston the Yorkshire Terrier. This photo is from Living in The Material World and was taken in 1997. In case youāre wondering about the name, Derek Mann, one of the gardeners employed at Friar Park remembered, āGeorge had a pet Yorkshire terrior called Winston, John Lennonās middle name,ā (article in the Henley Standard in 2001) so that would suggest, yes, named after Johnā¦Ā
This is all I have on Georgeās pets, but Iām sure he probably had a whole lot more. Amazingly, there doesnāt appear to be a book available on the Beatles pets - thereās an opportunity for someone!
EDIT: I found a better photo of Dhani with (what is possibly) Winston the Yorkie on Pinterest!