#ken sharp

What were the qualities about George that made you realize he was the one for you?

I think it was his absolute charm and endearment. [He was very endearing. He was very easy to be with. He was very soft and lovely.] He seemed to really love my family and got on very well with all my brothers and sisters. He was just eternally sweet to everybody.  When we first started going out together he was very quiet. As time went on he gained more confidence. And then there were times it was difficult to stop him from talking.

Did you get a chance to visit many Beatle recording sessions?

No, because really and truly we weren’t really allowed to. We weren’t encouraged to go to the studio. I remember once going through the studio to meet George Martin; I think they might have been doing recording with Mary Hopkin. But I never saw a Beatles recording session. When Yoko came on the scene, she was allowed to but otherwise none of the wives were. It was far better that there were no distractions from us. I mean, girls can be distracting, let’s face it. They wanted to totally focus on their work.

Bring us back to the first time you saw The Beatles in concert.

I saw them for the first time when they played at the Hammersmith Odeon London in 1964. George and I had met and it seemed this show must have happened a few months after that. I was given a few seats right near the front. The audience was screaming all of the time. To me, that was odd, because I didn’t realize that was what happened during their shows. The noise was huge, but the Beatles’ performance was really great.

Was it a different George onstage than off?

Absolutely. He was himself in his professional role of being a musician. Whereas I just knew him as my boyfriend, someone who was great to hang out with, loved my family and really enjoyed to hang out with my friends. So this was very clearly another role that I didn’t really recognize him in. 

[Did he feel more comfortable off stage?]

[Yes], I always felt he was never very comfortable onstage. I think it made him nervous. He was much more comfortable being in the company of friends and family and people that he loved.

Through the years, George expressed how he grew tired of Beatlemania fairly early on in the band’s career.

After he and I met, we would have such a great time together. I don’t want to be boastful about it but I think he really preferred hanging out with me and actually enjoying life. Touring got in the way and he didn’t really enjoy it. He didn’t really see the point of touring because just as soon as they walked toward the stage the people would start screaming so loudly. When they started playing the screaming got even louder to the point where nobody possibly could have heard anything. He saw it all as a bit of a waste of time.

But when you watch The Beatles film showing them performing at Shea Stadium, it does seem like they’re having a blast.

Yeah. With Shea Stadium, of course, that was one of their big conquests in America. I remember George saying he couldn’t believe how enormous it was and how many people were there. He was overawed by that [and did enjoy playing that show]. 

You write in your book that The Beatles were “fearful” of their fans.

Obviously they couldn’t exist without their fans but their fans followed them everywhere they went. Before we had a gate put up outside of our house in Esher, fans would come to the house all the time. On a couple of occasions some of my things were stolen. Depending on his mood, more often than not if fans came to the door he would shoo them away. But if he was in a good mood and they were nice people he would be charming, sign autographs and have a few words with them. But it was an intrusion. He’d rather be getting on with his life than dealing with that.

Unlike many groups of today, there was a real bond of friendship and camaraderie among the Beatles.

[The Beatles were very close and tight and would hang out together.] They all grew up in the same area of Liverpool. Automatically when you grow up with somebody from the same sort of background and experiences, you have a bond. At a very young age they were sent to Germany to work in Hamburg for [very], very long hours, little sleep and little money. They took loads of pills to keep them up all night. That unites people. [It’s very bonding.] Their language to each other was so fast, almost encoded. It was almost a secret language. They were very tight, [very tight].

In the book you state that “The Beatles lived an unreal life and never had to grow up”.

Everything was always taken care of for them. I think they realized they had to start growing up when Brian Epstein died. He was a father figure for them. He enjoyed looking after them and taking care of all their needs. He would anticipate what they would like, when they’d like to go on holidays. Brian taught them the niceties of life, introduced them to fine wines, to London and Theatre.

When he died there was a period where they felt lost but then I think after that they gained their feet and realized they had to take control of their lives. The boys had to disappear and put on long trousers.

After Beatles played their last show in San Francisco, George said that now he was no longer a Beatle. Did he express his relief that their touring days were over?

Yes, he was very happy he didn’t have to go on tour anymore. He really didn’t like it. He was happy that they’d now be able to solely concentrate on working in the studio, which he preferred. That’s where he was happiest.

Did he ever express his frustration about getting his songs recorded?

Yes, George was in a difficult position. In any three-way partnership there’s always going to be one person who feels left out. Ringo didn’t really come into the equation; he was mainly a drummer, not a songwriter. John and Paul wrote most of the songs and I know George felt frustrated that he wasn’t contributing as much as he felt he could and should.

With the magnificent love song Something, he proved himself on par with John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

I don’t think George knew it was a great song, but it was clearly a very beautiful song he’d written and he was very happy that it was going to be a single. He was thrilled.

Knowing it was written about you, how did that make you feel?

Oh, I thought it was the sweetest thing he could have done. I loved it. It’s a wonderful song.

There’s a funny story in your book about your cleaner, Margaret.

Margaret was so funny. She was almost like an older sister/mother figure for George and I. She was a bit radical as well. Whenever John came over she would ask him, “Oh John, can you give me one of those lovely pills?” They were uppers. I always knew when she got one from John (laughs) because she’d suddenly start vacuuming like mad and dusting everywhere. (laughs)

Bring us back to the dinner party where the dentist John Riley secretly dosed you, George, John and Cynthia with LSD.

At about nine or 10 o’clock at night we were dosed. We were furious! I thought I’d be like this for the rest of my life (laughing) and maybe I am. That trip lasted about eight hours. It was terribly surreal. People started looking like animals and they would grow 10 times their height. It was like being in a movie where things come in and out at you.

How did acid change George?

I think it affected him in a positive way. He enjoyed the mind expansion part of it, but then he grew out of it and didn’t want to do it anymore.

You were the one who pointed the way toward transcendental meditation.

I think they were on tour somewhere and a friend of mine, Marie-Lise, saw a little ad about learning how to meditate. We went to London and took these lessons in transcendental mediation. We had our mantra and now we were off meditating. When George came back I told him about it. Shortly after that I think it was Paul who suggested we all go see a lecture in London being done by the Maharishi. I was thrilled because it was his form of meditation that I’d been studying.

The Maharishi couldn’t figure out why suddenly after he’d been coming to England for years doing his lectures that all the press were there. He couldn’t think what had happened because he’d never heard of The Beatles. He quickly realized that The Beatles were important people. So he invited us all to go to Wales where he could teach us privately about meditation.

Ironically, it was in Wales where the Beatles heard that their manager, Brian Epstein had died.

Strangely enough, isn’t life so amazing that Brian would die at a time that they would all learn spirituality from the Maharishi? It was like they were replacing a father figure with a spiritual father figure in a way. That’s how I saw it. It was the saddest day. All of them were just ashen with shock with the news of Brian dying. The Maharishi helped them cope with it. At least we all had the comfort of him to help us deal with our grief.

What are your memories of the trip to India to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi?

It was very nice to be a part of that enclosed life. There were probably about 80 people living there. George was very serious about meditation, as was John. But Paul and Ringo not so much. Ringo had a bad time there, especially with Maureen because she couldn’t stand flies. But for us, every day was glorious. There was nothing nicer than being in a very nice and calm environment.

John, Paul and George would play the guitar and write songs. It was absolutely the most lovely atmosphere. We’d meditate for hours on end. The food was delicious. It was lovely to go down to the Ganges when it started getting warmer. It was just a very nice time.

When George returned from India, there was a change in his personality.

Yes, he became more serious. After he returned from India the reality for George and the rest of The Beatles was that they now had to be businessmen and handle everything to do with The Beatles’ slowly growing empire. With Apple, they had to find business partners and then they were all arguing over who should handle them. From being musicians they had to wear the hat of being businessmen as well, and intrinsically that’s not in their nature. They’re artists. They’re creators.

George didn’t like to have to make these business decisions and play that kind of role. So then he started staying in the office or in the studio quite a lot and recording various artists like Billy Preston, Doris Troy and Jackie Lomax. After a few years, George and I grew apart. He wanted to hang onto his spirituality. He started chanting a lot. I think he was desperately trying to reach a nice calm space in his head. On top of everything else The Beatles all started arguing with each other on creative levels as well.

During the recording of Let It Be, George left the Beatles. What did he share with you about his disenchantment?

He came home and told me how he’d left the band. He was in a really bad mood. He said the vibes were so ghastly and that The Beatles were going to split up. I think in a way it was a slow breakup. They all saw it as divorcing each other. Gradually they all let go of being in the band. It was too difficult to sustain.

[Discuss the duality of George. ] On one hand, George was a seeker of enlightenment and spirituality, but on the other he was having affairs on the side.

[George was a human being.] He was human, terribly good looking and very famous. He had his ups and down. Temptations were thrown at him continually. If you’re gonna decide that you’re gonna be a priest it’s very difficult. I think George was far more aware than other people of the continual battle of one’s demons. [We all have demons inside of us. We’re all full of black and white.] He struggled with it. He always wanted to be a good man and do the right thing.

It was surprising to read in your book that George had an affair with Ringo’s wife. How did Ringo react?

Obviously, Ringo was seriously pissed off. But I don’t know whether his anger was directed more to Maureen than to George. Remember, I was going through my own hell at the time. I wasn’t really noting everyone’s pain and anguish. I was going through my own struggles.

Bring us back to when you and George visited Frank Sinatra for the My Way recording session.

We were in LA. I think George was finishing an album. Then we got a message that Frank Sinatra invited us to a recording session. So we turned up with Mal Evans and we were led into the control room. From there we could look through the glass panel and see this very large studio with a full orchestra. Then Frank walked into the studio and I was riveted. Here’s the famous Frank Sinatra. He took the mic and he sang My Way. He was absolutely stunning. All of us in the control room were silenced. Then Frank came into the control room, heard it back again and said, “That’s it!” He did it in one take. Then he said, “Let’s all go out for dinner.”

All these limos appeared and we all went to some restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. There was this huge table and everybody sat down. George and I tried to sit next to Frank but his best friends had to sit next to him, so we were shoved down the table (laughs). George and Frank had a good conversation in the control room and spoke at dinner as well. I think Frank was probably quite curious and wanted to hear about The Beatles.

In 1972, you and George met another legend, Elvis Presley, backstage at Madison Square Garden.

George had total respect for Elvis, he loved him. We were sitting in the audience; suddenly someone came up and said, “Elvis wants to meet you.” We obeyed like little lambs and went down into his dressing room. We went in and asked where Elvis was and they said, “He’s in the bathroom.” Then he came out and he was wearing his white suit. In my mind’s eye he was about 10 feet tall (laughs). He shook George’s hand and they spoke a few words and that was it.

I later met Elvis again with Eric (Clapton). We were in Memphis and Elvis invited us to the cinema to see a movie with him. We walked into the empty theatre and there was Elvis sitting a few rows from the front surrounded by a few people. So we said “Hi” and then we went to sit in the row behind him but his minders said, “No, no, no, you can’t sit there.” We had to sit a few rows back (laughs).

Being a muse for both George Harrison with Something and later with Eric Clapton for Layla and Wonderful Tonight, must have put tremendous pressure on you to be perfect.

You can’t help but think that people will look at you and go, “Oh my God, what is it about her that’s so special that a song is being written for her?” But what a great, great compliment. Maybe I never thought about the joys of it at the time because it was such a beautiful and flattering place to be in.

And you were at the kitchen table when George wrote My Sweet Lord.

I remember it very clearly. It’s a beautiful song and he was so proud of it. I know he wrote it. He didn’t copy it from The Chiffons. It was deeply upsetting and really hurtful when he was called into court in America for supposedly plagiarizing one of The Chiffons’ songs. That song became a bit tainted when we were told he’d have to go to court and defend himself with his guitar. George stopped listening to the radio after that so he wouldn’t be influenced by any music.

Can you remember when Eric first played you Layla?

Yes, of course. He played it for me on cassette. It was so beautiful. He kept looking at me for my reaction. He wanted me to realize that he had written it for me. It was inspired by a book that we’d both been given by a mutual friend called The Story Of Layla And Manjun. It was written by a Persian poet and it’s a beautiful love story. We were both very familiar with the book and story and the song was based on that story. I was totally mesmerized by the song. I still love it.

Eric pursued you for quite some time.

It may have been two or three years before we became involved. Things were going so bad at home, my relationship with George was collapsing. I thought it was best to go off and visit with my sister who was living in LA. I just wanted to get away and work out what I was going to do next. Eric phoned up and said, “Come join me on tour and see what it’s like.” I’d never been on a tour before. It’s really exhilarating and sexy. I thought, this is the life, this is wonderful. I think that was it. I’d made that choice. I was still not sure if I’d made the right decision.

Can you explain how George and Eric were able to maintain their friendship?

Their friendship was mainly based on music. There was a great respect for each other’s music. I suppose that was stronger than the other parts of their lives. I’m sure most people would think it’s surprising that they were civil about it. I mean, what can I say, that’s how it was.

Your wedding reception in 1979 featured Eric, three Beatles (George, Paul and Ringo), Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, Jack Bruce, Bill Wyman and others jamming.

It was fantastic. It was an all-star band. It was a moving feast. The lineup kept changing. Everyone you mentioned played and more. There was a constant turnover of players. If a drummer left someone else was waiting in the wings to pick up the drumsticks.

You met with George at your cottage a few months before his death – had he come terms with his imminent passing?

I don’t know if George fully realized that. But on reflection I think maybe that was why he did come over to visit me. He brought me two little gifts and a plant. He had initially gone to see Ringo who lives near me and then just on the off chance phoned to see if I was in too. We had a lovely time.

You say that George’s near-fatal stabbing in 1999 may have weakened his defenses to the cancer that later claimed his life.

I think that is true. To have experienced that sort of seriously vicious attack would freak anybody out forever, and then your defenses are down and one can become vulnerable.

In describing your two husbands, you describe Eric as your “playmate” and George as your “soulmate”.

It was always great fun to hang out with Eric. It was always playtime. But this was when he was drinking and when someone is drinking they just think of the maddest things and the most childish things to do. We were in a lucky position because there were always people to pick up the pieces and look after us and cushion the fall. But then with George he was a true spiritual seeker. We had a very special friendship, a relationship that would last all our lives. [I knew that.] George was always there for me. He was a sweet and gentle person. [So what if he had demons. He'd been trying so hard to be good and spiritual.]

Lastly, apart from Something, Layla and Wonderful Tonight, can you select a favorite George and Eric song?

(Long pause) That’s a difficult question. For George, I have to say that I loved a lot of the stuff that he did with The Traveling Wilburys. I loved that music. And Eric? Oh gosh, that’s a hard one. (Long pause) How about Bell Bottom Blues?

Why that one?