#thateventuality

George Harrison onstage at the Natural Law Party Concert on April 6, 1992; photo by Tim Green/London Features, scanned from Harrison by the editors of Rolling Stone.

Clip from Paa Hengende Haaret, filmed in May 1988.

“I mean, I think every human is obligated to the next in a way. To try to help each other, even if it’s just to give each other a smile. But I don’t think we have any bigger obligation. Except to do our best, but every human has that responsibility. The goal in life is to become divine, whether you believe it or not. We have to manifest our divinity. Let it come through us. Whatever goodness there is within each of us, we have to try to manifest it. That’s our main responsibility.” - George Harrison, press clipping, 1976, quoted in the fanzine Harrison Alliance

In case you missed the anniversary message from May 1st:

This fan page — originally named thateventuality, now harrisonarchive — celebrates its 15th year online this month. When I first launched this venture, it was largely an effort to digitize interviews and create something of a repository that would be easily accessible. The overriding objective was, and continues to be, to celebrate George, his music, and his history in a way that shines a light on a still underrated artist. It’s a joy to research; and your interest in this page continues to astound me — and is truly appreciated. So, thank you all for visiting and following. Hopefully, this fan page can add a little something to the appreciation of George’s music and history. Over the years, people have wondered about who’s running this page; and while I’m humbled anyone would ask, I’m really just a fan, researching and documenting, and far more comfortable behind the scenes — this is, after all, a fan page dedicated to George, and if I do my work as best I can, you can delve into the posts without much editorial input. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how to acknowledge this anniversary, apart from continuing to post and celebrate George. Researching can often be a solitary task — a lot of time spent digging through back issues of publications, for example; hours spent transcribing and typing up interviews. Your feedback is always appreciated; and if have any requests regarding what you’d like to see here, please let me know — I’d be delighted if this could become more of an interactive space, too. If there’s anything you’d like to ask, maybe a Q&A would be something for this anniversary month? All this to say, I sincerely thank all of you for visiting over the years. I’m grateful, especially for the fact that George’s music and wisdom continue to resonate in the world today… and “give […] a smile” and food for thought.

George Harrison, 1967; photo by Ed Caraeff.

A quick housekeeping note:

Thanks for asking about the posts!

Instagram is sort of my main account at the moment - that is, this blog used to be the main outlet for this fan site (back when it was still named thateventuality). But, since posts on Instagram tend to be so fast-paced and get lost in the fray as time passes, it's not the ideal outlet for a fan site. So this blog is slowly being rebuilt. :)

Thanks for your question, anon. Personally, I'd recommend...

For George's songwriting, his own I Me Mine is a must (the extended edition takes the songs all the way through his final album, Brainwashed).

For rare photographs and the words of family and friends alongside George's own comments, Living In The Material World.

For an in-depth look at George the musician and songwriter, Simon Leng's While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison.

For the Beatle years, The Beatles Anthology, rich in quotes and images.

For their place as chronicles of a moment in time (and for the comments from George's parents in the Davies book), The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies is a valuable read; as is Michael Braun's Love Me Do! The Beatles' Progress.

To my taste, there isn't any George biography that has captured his life and legacy as comprehensively as his own interviews and music, alongside I Me Mine and Living In The Material World, are able to. That is, as far as we, as fans, can get to know the person and artist; as George once put it, "I play a little guitar, write a few tunes, make a few movies, but none of that’s really me. The real me is something else."