Though George Harrison died over 10 years ago, he is a long way away from ever being forgotten. The lead guitarist for The Beatles was one of the most iconic musicians of his time. Though a lot of his life has been put in front of the public eye, there are some things that even the biggest Beatles fans don’t know about him. Here, PPcorn present a list of 15 facts you probably didn’t know about George Harrison.
Number Fifteen: He Was Part of The Quarry Men
Before there were The Beatles, there were The Quarry Men. They made a record in the summer of 1958 that featured Harrison, and the record cost 17 and sixpence to create.
Number Fourteen: He Was Involved in the First Recording the Beatles Made
The very first song the Beatles recorded was “Cry for a Shadow.” Which was an instrumental song Harrison did with John Lennon.
Number Thirteen: He Was Deported From Germany
When the Hamburg police realized that Harrison had entered the country under the age of 18, they deported him. The rest of the Beatles stayed to perform, although they were all later deported as well.
Number Twelve: He Was Very Witty
During their first Parlophone recording session at Abbey Road, producer George Martin was very critical of the Beatles’ performance. When Martin asked them what they thought, Harrison replied, “Well, for a start I don’t like your tie.”
Number Eleven: He Wanted to Design a Guitar
In early 1963, NME asked the Beatles to list their ambitions. Harrison said that his was, “to design a guitar.”
Number Ten: George Harrison Was Often Mistaken for Paul
McCartney was an extremely talented guitarist and musician in general. When people would congratulate Harrison on his ability to play such difficult solos, he would respond, “No, that was Paul.”
Number Nine: He Took LSD for the First Time Without Knowing it
Harrison and John Lennon were both given LSD for the first time by their dentist in an after-dinner coffee. Harrison said, “We’d just sat down and ordered our drinks when suddenly I felt the most incredible feeling come over me. It was something like a very concentrated version of the best feeling I’d ever had in my whole life.”
Number Eight: He Played Violin… Sort Of
While recording “All You Need Is Love,” Harrison can be heard playing the violin. This was despite the fact that he had never picked one up in his entire life.
Number Seven: He Was Admired by Sinatra
Frank Sinatra once called Harrison’s “Something,” “…the greatest love song of the last 50 years.” Harrison would often perform the ballad live.
Number Six: He Got Into a Fight Over a Biscuit
While making Abbey Road, Harrison got very upset when Yoko Ono took one of his chocolate biscuits without asking him first. It was reportedly his last biscuit.
Number Five: George Harrison Lost His Virginity While Everyone Else Was Watching
According to George Harrison, he first had sex in Hamburg, Germany, in a bunk bed. The other Beatles were in the room when it happened. He said, “[Paul, John and Pete Best] couldn’t really see anything because I was under the covers but after I’d finished they all applauded and cheered. At least they kept quiet whilst I was doing it.”
Number Four: He Was Part of a Dirty Joke
In the song “Girl,” George Harrison and Paul McCartney can be heard harmonizing “tit tit tit tit” in the background. Apparently, this is part of a dirty joke that involved them slipping in a dirty word without anyone noticing.
Number Three: He Ate Horse
On December 25, 1962, The Beatles had horse for Christmas dinner in Hamburg, Germany. The horse was cooked into steaks, and they didn’t know what they had eaten until they had already eaten it.
Number Two: His Birth Is Highly Contested
Though many books state that Harrison was born on February 25, 1943, he actually changed his mind later and insisted that he was born on 11:50 p.m. on February 24. To this day, it is still unclear which day he was actually born on.
Number One: He Was Vegetarian
Harrison became a vegetarian when he was 22 years old. He was such a devout vegetarian that he didn’t allow meat or fish to even enter his house.