George Harrison

Pre-Fame

     George is the only Beatle to have both of his parents with him throughout his adulthood, and his family life was good as well.  He came from a rather large family, and he was the youngest, so he was quite spoiled.  Like Ringo and Paul, George also came from a poor family, but it was not nearly as poor as Ringo, but it was poorer than Paul's.   George's financial status can be seen by his poor, Scouse accent, which was one of the reasons John's Aunt Mimi disapproved of John being with George. 
      As a child George was always very bright. In school at first, he excelled, but he started having the same feelings John did for what he was being taught. He began to feel that the teacher's were "thick" and weren't teaching him anything he needed so he began to act out as well, although he was not as troublesome as John.  He used to be a loud mouth, and he also was known for being a very flamboyant dresser, for which he was greatly criticized. In his later school years, he began to be so interested in the guitar that nothing else even captured his attention, so he just slept through school.
      George convinced his mother, who always had a soft spot for him, to buy him a cheap, acoustic guitar. Hd became obsessed with the guitar, and would often play until his fingers bled, because he wanted to be good.  Unlike Paul, George struggled to learn to play instruments. But eventually he became quite good.
      On his way to  grammar school, he would ride with an older boy, who held a similar facination with the guitar.   Paul McCarntey often rode with George to school. Paul really respected George's ability despite the age difference.  By 1957, Paul had joined a group.   He desperatley tried to get George in, but, the leader of the group, called the Quarry Men, John Lennon, would not allow George in because of his age.  Late one night on a double deck bus, the three boys were all alone. Paul used this as his chance to audition George.  He told George to show John how he played a great hit at the time, "Raunchy".  George played, and of course it was perfect, and John let him in.
     The Quarry Men at first had trouble getting gigs and places to practice.  Having George gave them another place to practice as his mom took pleasure in hearing the boys play.  The band also had trouble finding a steady drummer, and name. They would often enter contests as a threesome, and would tell those who  questioned them, that they didn't need drums because, "the rhthym's in the guitars".  Eventually they got a gig in Hamburg, Germany thanks to their manager, Allen Williams.  So they found themselves a drummer, Pete Best, who completed the band to make it a five piece band, (John's art college friend Stuart Sutcliffe was the fourth member and he played bass).  They had also settled on a name, The Beatles, from ideas of John and Stu.
     In Hamburg the boys had a great time.  Hamburg was known as the   "city of sin" to the rest of the world, and it sure lived up to its name to the young Beatles.  They often partoke in a lot of sex, alcohol, and other drugs. George was not different than the others, even though he was underage.  In Hamburg the Beatles developed extremely well as musicians.  George and Paul were the most talented players of the group, and they improved a lot and found their style.  George, being the lead guitar player, needed to be good since his role was so  vital. The Beatles improved so much because they played such long sets, and they often relied upon speed tablets to keep them going.  It wasn't long before they started to make close friends with some Germans, like Klaus Voorman, Astrid Kircherr, and Jurgen Vulmer.  George was always looked up as a little brother by those in Hamburg.   This is not an insult, it was just George's personality made people look unto him as a younger sibling.  George was very easily influenced and constantly admired John, yet he was also a strong personality. When Stu took up Astrid's idea of the "moptop", he was ridiculed by  all but George who was the next to conform.  
      George's because he was so impressionable, yet intelligent and philosophical, he was always willing to try new things.  This played a very important trait in George since it led him to try new drugs to expand his mind and more importantly it led him to find Indian religion.  Unfortunately, George got kicked out of Hamburg before the others because German law forbids people under 18 to be in  the clubs past a cetain time, and George was underage.  He went back very depressed since he thought the group would go on without him, and he wasn't needed, and couldn't haven't anymore fun in Hamburg. However, he was soon joined by the others who were also kicked out for various other reasons. 
     The Beatles became local heroes after playing the Cavern, a wine cellar on Matthew Street.  They had a unique style to music and their looks, and soon they were sought after by  many Liverpudlian girls.  George was always rather shy, and he was dubbed the "Quiet One", because of this.  Yet, George was not just shy, he was the one who carried the band and put the most energy into the band. The others would often play to the girls or goof off on stage, yet George continued to labor over his solos and put effort into the songs. Besides being dedicated to his music, George was very dedicated to his  to his friends as well.  When fans protested the Beatles bringing Ringo to the band, George stuck up for his friend and received a black eye for doing so.
     When the  Beatles became famous, George retained his personality, and became the Beatle most concerned money, not surprising considering his backround.  Also, George always struggled to find meaning in what he did, like the others in the band, which explains his involvement in Indian religion and music.  His mother says that she often played Indian  music for George while he was in the womb, which is why he is so drawn to it, yet it doesn't matter how he came across it, really.
     Like the rest of the Beatles, George was came from a rather  poor, Liverpudian background.  He had his own  personality and with the rest of the Beatles, he became an inspiration to many in the world.

George at age five.

George, left, which Stu and John in Hamburg.