The Beatles guitarist George Harrison sadly passed away on 29th November 2001, and in the 20 years since his death the surviving band members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney have opened up about their last meeting with George.
In November 2001, The Beatles members got together for lunch in New York just a few weeks before George’s death, along with George’s wife Olivia and some other associates. At this point George was receiving treatment for a brain tumour, and the trio had not met up for several years.
A few years after this meeting, Paul McCartney spoke to Uncut: “I sat with him for a few hours when he was in treatment just outside New York. He was about 10 days away from his death, as I recall. We joked about things – just amusing, nutty stuff.
“It was good. It was like we were dreaming. He was my little baby brother, almost, because I’d known him that long. We held hands. It’s funny, even at the height of our friendship – as guys – you would never hold hands. It just wasn’t a Liverpool thing. But it was lovely.”
Ringo Starr had gone to see George once more after this meeting and has since spoken about it: “The last weeks of George’s life, he was in Switzerland, and I went to see him, and he was very ill, you know, he could only lay down.
“And while he was being ill and I’d come to see him, I was going to Boston, because my daughter had a brain tumour.
“And I said: ‘Well, you know, I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go to Boston.’ It’s the last words I heard him say, actually – and he said: ‘Do you want me to come with you?'”
George’s doctor, Doctor Lederman, has also spoken about the final meeting with the band members: “There were some tears – but there was more laughter than anything else. It was a spirited affair, not a sombre one. There were lots of laughs and lots of fun. They spent hours reminiscing.
“There were tears, but George remained very much the man of dignity. At the end, after both Paul and Ringo had left, (George) was fine and calm. He was a very happy man. This meeting meant so much to him.”
George passed away in the home of longtime friend Gavin De Becker, with his wife Olivia, and son Dhani by his side.
1957 – Paul McCartney meets John Lennon
It all started back in 1957, with a blossoming friendship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. On 6th July, 17-year-old John was playing with his skiffle group, the Quarrymen, at a church fete come garden party, when 15-year-old Paul McCartney came along to watch. The rest, of course, is history.
The Quarrymen often played at The Cavern Club, a popular nightclub and music venue on Mathew Street, in Liv
