Harrison Archive

Astrid Kirchherr, self-portrait.

Klaus Voormann photographed by Astrid Kirchherr.

Astrid Kirchherr and Stuart Sutcliffe photographed by Jürgen Vollmer.

Leather-clad George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon on the roof of Hamburg’s Top Ten Club in the spring of 1961.

“George came up to me and said, ‘Could you please cut my hair like Stuart’s?’ […] Jürgen Vollmer… he persuaded [John & Paul] to have their hairstyle changed [in Paris, 1961].” - Astrid Kirchherr, NPR Fresh Air (2008)

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVl1PGHjBA...

Young Astrid Kirchherr with her parents, Nielsa and Emil (scanned from Astrid Kirchherr: A Retrospective).

George Harrison photographed by Astrid Kirchherr in Hamburg, 1962; scanned from Astrid Kirchherr: A Retrospective.

“Astrid was so loving; she’d take us home and feed us. She helped us a lot, even just to let us have a bath. […] Astrid was the one, really, who influenced our image more than anybody.” - George Harrison, The Beatles Anthology

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📷: scans (see alt text)

Iris Caldwell, Rory Storm’s sister, George’s first girlfriend (who also later dated Paul for a time).

Violet Caldwell with her son, Rory Storm (aka Alan Caldwell).

George, Paul, John, and Rory Storm with fans at the Cavern. Photo by Dick Matthews.

“My first girlfriend was Rory Storm’s sister, Iris Caldwell. […] [W]e used Rory’s house as a place to hang out when we got back to town after shows. His mother Vi would make endless pots of tea and toast for us all.” - George

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George Harrison at Sandy Bay, Devon, in the 1950s; photo from the Brewer family collection (Jenny Brewer was George’s friend and pen pal in the ‘50s).

“…when I first wanted a guitar, my mother bought me this very cheap guitar worth three pounds, ten shilling […]. [S]he didn't mind that I used to stay up until two in the morning polishing my guitar and trying to learn how to play.” - George Harrison

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““[T]here is this kind of chemistry that’s created through endless television or music programming or advertising that drones away on these things [violence, bigotry, cynicism].” - George Harrison, Billboard (June 1999)

Read more at www.instagram.com/reel/DVBxtT4....

Clip from Newsnight (1985).

Black and white photograph of Paul and George at the Top Ten Club, Hamburg, 1961, scanned from The Beatles In Hamburg; photo by Jürgen Vollmer.

Black and white photograph of George at the Top Ten Club, Hamburg, 1961, scanned from The Beatles In Hamburg; photo by Jürgen Vollmer.

Black and white photograph of George in Hamburg, 1961, scanned from The Beatles In Hamburg; photo by Jürgen Vollmer.

Black and white photograph of George in Hamburg, 1961, scanned from The Beatles In Hamburg; photo by Jürgen Vollmer.

“‬He was such a sweet and charming little boy. But he also had this melancholy feeling that I identified with.“ - Jürgen Vollmer, Harrison (2002)

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Some of Jürgen’s photographs of George Harrison in Hamburg, 1961; scanned from The Beatles In Hamburg.

George Harrison photographed by Jürgen Vollmer at the Top Ten Club, Hamburg, April 1961 (scanned from The Beatles in Hamburg); and Monika Pricken in Hamburg, 1962 (scanned from Mach Schau!).

Monika Paulsen (née Pricken) was one of the first Hamburg-based Beatles fans.

“I was 17 and he was 17. George was unbelievably funny and open, and we had a lot of fun. Mind you, it was completely platonic.”

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Scans of pics (1 by Jürgen Vollmer)

Louise and George dancing at the premiere party for A Hard Day’s Night, July 1964; photo © Express/Express/Mirrorpix via Getty Images.

“[George] is sincere, thoughtful, & sympathetic.
Always thinks of others before himself, he is happy & likes a good laugh.” - Louise Harrison in reply to a letter from George fan Jenny (March 1964)

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Hamburg, Germany Dear Carol, Many thanks for the letter and the ‘lovely’ photographs of us at the Majestic. You were right…. I hadn’t seen them before and I usually see them all! If you can send along the others sometime we’d love to see them. By the way, John says hello and thanks for his photo and card. Maybe next time you’ll send him his hat!! [Just kidding!] Sorry for such a short letter Carol. It’s late here, we’ve been playing quite a bit and we’re all very tired. I promise to write again soon. Hope to see you when we get back home. Lots of love from, George Harrison xxxxxx Paul and Ringo say hello too!

Dear Miss V, (you didn’t write your name) I’m sorry but we have run out of photos at the moment, so all we can do is sign your own pic, so I hope you don’t mind. Thanks a lot for your letter, we are all glad you like “She Loves You.” Cheerio love from George Harrison xxx

Two more fan letter replies from George, from 1962 and 1963.

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#GeorgeHarrison #TheBeatles

A letter sent by George in reply to a fan; dated February 27, 1963, it reads: “27/2/63 174 MACKETS LANE WOOTON LIVERPOOL 25. Dear Doreen, Thank you very much for the card and Birthday present!! It was sweet of you to remember that! Yes, we’re as thrilled as you that “Please Please Me” is No 1!! John, Paul, Ringo and I can’t thank you enough for your support! Hope you buy the next record too. We’ll be in the studio again soon — and then on tour with Chris Montez shortly after that. Hope we see you there! Sorry to be so brief — I promise to write again soon. Thanks again for everything. Lots of love from George Harrison xxxxx (THE BEATLES)”

A letter sent by George in reply to a fan; dated February 27, 1963.

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVROTJMjIg....

#GeorgeHarrison #TheBeatles

A letter sent by George in reply to a fan; dated February 27, 1963, it reads: “27/2/63 174 MACKETS LANE WOOTON LIVERPOOL 25. Dear Doreen, Thank you very much for the card and Birthday present!! It was sweet of you to remember that! Yes, we’re as thrilled as you that “Please Please Me” is No 1!! John, Paul, Ringo and I can’t thank you enough for your support! Hope you buy the next record too. We’ll be in the studio again soon — and then on tour with Chris Montez shortly after that. Hope we see you there! Sorry to be so brief — I promise to write again soon. Thanks again for everything. Lots of love from George Harrison xxxxx (THE BEATLES)”

A letter sent by George in reply to a fan; dated February 27, 1963.

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVROTJMjIg....

#GeorgeHarrison #TheBeatles

A collage of George Harrison smiling, 1963-1999. Photo credits as known: Terence Spencer, Dave Hogan, Gered Mankowitz.

“[George] had this wonderful smile which put you completely at ease. It was like he was looking through you and only at the best parts.” - Lenny Waronker, Entertainment Weekly (2001)

#GeorgeHarrison #TheBeatles #TheTravelingWilburys

Remembering George on his birthday.

“‘Be here now because it’s not like it was before.’ Occasionally it’s nice to have somebody tell you that. He offered advice about living.” - Olivia Harrison, The Times (2014)

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Clip from the Today Show (1986).

George, smiling in 1987. Photo by Aaron Rapoport.

“…sometimes if you said happy birthday on the 24th, [George would] say, ‘It’s not my birthday.’ If you said it on the 25th, he’d say, ‘You missed it.’” - Olivia Harrison, Breakfast With The Beatles (2007)

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVJgJmLDOk....

Photo by Aaron Rapoport.

#GeorgeHarrison

George, smiling in 1987. Photo by Aaron Rapoport.

“…sometimes if you said happy birthday on the 24th, [George would] say, ‘It’s not my birthday.’ If you said it on the 25th, he’d say, ‘You missed it.’” - Olivia Harrison, Breakfast With The Beatles (2007)

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVJgJmLDOk....

Photo by Aaron Rapoport.

#GeorgeHarrison

“If you get negative about it, it’s in a hell of state; the world is in a mess. […] It’s like, we all need to support each other in many ways in order to exist.” - George Harrison, radio interview (1975)

Read more at www.instagram.com/p/DVG7hWFjDu....

harrisonarchive on Instagram: "“I think I’ve become a bit more balanced over the years. You know, I’m still a bit extreme, being a Pisces, but… you know, I’m eith…" “I think I’ve become a bit more balanced over the years. You know, I’m still a bit extreme, being a Pisces, but… you know, I’m either all this way or all that way, but I’ve tried, over the years of bringing both extremes closer to the middle. And I think that’s really what it is, to try to… I mean, I retain all the things I believe and that I felt in the past or that I’ve said in the past, except now it’s getting a bit more — it’s been in there longer and it’s getting a bit more mature, and I don’t shout about it so much.” - George Harrison, VH1 (1988)“[George] talked about the inner journey and that was very important to him, although he was yin-yang. He could hang with the best of them. [laughs] He was a scoundrel yogi… he was honest. He was right up front about it. ‘I’m bad? O.K., I’m bad.’ […] You’re just not going to know how raucous you can get on a guitar until you crank it up to 10. So he lived life like that. He said, ‘I’m lucky, I’ve got a tilt mechanism.’ And I used to look at him and go, ‘Well, your tilt mechanism goes beyond mine.’ He felt he always knew when to come back, but it can be a dangerous way to live. Because he had an inner anchor and a very pronounced consciousness — not conscience, but consciousness — he knew: This was bad, I’ve got to get back.” - Olivia Harrison, The New York Times Arts Blog (September 23, 2011)Clip from VH1 (1988).#GeorgeHarrison

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“[George] could hang with the best of them. [laughs] He was a scoundrel yogi… he was honest. He was right up front about it. ‘I’m bad? O.K., I’m bad.’” - Olivia Harrison, The New York Times Arts Blog (September 23, 2011)

Clip from VH1 (1988).

#GeorgeHarrison

““[T]here is this kind of chemistry that’s created through endless television or music programming or advertising that drones away on these things [violence, bigotry, cynicism].” - George Harrison, Billboard (June 1999)

Read more at www.instagram.com/reel/DVBxtT4....

Clip from Newsnight (1985).

“[George] actually disdained not journalism but what he called the modern phenomenon of 'the gossip industry,' which he viewed as a lucrative engine of social decay and an increasingly commonplace assault on human dignity.” - Billboard (2001)

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“Bob says, Hey, why don’t we all get up and play — we’ve had a few beers, right — and you can sing! […] [E]very time I get near the microphone, Dylan comes running up and just starts singing this rubbish in my ear, trying to throw me off.” - George

More at www.instagram.com/reel/DU8ogNb....

George in Munich, February 17, 1998; photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz.

“No star on the door, no bodyguard, instead, a small, humble room. And inside it, George Harrison with a cup of tea in front of him. […] George Harrison! THE George Harrison!” - Arno Frank Eser, translated from the German book Beatlemania

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“I don’t care too much about what people think. What I care about is love and what’s inside me, and my ambition is really just to develop more love.” - George Harrison (on what’s important to him & what ambitions he still has)

Clip from Na siehste!, (Feb. 17, 1988); interviewed by Günther Jauch.

“…I don’t go around thinking of myself as George Harrison, the Beatle or whatever, I — you know, I do now, ‘cause I’m on the television, but normally, I’m just like you, you know, just like everybody else — I’m just a human.” - George Harrison

Clip from The Midday Show (1988)

“Thank you all! May God bless you all.
Don’t forget to say all your prayers tonight.
Be good little souls.
Lots of Love!
George.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)” - Yahoo web chat (February 15, 2001)

Read more at harrisonarchive.tumblr.com/post/7256665....

“Thank you all! May God bless you all.
Don’t forget to say all your prayers tonight.
Be good little souls.
Lots of Love!
George.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)” - Yahoo web chat (February 15, 2001)

Read more at harrisonarchive.tumblr.com/post/7256665....

Dark Horse (1974) LP artwork featuring photos of George and Olivia; photography by Henry Grossman.

Ad published in Record World, June 1979; photography by Brian Aris.

“Our son, Dhani, and I, like George’s friends, were spoiled by his rich and loving presence.” - Olivia

“He taught me that anything can be accomplished as long as you set out to do it with love.” - Dhani Harrison

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“I *dig* the garden, putting trees in. I like gardens; I like the pleasure they give you. It’s like a meditation in a way — you can get everything out of your mind groveling in the soil! I spend a lot of time with the wife and the baby.” - George Harrison, Rolling Stone (1979)

Pic by Mike Salisbury

Q: “Does [the 30th anniversary ATMP redesign] symbolize anything?”
george_harrison_live: “Yes.”
george_harrison_live: “It symbolizes that our world is being concreted over. Haven't you noticed?” - Yahoo web chat (February 15, 2001)

More at www.instagram.com/reel/DUqnS06....

“Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis — there hasn’t been any rock & roll better than that,’ Harrison says plainly.”- Rolling Stone (October 22, 1987)

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Footage from the Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964.