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Concert for George

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This article is about the concert. For the album, see Concert for George (album). For the film, see Concert for George (film).

The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death.[1] The event was organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organization set up by Harrison.

Performances

The concert opened with a traditional Sanskrit invocation, the Sarvesham chant, followed by Indian music when Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, played "Your Eyes". Next, Anoushka Shankar and Jeff Lynne performed "The Inner Light", followed by a Ravi Shankar composition "Arpan" (Sanskrit for 'to give'), specially written for the occasion. Next there was a comedy interlude with members of the Monty Python troupe (Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam along with Neil Innes) performing "Sit on My Face". Then Michael Palin came out as an over the top announcer who eventually states that he only ever wanted to be a lumberjack. He was then joined by the Pythons, Innes, Carol Cleveland and special guest Tom Hanks, to perform "The Lumberjack Song".

The remainder of the concert featured "George's Band" and included the surviving members of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as musicians Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Pedro Eustache, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Albert Lee, Sam Brown, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Ray Cooper, Andy Fairweather-Low, Marc Mann, Klaus Voormann, Harrison's son Dhani and several other musicians who appeared on Harrison's recordings over the years.[2]

Between them they played a selection of mostly Harrison's songs, from both Beatle and post-Beatle eras, generally staying faithful to Harrison's original arrangements. Performances included Clapton and Preston on "Isn't It a Pity"; Starr on "Photograph"; McCartney and Clapton on "Something" (McCartney opening with a solo ukulele accompaniment which then shifts into a full band version featuring Clapton); Preston on "My Sweet Lord"; McCartney, Clapton and Starr reuniting on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; and the performance of "Wah Wah".

Joe Brown closed the show with a very warming and apt rendition of "I'll See You in My Dreams" on ukulele, one of Harrison's favourite instruments.

The event was filmed and a motion picture version, directed by David Leland and photographed by Chris Menges was released on DVD on 17 November 2003. A compact disc version was also released on the same date; The Monty Python and Sam Brown tracks were not included on the CD.

Set list

  1. "Sarveshaam"
    • Traditional prayer – including a dedication by Ravi Shankar
  2. "Your Eyes" (Ravi Shankar) – 8:22
    • Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Tanmoy Bose: tabla
  3. "The Inner Light" (Harrison) – 3:01
    • Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Tanmoy Bose: tabla; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, piano; Unidentified musicians: other instruments
  4. "Arpan" (Ravi Shankar) – 23:01
    • Anoushka Shankar: conductor; Sukanya Shankar: vocal-shloka; M. Balanchandar: mridangam; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: mohan vina; Tanmoy Bose: tabla, dholak; Chandrasekhar, Balu Raghuraman: violins; Eric Clapton: electric guitar; Pedro Eustache: wind instruments; Sunil Gupta: flute; Anuradha Krishamurthi, O.S. Arun: lead vocals; Jane Lister: harp; Gaurav Mazumdar: sitar; Snehashish Mzumdar: mandolin; Ramesh Mishra: sarangi; Pirashanna Thevarajah: percussion; Kenji Ota: tanpura; Barry Phillips: cello; Emil Richards: marimba; Partho Sarathy: sarod; Hari Sivanesan, Sivaskti Sivanesan: veena; Boys and Girls Choir courtesy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; English Chamber Choir; London Metropolitan Orchestra (Andrew Brown, Roger Chase, Chris Fish, Helen Hathorn, Lynda Houghton, Ian Humphries, Zoe Martlew, Stella Page, Debbie Widdup)
    • Michael Kamen – string conductor, string arrangement
  5. Comic Interlude including four members of Monty Python: Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam. Also performing: Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland and Tom Hanks.
  6. "I Want to Tell You" (Harrison) – 2:52
    • Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  7. "If I Needed Someone" (Harrison) – 2:28
    • Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  8. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) – 3:48
  9. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Harrison) – 3:29
    • Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
  10. "Beware of Darkness" (Harrison) – 4:00
    • Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  11. "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison) – 3:09
    • Joe Brown: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Jim Capaldi: drums; Andy Fairweather-Low: electric guitar
  12. "That's The Way It Goes" (Harrison) – 3:39
    • Joe Brown: lead vocals, mandolin; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Andy Fairweather-Low: slide electric guitar;

Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Jim Capaldi: drums

  1. "Horse to the Water" (George Harrison / Dhani Harrison)
  2. "Taxman" (Harrison) – 3:10
    • Tom Petty: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
  3. "I Need You" (Harrison) – 3:00
    • Tom Petty: lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
  4. "Handle with Care" (George Harrison / Jeff Lynne / Roy Orbison / Tom Petty / Bob Dylan) – 3:27
    • Tom Petty: lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Dhani Harrison: acoustic rhythm guitar; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Jim Keltner: drums
  5. "Isn't It a Pity" (Harrison) – 6:58
    • Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, lead guitar
  6. "Photograph" (Starkey/Harrison) – 3:56
    • Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Jim Horn: sax solo
  7. "Honey Don't" (Carl Perkins) – 3:03
    • Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Albert Lee: lead guitar solo; Gary Brooker: piano solo; Billy Preston: Hammond organ
  8. "For You Blue" (Harrison) – 3:04
    • Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Marc Mann: slide guitar
  9. "Something" (Harrison) – 4:25
    • Paul McCartney: lead vocals, ukulele, acoustic rhythm guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Marc Mann: lead guitar
  10. "All Things Must Pass" (Harrison) – 3:33
    • Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: electric guitar
  11. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison) – 5:57
    • Eric Clapton: lead vocals, lead guitar; Paul McCartney: backing vocals, piano; Ringo Starr: drums; Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar
  12. "My Sweet Lord" (Harrison) – 5:02
    • Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Paul McCartney: piano; Eric Clapton: twelve-string acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, acoustic guitar
  13. "Wah-Wah" (Harrison) – 6:06
    • Eric Clapton: rhythm guitar; Jeff Lynne: acoustic rhythm guitar; Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Supergroup of Guest Musicians: other instruments
  14. "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Isham Jones / Gus Kahn) – 4:01
    • Joe Brown: lead vocals, ukulele; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Jim Capaldi: drums

George's Band (after interlude) and guests

Notes and references

  1. ^ The Concert for George, Catalogue number: 0349702412
  2. ^ "Concert for George. Performers". Retrieved 24 October 2013.

See also

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