George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle

Norman's biography of George Harrison explores his contradictions, from his lower-class background to his self-deprecating humor, and his success as a songwriter and musician. He was considered a minor talent but composed masterpieces and achieved enormous success with his solo debut album. Harrison was a devoted friend, loyal son, master guitar-player, brilliant songwriter, cocaine addict, serial philanderer, global philanthropist, student of Indian mysticism, self-deprecating comedian, and iconic artist.

Format: Hardback
Length: 560 pages
Publication date: 24 October 2023
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

In this captivating biography, Norman delves into the intriguing paradoxes of Harrison's life. Daily Mail From the author of the million-copy bestselling Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation and the bestselling John Lennon: The Life comes a revealing portrait of George Harrison, the most underappreciated and enigmatic Beatle. Despite being recognized as one of the finest guitarists of his time, George Harrison, particularly in his early years, struggled with feelings of inadequacy. He was frequently the target of jokes from his bandmates due to his lower-class upbringing, and, typically, was only permitted to contribute one or two songs per Beatles album out of the dozens he wrote. Now, acclaimed Beatles biographer Philip Norman examines Harrison through the prism of his numerous self-contradictions. Compared to songwriting greats John Lennon and Paul McCartney, he was considered a minor talent, yet he composed such masterpieces as 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps and 'Here Comes the Sun, and his solo debut album 'All Things Must Pass achieved enormous success, appearing on many lists of the 100 best rock albums ever. Modern music critics place him in the pantheon of Sixties guitar gods alongside Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page. Harrison railed against the material world yet wrote the first pop song complaining about income tax. He spent years lovingly restoring his Friar Park estate as a spiritual journey, but quickly mortgaged the property to help rescue a film project that would be widely banned as sacrilegious, Monty Python's Life of Brian. Harrison could be fiercely jealous, but not only did he stay friends with Eric Clapton when Clapton fell in love with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, the two men grew even closer after Clapton walked away with her. .

Weight: 768g
Dimension: 164 x 244 x 44 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398513402