Jan 23, 2020

Watch unearthed footage of George Harrison performing ‘Something’ at his last ever concert

Far Out Magazine
January 22, 2020

In the early nineties, there was one former member of The Beatles that was breaking out from the shadow of one of the most famous bands the world has ever seen. For a time, George Harrison was a bonafide pop star.

Following 1987s commercial and critical success Cloud Nine, mostly buoyed by his mega-watt pop hit ‘I’ve Got My Mind Set On You’, George Harrison was a household name again for the first time since the 1970s All Things Must Pass.

His first record had ascertained Harrison his legendary status on his solo work alone but, despite all his experience, Harrison was never a big fan of touring after his 1974 tour. The pain of that tour with Ravi Shankar had clearly landed quite heavily on Harrison and for many years, despite commercial success, the Quiet Beatle was, for the main part, remaining quiet.

After sharing the stage in Los Angeles in 1990, Harrison was seemingly dipping his toe into the touring water when he joined the legendary Eric Clapton for a joint tour of Japan, the next year. It seemed as though the Beatle was gearing up for a tour. Yet after Harrison and Clapton performed at 12 shows across the land of the rising sun the guitarist would again retreat to his life off the road.

On only two occasions would the ‘My Sweet Lord’ singer be lured out of hiding and on to the stage. While one, technically his last on stage, was a short performance as part of the Bob Dylan tribute show in October 1992, the last full performance from Harrison came a few months before.

Taking place at the Royal Albert Hall just a few days before the British General Election with the evening acting as a benefit concert for the National Law Party. A party founded in 1992 on “the principles of Transcendental Meditation”, the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government, seemed the perfect fit for George Harrison at the time.

As such, Harrison banned all commercial filming of the performance but luckily the touching performance of his 1971 tune ‘Something’ has surfaced online. It’s a beautiful moment in the evening and represents one of the final times Harrison would ever perform ‘Something’.

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