 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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Overview[]
| George Harrison | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 25 February 1943 |
| Died | 29 November 2001 |
| Occupations | Musician - singer-songwriter - music and film producer |
| Years active | 1958–1983 - 1989 - 2001 |
George Harrison was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work.
Pre-Doomsday[]
After years of being restricted in his song-writing contributions to the Beatles, his first album All Things Must Pass contained such a large outpouring of Harrison's songs that it was released as a triple album and became a critical and commercial success, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1971 he organized a major charity concert, The Concert for Bangladesh, with Ravi Shankar, drawing over 40,000 people to two shows in New York's Madison Square Garden. George Harrison was deeply shocked by the murder of John Lennon and wrote two tribute songs (“All Those Years Ago” and “Teardrops”) for him on his 1981 album Somewhere in England. His last Pre-Doomsday album Gone Troopo was released in 1982.
Post-Doomsday[]
George Harrison was tending to his numerous gardens located at his South Oxfordshire Estate, when reports of nuclear bombs being dropped were first announced. His older brothers Peter and Harry (groundskeepers at the time) escorted a frightened George into his Friar Park home, where he was embraced by his wife Olivia.
George Harrison during the two day meditation service.
After recovering from the initial shock that overcame him, George led his brothers, his wife, his five year old son Dhani, and employees of the estate in a two day meditation service. During the months that followed the service, supplies were running low and tension erupted in the Harrison household, Peter wanted to continue to drive away incoming survivors of the London bombing noting that George installed razor-wire fencing after the death of John Lennon for a reason, but Harry wanted to accept them with open arms and stated that the Harrison estate should become a “city on a hill.”
Burning City On A Hill[]
After much deliberation the peaceful George sided with his brother Harry and opened Friar Park’s gates to the incoming survivors, this kind gesture was soon regretted because the sheer quantity of people overwhelmed the employees sent to ration a small amount of supplies to them. George Harrison tried to calm the crowed by playing some of his songs on a guitar, but rioting soon broke out and the Harrison family (George, Harry, Olivia and Dhani) took refuge in a guest suite that at one time doubled as a recording studio. Peter lead a gang of employees armed with gardening tools against the mob, but their attempt to regain order was short lived. Overwhelmed by the mob, the employees begin to break rank and disperse across the estate. Further chaos would have ensued, had it not been for a True British Army platoon bursting onto the scene. Watching the TBA easily scatter the survivors, Peter mistook them for relief workers and eagerly informed them about the predicament the Harrison estate was in.
Give Them Love[]
Unaware of the danger, he lead the TBA officers to the guest suite where the rest of the Harrison family was hiding. George who was meditating when Peter arrived with the soldiers recalls that he felt that something was peculiar about “those gents Peter brought with him. Peter explained the situation to the group of Harrisons, however George felt that Peter and the TBA handled the aforementioned situation the wrong way and should have tried to find more peaceful ways to the solve the problem. It is around this time that the Harrisons found out the TBA weren’t relief workers, but remnants of the police force and the army intertwined with former members of the British National Front organization, the English defense league, and the members of the newly created British National Party (BNP).
Members of the TBA (True British Army)
George Harrison working for TBA - 1987
George's gut feeling turned out to be correct when the leader of the platoon made his way up to him and demanded that he play some music for his men. George initially refused, but gave into the Head Officer’s demands after he threatened to shoot his son Dhani. Escorted outside, George was handed a guitar and commanded to play something to rally the men. In order to spite the Head Officer, George sang his 1973 hit song "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)". However, the platoon was turned off by the message of peace booed Harrison off stage and began to loot the estate. George Harrison and his family then tried to flee the estate after the pseudo-concert fiasco. However, a couple of the troopers opened fire on the family, downing Peter (whose injuries would cripple him for life) and killing Harry. The remaining Harrisons then promptly surrendered; Peter and George were forcibly conscripted into the platoon, where his wife Olivia and his son Dhani were shot and thrown into a hastily constructed grave. Life as a conscript in the True British was a hell for George Harrison; he received daily beatings because of his Hindu ideology, was forced to perform pro-TBA propaganda, he received little or no nourishment, he watched his brother Peter suffer through life as a cripple, and was constantly tormented by the fact that his wife and child were shot right in front of him.
The remaining Harrison Brothers spent a total of six years with the True British Army before making an elaborate escape to Dublin. After arriving in Dublin around June 1989 George started work on a new album titled “The Sounds of the Last Beatle”, which would be well received by the Irish populace the following year. Before his tragic death of lung cancer in 2001 Harrison would release two new albums, finish his memoirs and found the Irish-Hindu Society. George Harrison is still fondly remembered even after death, thousands flock to see has grave in Dublin and the song "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" remains an anthem of peace in these troubled times.