TO some he remains the ‘forgotten’ Beatle. To others he was a musical genius who was years ahead of his time both in his songwriting and in his beliefs.
On Sunday, a show celebrating the life of George Harrison comes to Bolton’s Octagon Theatre looking at every aspect of his career.
Something About George will feature Daniel Taylor who will be both narrator and lead singer accompanied by a live band. Large projection screens will show rare footage of George from his early days growing up in postwar Liverpool to his concert for Bangladesh and time as a member of the Travelling Wilburys.
For Daniel, it marks a return to the Beatles as he previously played John Lennon in Through the Glass Onion, a show which toured the world and which he even performed in front of John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono.
“In this production I am not playing George Harrison,” he said. “I am the audience’s guide to his life. And although the Beatles era is hugely important, the show is more about the post Beatles years.
“It’s incredible when you think about it. George was this amazing songwriter and yet with the Beatles he was only allowed to contribute one or two songs per album.
“There are some people who will always claim that he was underrated. But then, he was a Beatle after all which isn’t a bad start. And then look at everything else he achieved.
“I hope that anyone who comes along to the show goes away from it going’ I did not have a clue that he did that, that, that, that....’ And to think he died at only 58. Who knows what else he might have done.
“Go along for a good time but also be prepared to be educated - the show is really enlightening.”
As well as a celebration of George Harrison, from Daniel, you also get the sense that the show is also a celebration of the city of Liverpool.
“There was and there still is such a tremendous amount of things going on,” he said. “That’s why I still live there. It’s a firecracker of a place, there’s so much creativity.”
Daniel - who has also starred in touring productions of Blood Brothers and his own show The Very Best of Tommy Cooper - said that from the outset, Something About George has been special.
“When we went into rehearsal for first time I’ve never felt a calmer, more at peace rehearsal room,” he said. “There was no reason to feel stressed, it was about George Harrison wasn’t it? He was such a chilled, relaxed and decent man.”
As a songwriter George was responsible for absolute classics including Here Comes the Sun, Something and My Sweet Lord. He was the instigator of the Concert for Bangladesh -”it was the blueprint for Live Aid” said Daniel - an all-star event which spawned a live album which raised £15 million for famine relief. He also co-founded Handmade Films which was produced Monty Python’s Life of Brian and became at the heart of a resurgent British film industry.
Musical projects included arguably the first supergroup - The Travelling Wilbury - which included Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan in its line-up.
“Then there was the spiritual side of George,” said Daniel. “That was such an important thing to him and that has been very important in helping me understand what shaped him.”
Something About George co-producer Bill Elms said: “It may be 20 years since the world lost George Harrison, but he lives on through his incomparable music, and this show created in Liverpool, highlights the legacy he left the world.”
Something About George, Octagon, Bolton, Sunday, February 26. Details from www.octagonbolton.co.uk
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