Behind Two Locked Doors

[Moogmodule]

In recent times I've read two similarly titled biographies of George. Elliot J Huntley's Behind that Locked Door and Graeme Thomson's Behind the Locked Door.

The Huntley book commences with the break-up of the Beatles and takes us til Georges death in 2001. It's a pretty slight effort. Huntley is too clearly a fan of George which skews the book too far toward his mostly favourable opinion on George's music and other activities, and less on presenting a biography of facts and analysis to help the reader make up their own mind.  He always tends to give the George-friendly spin on any issue with two sides. Huntley also has an annoying habit of overdoing exclamation marks which contributes to  a feeling of gosh golly fandom. That said he is not uncritical and has a nice dry sense of humour. (On the Clapton/Pattie episode he concludes by saying of Eric and Pattie 'The couple then lived happily ever after until their divorce a few years later.') It looks like Huntley wrote the book from existing resources rather than interviewing people who knew George (there's no list of interviewees or even bibliography in my kindle edition). While not a must read it's an easy read and enjoyable enough for George fans.

Thomson's book, though only around the same length as Huntley's, is much more substantial and probably the best bio of George to date. Dealing with all of George's life, it's very much warts and all. Episodes illustrating George's churlish and bitter side balance the praiseworthy aspects of his life. Thomson uses a neat device of a short pre-chapter anecdote, titled Be Here Now, to relate some incident that deals with the themes of the subsequent chapter.

He is much more objective than Huntley on George's music. On his solo career he comes across as analytical and balanced; without being reflexively dismissive of material even on George's weaker albums. (Well, perhaps Gone Troppo stretches the friendship there a bit.) His afterword where he assesses George's career and overall talents was well-argued, compelling and fair. 

He suggests that, through lack of confidence and shyness, George didn't necessarily present all his strengths as a musician.  George's demos and unreleased songs showed that stripped back and more intimate arrangements often suited him. Fans of George's acoustic version of While My Guitar will understand what he means.

Thomson clearly had good access to George's friends and associates so there are lots of facts and episodes in the book that are new to me. He tells a cute story of George using his celebrity to get into a Prince concert. Clearly, despite the drawbacks George was all to willing to complain about, being an ex-Beatle had perks worth using.

Thomson conveys very well the hair-tearing frustration George felt in the Beatles when his attempts to contribute more were rebuffed, just after returning from being treated as an equal by US musicians such as the Band and Bob Dylan. A quote from Glyn Johns is one of the best illustrations of the tortured relationships in the Beatles at the time and the effect  particularly on George. Johns said, after George had demoed Something to him he couldn't on earth understand what was going on in the Beatles when George seemed reluctant to introduce such a song to John and Paul.

I think the Thomson book is a must read for George fans. And recommended for anyone interested in the Beatles. I wouldn't call it definitive. The authors lack of access to the remaining Beatles and Olivia and Dhani probably prevents it gaining that honour. He clearly draws a lot on Pattie Boyd's input but, as presented, it doesn't appear that she was overly negative or using it to settle scores, although her quotes often have a sad undertone. As if you can hear a wistful sigh as she delivers it.

As someone who probably listens to George's solo stuff more so than that of the other Beatles, it's good to see a bio that shows his strengths and weaknesses, rather than gushing fandom on one hand or hatchet job on the other.

[KelMar]

Thanks Moog. It can be difficult to know what's worth devoting one's time to in the literary Beatles universe.

[Normandie]

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[Moogmodule]

Thanks Normandie. I think the Thomson book is the best bio on George to date, although the definitive biography is yet to be written. The best book is Simon Leng's which focuses just on George's music.

I read a woeful one on George recently too by Marc Shapiro. Extremely lightweight and superficial, and with excruciating factual errors. Forum members will be surprised to know that John Lennon's first solo album after the Beatles broke up was called Primal Screams and that no original material was done during the Decca audition. On the subject of the book itself he said that George was "approaching 30" in 1969. (I doubt many 26 year olds would consider themselves as approaching 30). He gets simple stats wrong, for instance that the Dark Horse LP only got to 36 in the US charts (it got to 4) and that Ding Dong was the first single from the album and "struggled to make the top 40" (the first single was the title cut which got to 15 on the Billboard 100).

So George isn't too well served to date by biographies. More worthwhile is a recent book called George Harrison on George Harrison, which is a comprehensive transcript of his interviews, radio and tv appearances. While a bit heavy going in 67/68 when all he can talk about is his meditation and Krishna consciousness, the later transcripts from the early 70s onward can be very interesting. While George always complained about media intrusion, when he was with an interviewer he seemed very helpful, friendly and thoughtful in his answers. There's also a few more instances of George being complimentary about John and Paul, in particular their songwriting with the Beatles, then you'd be led to believe from the usual quotes that get used in articles.

[Moogmodule]

Uh-oh, I think I'm guilty of that myself. 

Me too! But we're not writing bios of Beatles 

[zipp]

I have the Thomson book and I don't think it's that great, but thanks for letting us know it's probably the best available.

I too really liked Pattie Boyd's Wondeful Tonight which I'll try to re-read soon.

[Moogmodule]

I have the Thomson book and I don't think it's that great, but thanks for letting us know it's probably the best available.

I too really liked Pattie Boyd's Wondeful Tonight which I'll try to re-read soon.

Yeah it's more a case of being best of a bad bunch. And it has its good points. But the really  comprehensive and in-depth George bio is still awaited.

[Normandie]

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[Moogmodule]

I found two Marc Shapiro–authored books on Amazon, Moogmodule: All Things Must Pass: The Life of George Harrison (Virgin Books, 2011) and Behind Sad Eyes: The Life of George Harrison (Vintage Books, 2002). Which one did you read? (Or perhaps they are the same but republished with a different title.)

Whichever one it was, it sounds awful. I have zero tolerance for factual errors. If the author doesn't get it right, then the publisher should certainly catch some of this stuff. That's what they're paid to do. I once busted an author who misquoted the Cheshire Cat. ( ) 

The Behind Sad Eyes title sounds like a word play on Behind Blue Eyes, which of course is by The Who. So that's odd. If that is the title of the one you read, did the author give any allusions to the title? (I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently familiar with George's solo work to catch onto any allusions.)

I think it's been retitled. You're right the title has nothing to do with any of George's work. Maybe he altered it after reviews back when it was first published asked exactly the same thing. This was published before the two Locked Door books. So he missed an obvious trick there. About sums up his abilities  as a biographer I think.

[Normandie]

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[Normandie]

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[Normandie]

I just finished Thomson's book and really enjoyed it. He presents a fair and balanced account, and the text is meticulously annotated. I was dismayed, though, by what a dour, pessimistic—and, at times, sanctimonious—person George seemed to be. I'm very glad I read it though; I learned a lot.