George and Paul


I've always had the feeling of George not liking Paul at all really. When together obviously in let it be I think they all hated Paul and when I watch it I even squirm hearing Paul go on. But in the anthology you could tell George feels uncomfortable around Paul like intimidated in a way. When interviewed on his own George is full of life. Every time. George wrote songs between '68 and '75 that Paul wishes he wrote. George's guitar sound is instantly noticeable as Beatles material as is ringos drum fills. And for John Lennon could you imagine the songs he would've produced in the final stages of his Beatle career if he had have given 100%?? I dare to dream. He didn't care less and still to me some are classics. And for the record thank god for yoko because I know they both had drug issues but I believe if it wasn't for yoko we would've lost john well, well before 1980.

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I agree that George seemed uncomfortable in those "Anthology" interviews whenever Paul was present with him.

In the Scorsese doc. on George, you even see some OTHER stuff that you didn't see in "Anthology", like Paul walking into a room and apparently seeing George for the first time in person in quite some time (at that time), and George is seated, strumming on a guitar. Paul walks in, wearing a black, heavy leather jacket (Paul and Linda, as well as George , had been supposedly devout vegans for many years). Paul seems touched to see George, and leans down to hug the seated George (who doesn't get up). George sort of gives a half hug back with one arm (Paul hugs him with both arms) and, with the one arm still on Paul's shoulder, he pushes Paul back a bit, and looks him up and down and then says, "Ah. So, this is the vegetarian leather, huh?" . George seems a tad nasty in his tone, too, like he's not really kidding. Paul sort of seems disappointed and embarrassed, he half chuckles. It was as though Paul may have been thinking, "Oh wow, first time he sees me in forever, and we're going to have a row right away. Great reunion comment, George." (Of course, George had a point. And he is legendary for speaking his mind and hurting people's feelings being brutally honest.)

Then, throughout the "Anthology", whenever George and Paul are on camera together, George seems very uncomfortable. There is one interview in the special features section where they are in Abbey Road studio with George Martin. Martin and Paul had selected some classic track takes to listen to on camera for the doc. cameras. (For the record, I think George Martin always favored Paul a bit.). They choose "Golden Slumbers", in raw form, with only Paul and his piano. And when Martin, asks, on camera, who all is doing what on this track, George does a half annoyed, sarcastic laugh, and says, "Doesn't sound like anybody else is on it!", like he was annoyed that Martin and Paul basically chose a solo McCartney tune for this occasion. Then, he goes into a subtle series of jabs about Paul wanting to play all the roles and instruments on his own songs. They hear another instrument come in, and Martin says, "Now who's playing this?", and George says, looking quite annoyed, "HE is." pointing at Paul without looking at him. There are many other examples.

Also, remember that, post-Beatles-break-up, George was more on John's side, and even appeared on John's "Imagine" album, and they both would take verbal swipes at Paul. Later, George took playful swipes at Paul at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (which Paul did not attend).

I agree, I don't think George liked Paul very much at all.

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There's also the famous table interview with Paul, George, and Ringo from "Anthology" where Paul is talking about people always asking him about The Beatles reuniting, and he would say, "What are you talking about???", meaning because of Lennon's death that this was impossible. Then, Ringo says, "Well, let me put it to you this way. Are you getting back together?", and before Paul can answer, George IMMEDIATELY gives a VERY definite, "NO!"...

And doing lone interviews after "Anthology" was released, George was very clear about The Beatles NOT continuing after that. He said he was glad they did the "Anthology" project, but that it was NOT a Beatles reunion, but a final farewell. It was the finale they never had, after ending so abruptly and ugly all those years before, and then taking it all for granted and then Lennon dying, making a true reunion or finale impossible. This was the next best thing, in George's thinking. It tied up the loose ends, made amends (for the fans and The Beatles themselves), and closed the doors once and for all. Considering George was only five years from his own death at the time, he couldn't have known just how right he was.

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I agree; I remember knowing "Real Love" well before the 'Anthology' version. It was even, in spare acoustic guitar form, on the "Imagine: John Lennon" soundtrack LP from back in 1988. Various versions of it had also been played on Eliott Mintz's "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio show back in the late 80s-early 90s. Even Paul said that that one was far less interesting to do for him because it was basically already a finished Lennon song, with the other three just being Lennon's "side men". Then, Jeff Lynne just sped up and stretched out Lennon's voice to an almost chipmunks pitch, and added various effects and things, a la ELO, and the only notable contributions from Paul, George, and Ringo on that one were some backing instruments.

"Free As A Bird" I'd never heard before 'Anthology'. And I remember at the time that there had been a huge build-up about that song, and then most people were quite disappointed with it. I realize that they didn't have much to work with, with Lennon long gone and most of his other unreleased solo stuff had since been released. There were slim-pickings left over to be sure. And Yoko really wanted John to be on a "new Beatles song", if there was to be one, and not be left out. I'm sure most fans wanted him there,too. Thus, this is what they had. Basically John and his piano, recorded many years before, on a consumer grade tape recorder at home, with much tape hiss and tics, singing a chorus to an unfinished song three times and humming the verse areas in between. They took the tape into a studio and cleaned up the noise a bit, re-recorded it onto professional equipment, and made a "master tape" that looped three choruses of the song with John's piano and voice (double tracked), with timed silent gaps in between. From there, Paul wrote a short bridge (making it, for better or worse, an official Lennon/McCartney song), and then added in were: Paul's solo vocal on the first bridge, and backing vocals on the second and third choruses; Paul's acoustic and bass guitars, and Paul's piano and organ; George's solo vocal on the second bridge and backing vocals on the second and third choruses; George's acoustic and lead guitars (with a slide solo featuring that sound George was so known for from "Cloud Nine" and the Wilburys stuff); George recorded a brief ukelele bit at the end,too; and Ringo on drums and cymbals. Thus, all four Beatles made some sort of contribution to that song, making it the first "new" Beatles song in 25 years at the time. MUCH was made of that and, when the song finally premiered to massive fanfare, people said, "Meh"...


I, too, am glad that The Beatles (or "Threetles" at Paul jokingly called them in 1997) didn't continue on after that. While some may have enjoyed seeing and hearing them together one last time, it was actually quite embarrassing, frankly, and just seemed like a marketing gimmick for the 'Anthology'.

Now, "The Beatles Anthology", on the other hand, as a massive film and as a three double album set, was a Beatles fans dream in every way, and was enormously enjoyable. Both the newer interviews with them and the priceless classic footage. I think there would have been massive interest even without the "new" singles.

And, yes, George was the most reluctant to participate, and the last to commit. And he seemed truly uncomfortable the whole time.

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Yes, the book is so disappointing I forgot about it, LOL. And I have it around here somewhere. I literally don't think I've picked it up since shortly after I got it.

And I still remember the actual interview where Paul said, "Threetles". It was in the early summer of 1997 on VH1, when Paul was promoting his new album, his first post-'Anthology' release, "Flaming Pie". I remember there being a lot more press and promotion for that Paul album than there had been for some time. No doubt that was due to the then-recent 'Anthology', and the new wave of 90s retro-Beatlemania that swept through around that time. Paul was on a stage talking with Jon Fugelsang (remember him from 90s VH1?), in front of a live audience.

Fugelsang would also unknowingly tape George's final interview with him later.

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filmscholar35..You're reading a bit too much into the Anthology "Golden Slumbers" sequence..George is say "HE is" because he assumed Paul would be playing bass on his own track, but George Martin reminds him that the piano and bass were recorded together on a single track..to which George then surmises than HE himself must've been playing the bass , as both he and John used the Fender VI a lot during the Get Back sessions earlier that year.....it is in fact George playing bass, but a photo from Mark Lewison's book show George was actually playing a Fender Jazz.
PS..I think George was joking about Paul's faux leather jacket, not riding him for being a hypocrite

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You he to remember that George and Paul had been close friends since they'd been in school, and he grew to present (and rightfully so) the way he was treated in the band, especially by Paul. From 67/68 onwards, Paul came into.the studio with all his songs fully formed in his head, and instead of letting the others contribute, he just told them what and how to play. You can see it a bit in the film, and George talked about it a lot in interviews. Couple that with things like Paul talking to the press about taking acid after having it 2 or 3 times (vs John and George's many, many trips), his refusal to hold back the release of "McCartney" for "Abbey Road", his announcements that the band had broken up (after begging the others not to do that when they had already quit!), the non-stop lawsuits, the teasing of a Beatles reunion every time he was promoting one of his own projects, and the lawsuit in the 80s which came about when Yoko, George and Ringo found out Paul had negotiated a contract with EMI to get more royalties for himself than the others, and you can see why. (The 80s lawsuit is the reason Macca didn't show up at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction)

Paul always acted like George was a kid instead of being "only nine months younger than him".

George had many, many close friends who loved and respected him. He didn't need Paul constantly being such a dick. He said more than once he'd happily work with John and Ringo again, but would never be in a band again with Paul. He even refused to let a third song from Anthology (supposedly a McCartney/Harrison composition) be released.

That said, I think they made their peace before George died, or George at least let it all go as not to have that karmic baggage on himself.

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Yes, it was unfortunate Paul became such a control freak in the studio without even realizing it... and that he and John never took George's songs as seriously as their own -- particularly when George had caught up to them as a songwriter by '68/'69... and that Yoko drove a wedge between John and the others... and that Brian Epstein died when he could've really helped with their financial troubles/Apple Corps. fiasco at the end of the decade.

But the break-up was inevitable in light of the fact that the group had become to small of an outlet for 3 separate, very strong creative forces. I still think John and George ended up suffering the most artistically, and it may be telling that my favorite solo John song ("Gimme Some Truth") and most of my favorite songs from All Things Must Pass were all written while the group was still together (in fact, most were initially demoed during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions). One has to wonder how things would've gone down if they carried on together on a more part-time basis, as many groups do now... 

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I believe they became very close again after Linda died & George was actually staying at Pauls home when he himself passed away.

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