Concert for George

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DVD Cover

For the released album, see Concert for George (album).

The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death.^[1] The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia and Harrison's son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton, with all profits from the event going to the Material World Charitable Foundation.

The concert opened with Indian music when Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, played "Your Eyes". Next, Anoushka Shankar and Jeff Lynne performed "The Inner Light", followed by a Ravi Shankar composition "Arpan" (Sanskrit for 'to give'), specially written for the occasion.

Then there was a comedy interlude with members of the Monty Python troupe (Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam) along with Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland and special guest Tom Hanks performing "Sit on My Face" and "The Lumberjack Song". The remainder of the concert featured "George's Band" and included musicians Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Albert Lee, Sam Brown, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Ray Cooper, Harrison's son Dhani and several other musicians who appeared on Harrison's recordings over the years.

Between them they played a selection of mostly Harrison's songs, from both Beatles and post-Beatles eras, generally staying faithful to Harrison's original arrangements. Highlights included Clapton and Preston on "Isn't It a Pity" and; Starr on "Photograph"; McCartney on "Something" (opening with a solo ukulele accompaniment); Preston on "My Sweet Lord"; McCartney, Clapton and Starr reuniting on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" for the first time since The Prince's Trust Concert in 1987; and the performance of Wah Wah, showcasing the incredible vocal similarities between Dhani and his father.

The event was filmed and a motion picture version, directed by David Leland and photographed by Chris Menges, went on general release, and a DVD and CD were also released on the November 17th, 2003. The Monty Python and Sam Brown tracks were not included on the CD.

1 Set list
- 1.1 George's Band (after interlude) and guests
2 Notes and references
3 External links

[edit] Set list

"Sarve Shaam"
- Traditional prayer - including a dedication by Ravi Shankar
"Your Eyes" (Ravi Shankar) - 8:22
- Anoushka Shankar: sitar / Tanmoy Bose: tabla
"The Inner Light" (Harrison) - 3:01
- Anoushka Shankar: sitar / Jeff Lynne: lead vocal, acoustic guitar / Tanmoy Bose: tabla / Dhani Harrison: piano, backing vocals / Unidentified musician(s)
"Arpan" (Ravi Shankar) - 23:01
- Anoushka Shankar: sitar, conductor / Sukanya Shankar: vocal-shloka / M. Balanchandar: mridangam / Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: mohan vina / Tanmoy Bose: tabla, dholak / Chandrasekhar, Balu Raghuraman: violins / Eric Clapton: guitar / Pedro Eustache: wind instruments / Sunil Gupta: flute / Anuradha Krishamurthi, O.S. Arun: vocalists / Jane Lister: harp / Gaurav Mazumdar: sitar / Snehashish Mzumdar: mandolin / Ramesh Mishra: sarangi / Pirshanna Thevarajah: percussion / Kenji Ota: tanpura / Barry Phillips: cello / Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai / Emil Richards: marimba / Partho Sarathy: sarod / Hari Sivanesan, Sivaskti Sivanesan: veena / Boys and Girls Choir courtesy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan / English Chamber Choir / London Metropolitan Orchestra (Andrew Brown, Roger Chase, Chris Fish, Helen Hathorn, Lynda Houghton, Ian Humphries, Zoe Martlew, Stella Page, Debbie Widdup)
- Michael Kamen - string conductor, string arrangement
Comic Interlude including four members of Monty Python: Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam. Also performing: Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland and Tom Hanks.
- "Sit On My Face"
- "Game Show Titles"
- "The Lumberjack Song"
- "The Spam Song"
"I Want to Tell You" (Harrison) - 2:52
- Jeff Lynne: lead vocal, guitar
"If I Needed Someone" (Harrison) - 2:28
- Eric Clapton: lead vocal, guitar
"Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) - 3:48
- Gary Brooker: lead vocal, keyboards
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Harrison) - 3:29
- Jeff Lynne: lead vocal, guitar
"Beware Of Darkness" (Harrison) - 4:00
- Eric Clapton: lead vocal, guitar
"Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison) - 3:09
- Joe Brown: lead vocal, guitar / Neil Gauntlett: guitar / Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass / Phil Capaldi: drums
"That's The Way It Goes" (Harrison) - 3:39
- Joe Brown: lead vocal, mandolin / Neil Gauntlett: guitar / Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass / Phil Capaldi: drums
"Horse To The Water" (George Harrison/Dhani Harrison)
- Sam Brown: lead vocal / Jools Holland: piano / Jim Capaldi: drums
"Taxman" (Harrison) - 3:10
- Tom Petty: lead vocal, guitar / Mike Campbell: lead guitar / Benmont Tench: keyboards / Ron Blair: bass / Steve Ferrone: drums / Scott Thurston: additional guitar, background vocals
"I Need You" (Harrison) - 3:00
- Tom Petty: lead vocal, guitar / Mike Campbell: lead guitar / Benmont Tench: keyboards / Ron Blair: bass / Steve Ferrone: drums / Scott Thurston: additional guitar, background vocals
"Handle With Care" (George Harrison/Jeff Lynne/Roy Orbison/Tom Petty/Bob Dylan) - 3:27
- Tom Petty: lead vocal, guitar / Jeff Lynne: lead vocal / Dhani Harrison: guitar / Scott Thurston: background vocal, harmonica / Mike Campbell: lead guitar / Benmont Tench: keyboards / Ron Blair: bass / Steve Ferrone: drums / Jim Keltner: drums
"Isn't It A Pity" (Harrison) - 6:58
- Billy Preston: lead vocal, organ / Eric Clapton: lead vocal, lead guitar
"Photograph" (Starkey/Harrison) - 3:56
- Ringo Starr: lead vocal
"Honey Don't" (Carl Perkins) - 3:03
- Ringo Starr: lead vocal / Albert Lee: guitar solo
"For You Blue" (Harrison) - 3:04
- Paul McCartney: lead vocal, acoustic guitar / Marc Mann: slide guitar
"Something" (Harrison) - 4:25
- Paul McCartney: lead vocal, ukulele, guitar / Eric Clapton: lead vocal, lead guitar
"All Things Must Pass" (Harrison) - 3:33
- Paul McCartney: lead vocal, acoustic guitar
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison) - 5:57
- Eric Clapton: lead vocal, lead guitar / Paul McCartney: piano,background vocals / Ringo Starr: drums
"My Sweet Lord" (Harrison) - 5:02
- Billy Preston: lead vocal, keyboards
"Wah-Wah" (Harrison) - 6:06
- Jeff Lynne/Eric Clapton: lead vocal, guitar/Billy Preston: lead vocal/keyboards / Supergroup of Guest Musicians: all other instruments
"I'll See You in My Dreams" (Isham Jones/Gus Kahn) - 4:01
- Joe Brown: lead vocal, ukulele / Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar / Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass / Jim Capaldi: drums