Episode #104 | 6.14.22
George Harrison: Surviving the Beatles, the London Drug Squad, and a Home Invasion
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In this episode
George Harrison famously survived the dissolution of the Beatles, a bust by London’s drug squad, a potentially bloody visit from the Hell’s Angels, and a few rounds with cancer. But on the final day of the 20th century, his strength and faith were put to the ultimate test. A crazed fan, convinced that the Beatles were evil and George was a sorcerer who had possessed him, broke into George’s Friar Park estate in the dead of night with one goal: to murder George Harrison.
Sources
Behind Sad Eyes: The Life of George Harrison, by Marc Shapiro
Living in the Material World, by Olivia Harrison
George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011, dir. Martin Scorsese)
Pure Madness: How Fear Drives the Mental Health System, by Jeremy Laurance
The harrowing moment George Harrison was attacked at knifepoint (Far Out)
George Harrison stabbed in chest by an intruder (NY Times)
Harrison Attacker Found Not Guilty (Rolling Stone)
Harrison Back Home After Attack (Rolling Stone)
George Harrison’s attacker released from hospital (The Guardian)
The night George Harrison thought he was dying (The Guardian
Ho-Ho-NO: ‘Quiet Beatle’ George Harrison invites the Hells Angels Over for Christmas, 1968 (Dangerous Minds)
Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. It melds music history, true crime and transgressive fiction. Disgraceland is not journalism. Disgraceland is entertainment. Entertainment inspired by true events. However, certain scenes, characters and names are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
Music
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Zeth Lundy.
Copy editing by Pat Healy.
Mixed and Engineered by Sean Cahalin.
Score by Jake Brennan.
Disgraceland theme song, "Crenshaw Space Boogie" written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak