George Harrison & Friends – Handmade


My dad is a lifelong Liverpool supporter and he can tell you a lot about the club and the city. He reckons he’s been to Anfield over 100 times and knows every blade of grass in the place. He can really spin a tale about the various adventures he’s had on these trips but my favourite is the one he tells about his chance encounter with George Harrison. It was in late 1979 that he met the famous Beatle in some pub or club after an all-dayer on the lash. Now my father likes his whiskey so his recollections can get muddy after several bottles so he is not fully sure about how the tape came to be in his possession. All he remembers from the time was finding a small untidy package in his suit jacket pocket the morning after his brush with Harrison. He didn’t think much about it until he returned home and decided to open the brown paper packaging. Inside was a cassette with ‘handmade s/t scratchy’ scrawled across its front. Now my dad is neither a music head nor a slave to technology (tapes were new at the time) so the prospect didn’t exactly fill him with excitement so he just gave it to his nerdy 8 year old (me!). At the time I was obsessed with Johnny Cash’s ‘San Quentin’ so didn’t take much notice as it only had one song and I thought it sounded a bit naff. I stashed it away with the Star Wars figurines that I’d grown tired of. Over the years I completely forgot where I’d left it. It was only on a trip back home recently that I happened upon my old toy box and came across the battered tape. The reference to ‘handmade’ may have been in relation to George’s production company and s/t could have stood for soundtrack, perhaps for a film that never happened. It’s all a bit of guesswork though and it’s possible that it’s not even him or the other Beatles messin’ about. I guess the fact of the matter is that the song still sounds pretty awful and is just something myself and my dad can laugh about every now and then. That said my mates do bug me intensely when they ask to listen to the tape every saturday before we head out. How come dad couldn’t have been just one of those drunks that lost things!!! KD

George Harrison and Friends – Handmade

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: George Harrison
Year: 1979

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  1. Anonymous
    March 30, 2009
    Reply

    it’s a rutles song”love life”

  2. March 31, 2009
    Reply

    That’s a nice story. I bet your Dad’s pretty happy with Liverpool’s recent performances.A little while after being on your blog, I was surprised to come across the “s/t” abbreviation again on a blog called Wilfully Obscure. It seems that it may stand for “self-titled”. This may be the case woth your “George Harrison” cassette as well:http://tinyurl.com/dccncmhttp://tinyurl.com/cn4mv2

  3. March 31, 2009
    Reply

    Hey, I don’t think it’s that bad. Have you had it checked out at Sotheby’s?

  4. March 31, 2009
    Reply

    Ha nice story, the song sounds convincing enough

  5. Anonymous
    March 31, 2009
    Reply

    You got that completely wrong mate. That’s Paul singing and not George.

  6. April 1, 2009
    Reply

    I didn’t listened to the track when I posted last night, but I’ve had a chance to do so now and I recognised it straight away. It’s a less accomplished version of a song called ‘Love Life’ by The Rutles. The proper version is not too different, although it’s not as all over the place. It also includes horns and strings and is more recognisable as a parody of The Beatles’ ‘All You Need Is Love’.The song can be found along with 19 others on The Rutles (1978), essentially the soundtrack to All You Need Is Cash, a mocumentary, if you will, rockumentary, that parodies the career of the Fab Four. The most famous members of the band are Eric Idle and former Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band man, Neil Innes, who wrote all the songs.The idea originated three years earlier and George Harrison was involved from the outset. I’m not sure if either he or Handmade Films had any involvment in the film, but the Quiet One did make a brief cameo appearance in it as a TV reporter. The film is readily available on DVD and is definitely worth checking out. I’m sure the album is also available, but let me know if you have any difficulty tracking it down. My own particular favourites on it are I Must Be In Love and Cheese & Onions.The BBC also released an album by the band in 1976 called The Rutland Weekend Songbook and it’s possible that this is where your version of ‘Love Life’ originates

  7. cor, somewhere in the netherlands
    April 1, 2009
    Reply

    so, your dad was one of the Rutles then??

  8. April 4, 2009
    Reply

    Oh you Irish men!!!!! Always get me going and then drop me on my ass! (kidding m’dear, and kissessss to you, of course, great story xoxooxxo)

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