AUTHOR: Louise Harrison
PUBLISHED BY: Acclaim Press
For those readers expecting an
anthology of George’s life, they will be disappointed; it is her story and as
she says is “interwoven with her
experiences and perspectives as the only biological sister of any Beatle”. The
book is mainly about Louise’s life and is her memoire interlaced with anecdotes
and references to brother, George, whilst putting to rights some of the
inaccurate accounts and myths about George and his family. Louise recounts her
own life and relates it to how close she was with her brother and how invested
she was in his career during The Beatles' early years whilst she was living in
the USA.
As older sister to three
brothers, Louise’s life ran parallel to George's in his younger years and she
recounts her time with him and her brothers when they were children growing up
in Liverpool. As a scouser myself, all the places I know and am familiar with
are given a mention, such as the Mersey Tunnel, the Pier Head, the river Mersey
ferries, local parks Sefton and Calderstones, local stores Blackers
and T. J. Hughes, and the district she lived in at that time, Wavertree. The
famous Jerome’s photography studio gets a mention, where all portrait
photographs were taken at that time; I still have mine taken there when I was a
toddler and those of my grandparents from the 1900s.
The 80-plus-year-old author recalls her
upbringing and family life in Liverpool before she settled in the USA with her
husband. Memories of post-war Liverpool and
experiences during the blackout are included, and, as George’s father had been a
steward in the Merchant Navy, (as was mine), she describes his time spent working
away from the family. It is a nostalgic
read of a loving, close-knit family and one I’m sure Louise enjoyed remembering
and recounting for the book.
Louise’s story is well written
and easy to read; it flows quite well except for repetition at times plus she
uses this opportunity to give many of her own personal opinions on politics, religion and her philosophical beliefs, but she does give readers a heads-up
warning that not everyone is going to agree with her, so readers are well prepared
to be offended, or not.
Most Beatles' fans may be
disappointed with the book as Louise makes it clear that she has respected
George’s privacy and will not tell all; but that withstanding, the book does
have interesting stories about John, Paul, George and Ringo, mainly from when
Louise accompanied The Beatles to many of their shows during their 1964-1965
tours of USA.
This memoire also recounts Louise’s
adult life in Canada, Peru, and various places in the USA. She reflects on her
involvement to promote The Beatles during their early years. She gives a rare
glimpse of George, often portrayed as the "shy" Beatle, but who was really
a sensitive, fun-loving and caring person much influenced by the ‘Harrison
Hug’, something all of the family practised and appreciated through their
lives.
She writes about meeting famous people
on her travels such as Prince Phillip, President Clinton and Ed Sullivan plus recounting
memories of George's visit to her home in Illinois a few months before the British
musical invasion into USA, with accompanying photographs along with cherished
family pics, all in black and white. Reproductions of mail correspondence between
herself and record companies such as EMI, Capitol Records and NEMS plus others
makes interesting reading.
This book is not all about The
Beatles and for me that is a plus as there are many books just about The
Beatles and their time together; it is an enjoyable, conversational book which
as such differs from traditional books about The Beatles in a good way.
However, I must take umbrage with
the title of the book as it is somewhat misleading. This book is an
autobiography of Louise Harrison rather than the story of her kid brother's
band and as such it may have been more appropriate to have been titled to reflect
this. Additionally, I was disappointed that letters George wrote to his sister weren’t included
in the book as I have enjoyed reading and listening to many of them online.
That being said, the book is
informative, entertaining and revealing; I was surprised to learn of Louise’s
contribution to the start of The Beatles' careers and their popularity in
America as I was unaware of this. It appears that Louise never benefitted
from her brother's fame as a Beatle although he did look after her financially
over the years; evidence of her hard work on The Beatles' behalf before they made
it big in the USA is demonstrated in the book.
It was a joy to read Louise’s life
story, her part in The Beatles' musical journey and share her memories of
Liverpool and her younger days with George, often labelled the quiet, shy
Beatle but who Louise cites as the fun-loving, spiritual person she was lucky
enough to have as her brother.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard.
No comments:
Post a Comment