Remember When George Harrison Made a Video That (Sort Of) Contained a Beatles Reunion in 1987

The solo members of The Beatles generally tried to steer clear of musical associations with their old band. But as time passed and the hurt feelings of the breakup fizzled, they occasionally embraced sounds and motifs similar to what they’d done back in the 60s.

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George Harrison did just that on his brilliant 1987 track “When We Was Fab”. And then he leaned into the Beatle comparisons with a video that hinted at a reunion of the living members.

Fab Formation

George Harrison didn’t intentionally set out to make a Beatles throwback track when he first started creating “When We Was Fab” with Jeff Lynne. Harrison generally liked to finish writing a song before he started tracking it. But the influence of Lynne caused him to change his tactics with this particular song.

All throughout the process of making the Cloud Nine album, the two men would occasionally return to the track and add certain elements. They originally called it “Aussie Fab”, in part because they started writing it in Australia and in part because there were Beatlesque elements in it.

Once the lyrics started to drop into place, the “Fab” part stuck. And Harrison took the opportunity to look back in loving, tongue-in-cheek fashion at his years with The Beatles. Thanks to Lynne’s production touches, the song sounds very much like a lost cut from Magical Mystery Tour.

Who was That Masked Walrus?

When it came time to make the video, Harrison enlisted Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, former members of 10cc, who directed some of the most innovative clips of that era. And he filled the track with special guest stars, all while he played a somewhat stoic role in the middle of it all as these luminaries passed him by.

Among the big names appearing were Elton John, longtime Beatles executive Neil Aspinall, and percussionist extraordinaire Ray Cooper. Ringo Starr, who can be heard playing on the track and even counting out the rhythm at the beginning of the song, also appears.

As the video progresses, you can also spot a walrus in a costume playing a bass guitar. He just happens to be a left-handed player. It didn’t take Beatles fans very long to put two and two together and jump to the conclusion that Paul McCartney was the guy in the costume.

Was It Paul?

Harrison fueled the speculation by mentioning in an interview that it was indeed McCartney, even though he had been too much of a retiring flower to show his face. That should have let folks know that Harrison was having some fun with them, since McCartney has never been known for shyness.

In truth, Harrison did indeed reach out to McCartney to possibly show up in the video. Considering that relations between Macca and the rest of the band weren’t at a high point at that time (he famously skipped the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for The Beatles in 1988), it was a big gesture by Harrison.

But McCartney was unavailable to make it due to other commitments. He gave Harrison his blessing to put someone in the costume to fool folks. In that way, the video for “When We Was Fab” gave us a kind of Beatles reunion, as long as we didn’t look behind the mask.

Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images