George Harrison gained a reputation as the member of The Beatles least likely to put himself out in the public eye. But there was a time when he was engaged in a whirlwind of activity. And he received some of the worst press of his career for his trouble.
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We’re talking about his Dark Horse period. That’s the album he released at the end of 1974 and the tour that accompanied it. Harrison’s reputation took a big hit (we think unfairly). It would be a long time before he’d make that kind of effort in the spotlight again.
Back on the ‘Horse’
No member of The Beatles toured America until Harrison took the initiative to do so in 1974. Of the four men, he seemed the longest shot. After all, he harbored a general aversion to live performances. But he was promoting both a record and a record label at the time.
Harrison had been prepping the album Dark Horse for the better part of a year. Meanwhile, wanting to get out from under The Beatles/Apple umbrella in the wake of their legal squabbles, he also formed a label of the same name to release his own records as well as those of chosen artists.
But Harrison spread himself way too thin throughout 1974. While constantly dealing with tabloid speculation about the state of his crumbling marriage and his various affairs, he started drinking and using drugs to excess. He tackled several other commitments throughout the year as wekk. By the time he was set to embark on the Dark Horse tour in November 1974, he still hadn’t finished the album. And he had damaged his voice during rehearsals.
A ‘Dark’ Period
Unrealistic expectations of others hounded the tour, which began on November 2, 1974, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Harrison being the first ex-Beatle to play extensively in America made for huge news. And the press played up those Fab Four associations to the extent that they expected an extensive homage to his former group.
But anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Harrison should have known that he wasn’t about to fill the tour with Beatles nostalgia. On the few songs of the band that he did play, he fiddled with the arrangements and the lyrics (even on the John Lennon-penned “In My Life”.)
He also started the tour playing songs from Dark Horse. Only he hadn’t yet released the album, causing fans to hear unfamiliar material. And, true to his beliefs, he allowed Ravi Shankar to take up a good portion of each concert with his Indian music. Critics from some of the world’s biggest music publications took aim at the tour almost immediately.
Reviews and Regrets
Once the album was released in December, it seemed to get swallowed up by the negativity surrounding the tour. The fact that Harrison’s croaky vocals were evident on the record certainly didn’t help. The easy joke was to call it “Dark Hoarse.”
The tour even ended somewhat shakily, as a last-minute disagreement with Harrison prevented John Lennon from appearing on stage with him for the final shows in New York City. Harrison returned home to England much worse for the wear.
Now that we can judge the album and the tour separate from the hype and tumult at the time, it’s hard to hear why everyone was so offended. Nonetheless, Harrison was stung by the reaction. Never again would he tour the United States.
Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns/Getty Images
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