The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.
Showing posts with label George Harrison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Harrison. Show all posts

10 Or So Cars Owned by Beatle George Harrison

Cribbed from elsewhere, of course.

  1. The first ever car owned by George Harrison, before all the Jags, Porsches and the Mercs, was a little second-hand Ford Anglia.
  2. The story goes that Brian Epstein bought George Harrison an e-Type for his 21st birthday. Certainly the car above was first registered on 28 February 1964, three-days after Harrison turned 21. The customised car even featured a dash-mounted record-player.
  3. In 1965, Harrison bought his first ever extravagant car – a white DB5. Paul McCartney, bought a DB6 shortly before. In December 2011, Harrison’s DB5 was finally sold at auction, to an anonymous Beatles collector, for £350k.
  4. The late 1970s saw Harrison enter his Porsche phase, buying two 911 Turbos and a 924 Carrera GT.
  5. In 1980 he bought a black 928 S Coupe, before selling it three years later.
  6. Perhaps the greatest love affair he had was with Mercedes cars. In 1970 he bought a red 250 CE Pillarless Coupe and a white 6.3 litre 300 SEL. He was driving the latter in February 1972, on his way to a party given by Ricky Nelson, when he crashed into a lamppost at speed. He escaped with a few scratches but first wife, Pattie, suffered concussion and broken ribs and was hospitalised for two weeks.
  7. At more than six metres long, the Mercedes-Benz Pullman Limousine is a beast of a car, It boasted a drinks cabinet and a Phillips Mignon EP record player in the back, as well as the all-important privacy screen. Originally owned by John Lennon, he sold it to Harrison in 1971.
  8. Mercedes 500 SEL AMG. Of all of the cars Harrison owned, this was probably the one he drove the most. He bought it in 1984 and promptly spent a whopping £85k customising it, including lowering the suspension and upgrading the body kit. He must have liked the results as he hung on to the car for 15 years and clocked up 30k miles in it.
  9. The Maclaren F1 is definitely the priciest on the list, which is hardly a surprise, seeing as only 106 were ever built, custom-made for each buyer. Designer Gordon Murray later reported that Harrison was so excited about receiving his car, in 1994, that he would phone up and good-naturedly pester the makers on a regular basis. The end product, with a dark purple pearl exterior and black satin wheels, was still owned by Harrison’s estate until 2021, in spite of Eric Clapton’s repeated attempts to buy it. the car featured Hindu symbols throughout (12 in total), including in place of 'McLaren F1' on steering wheel. Quotes and song lyrics were written with a silver pen on the chassis of the car, including lines from Bob Dylan's Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie.
  10. The most iconic of the lot. In 1965, Brian Epstein teamed up with Terry Doran (supposedly “the man from the motor trade” mentioned in “She’s Leaving Home”) to buy Minis at cost price to give to all four Beatles. Harrison’s Mini was customised by coach-builder Harold Radford with a full-length sunroof, horizontally-mounted Volkswagen tail lights and hood-mounted rally fog lamps. In 1967, he had it decorated with psychedelic images inspired by the book Tantra Art. Later that year, the car came to prominence when it featured in the film Magical Mystery Tour, before being given to Eric Clapton. Harrison regretted parting with the car and Clapton returned it to him years later.

10 Anti-war songs 1961-1973


There are hundreds of these. I heard Donavon singing Buffy Sainte-Marie's Universal Soldier the other day and that set me off.
  1. 1961 "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Pete Seeger
  2. 1964 "With God on Our Side" Bob Dylan
  3. 1964 "Universal Soldier" Buffy Sainte-Marie
  4. 1965 "Eve of Destruction" Barry McGuire
  5. 1966 "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" Simon & Garfunkel
  6. 1969 "Fortunate Son" Creedence Clearwater Revival
  7. 1969 "Give Peace a Chance" Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon
  8. 1970 "War" Edwin Starr
  9. 1971 "Yours Is No Disgrace" Yes
  10. 1973 "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" George Harrison

10 more who have refused the MBE


  1. Doris Lessing, author (in 1977; later declined appointment as DBE in 1992, because it is in the name of a non-existent Empire; accepted appointment as CH in 2000).
  2. Michael Rosen, author and poet
  3.  Benjamin Zephaniah, poet (in 2010), stating: "I get angry when I hear the word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised."Also Philip Larkin poet and librarian in 1968.
  4. Roald Dahl, author (in 1986, wanted a knighthood)
  5. Ken Loach, film director (in 1977): "I turned down the OBE because it's not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who've got it."
  6. Michael Winner, film director (in 2006; saying, "An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at King's Cross station.")
  7. George Harrison, former Beatle (in 2000), reportedly felt he deserved a knighthood, as his fellow ex-Beatle Paul McCartney had been awarded in 1997
  8. Hank Marvin, guitarist (The Shadows)
  9. Hughie Green, TV personality, (in 1960)
  10. Nigella Lawson, chef, gourmand, television personality/presenter; cookery writer

Blue Plaque Near Baker Street


I was down near Baker Street on the upper deck of the bus the other day when I saw a blue plaque I had not seen before although it must have been there for some years. I was initially confused by the reference to Lennon and Harrison and not to the others but, of course, that is because Starr adn McCartney are still very much alive. The address is 94 Baker Street, the site of the now dissolved Apple Boutique clothing store, owned in the 60s by Apple Corps Ltd, a company formed by the band. A blue plaque to Lennon was already there and was replaced with a new one naming Harrison, following his death in 2001.

10 people who died at the age of 58

Around this time of year we like to do this. It keeps us humbled and sane(ish).

1. Machiavelli, Niccolo writer (58 years 50 days, June 22, 1527)
2. Dickens, Charles novelist (58 years 122 days, June 9, 1870)
3. Baker, Chet jazz musician (58 years 142 days, May 13, 1988)
4. Flaubert, Gustave writer (58 years 148 days on May 8, 1880)
5. Warhol, Andy artist (died of complications from gallbladder surgery 58 years 200 days, February 22, 1987)
6. Burton, Richard Welsh actor (died of cerebral haemorrhage 58 years 269 days, August 5, 1984)
7. Harrison, George Beatle (died of cancer 58 years 277 days, November 29, 2001)
8. King James I [VI] (58 years 281 days, March 27, 1625)
9. White, Barry singer (58 years 295 days, July 4, 2003)
10. Kepler, Johannes astronomer (58 years 323 days, November 15, 1630)
[Also, Joyce, James Irish writer (died of a perforated ulcer 58 years 346 days. January 13, 1941)

10 Popular songs not written by the song writing people who sang them

1. Without you by Harry Nilsson was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans
2. Bette Davis eyes by Kim Carnes was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon
3. Hanging on the telephone by Blondie was written by Jack Lee
4. Girls just wanna have fun by Cyndi Lauper was written by Robert Hazard
5. Got my mind set on you by George Harrison was written by Rudy Clark
6. I write the songs by Barry Manilow was written by Bruce Johnston
7. Nobody does it better by Carly Simon was written by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager.
8. Dazed and confused by Led Zeppelin was written by Jake Holmes
9. Morning has broken by Cat Stevens was written by Eleanor Farjeon usinga traditional tune
10. Nothing compares to you by Sinead O'Connor was written by Prince

Death of Ravi Shankar


Ravi Shankar has died at the age of 92. Perhaps he was most famous as George Harrison's sitar teacher but he had his own career in the west and is also the father of Norah Jones. I remember buying Transmigration Macabre in my teens or early twenties. This track has always been my favourite. It is truly beautiful. As for metempsychosis, as Mr Shankar now knows, it is not so.

Still gently weeps


In one of those "random" events I see that this piece from Dutch TV at the time of Harrison's death was recently posted on youtube. I remember talking to Jan at the time of Harrison's death. I'm afraid his opinion of the man as a guitarist was not very high (broomstick player was the term he seized on when it was suggested).

Gently weeps

Like many modern and post modern people the Beatles were fascinated by the random. I was recently reading that George Harrison wrote his "While my guitar gently weeps" by selecting two words (gently weeps) from a book at random. I thought I might repeat the experiment. I'm using a Penguin edition of Samuel Smiles Self-help book. That gives me something like

While my guitar plumbs the strata OR
My guitar springing into a boat OR
Play my guitar - work to be got.

If we forget about Harrison for a moment and just focus on a random phrase from Smiles - what difficulty - I can come up with

With what difficulty these words I write,
Constrained by my method, I lose the fight.
With what difficulty these lines I compose,
As for what they mean there's no-one knows.
With what difficulty deep thoughts I seek,
While all of the lines are contrived and weak.
With what difficulty I reach the end,
Let's all hope I haven't started a trend.
Just need a solo from Clapton and fame beckons.

10 Songs about singers


This list was prompted by a question on University Challenge last night.

1. Duke Ellington (Sir Duke) - Stevie Wonder
2. Geno [Washington] - Dexy's Midnight Runners
(This Geno Washington is apparently not to be confused with Gino Washington another artiste)
3. Syd Barrett (Shine on you crazy diamond) - Pink Floyd
5. Paul McCartney - Scissor Sisters
6. John Lennon (All those years ago) - George Harrison
7. (Song for) Bob Dylan - David Bowie
8. (Song to) Woody [Guthrie] - Bob Dylan
9. Don McLean (Killing me softly with his song) - Roberta Flack
10. Kurt Cobain (Tearjerker) - Red Hot Chili Peppers