---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 12:55:46 -0800
From: radtimes <resist@best.com>
Subject: Beatle George Harrison dies
Beatle George Harrison dies
November 30, 2001 Posted: 5:21 AM EST (1021 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- George Harrison, the lead guitarist in
possibly the most influential pop group of all time, The Beatles, has
died aged 58, his spokesman confirmed to CNN.
Harrison died in Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Thursday after a
battle with cancer, spokesman Geoff Baker said, but further details were
not available.
"He died with one thought in mind -- love one another," friend Gavin De
Becker told The Associated Press, adding that Harrison's wife, Olivia
Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him when he died.
His former band-mate Sir Paul McCartney told the Press Association: "I
am devastated and very very sad. We knew he'd been ill for a long time.
"He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of
humour. He is really just my baby brother."
Harrison was known as the quiet one of the Fab Four, which conquered the
world with 27 number one hits in the United States and Britain.. His
credits with The Beatles include the songs, "Taxman," "Here Comes The
Sun" and "Something," the latter described by Frank Sinatra as the
greatest love song of all time.
The youngest member of the world's most famous pop group will always be
remembered for his devotion to Oriental mysticism. It was he who
persuaded the other Beatles to fly to India and sit at the feet of the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
After The Beatles broke up in 1970 Harrison produced a few solo albums,
and was the first of the four to top the UK singles charts as a solo
artist with "My Sweet Lord." Later he helped form the group The
Travelling Wilburys.
With Harrison's death, there now remain two surviving Beatles, Paul
McCartney and Ringo Starr. John Lennon was shot to death by a deranged
fan in 1980.
In 1998, when former smoker Harrison disclosed that he had been treated
for throat cancer, he said: "It reminds you that anything can happen."
The following year, he survived an attack by an intruder at his mansion
in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire.
He was stabbed several times and suffered a punctured lung. In July
2001, he released a statement asking fans not to worry about reports
that he was still battling cancer.
In July 2001, he released a statement asking fans not to worry about
reports that he was still battling cancer.
Harrison's family issued a statement saying: "He left this world as he
lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace,
surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can
wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another."'
It wasn't immediately known if there would be a public funeral for
Harrison. A private ceremony had already taken place, De Becker said.
Lennon's widow Yoko Ono paid tribute to Harrison, who she said brought
magic to the lives of those who knew him.
"George has given so much to us in his lifetime and continues to do so
even after his passing, with his music, his wit and his wisdom," she
told The Press Association.
"His life was magical and we all felt we had shared a little bit of it
by knowing him.
"Thank-you George, it was grand knowing you."
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