BANGLADESH (Room 504)
BANGLADESH (Room 504)
Perhaps George’s defining moment was the Concert For Bangladesh. Fresh from the success of the release of his solo album ‘All Things Must Pass’, George was emboldened to organize perhaps the most ambitious concert ever staged; ‘The Concert For Bangladesh’. Dismayed by the terrible displacement of 10 million refugees in Bangladesh, George decided to do something to help. All he knew was music so he wrote a song and organized two concerts at Madison Square Gardens on August 1971 in New York City with all monies raised going to an emergency relief fund. The concert was so successful that it spawned a film and a triple disc album and all profits from those went to the fund. It has since been labelled ‘The precursor of Live Aid’ and it certainly was one of the first occasions that rock musicians had raised funds in this manner. George enlisted the help of Ringo, Badfinger, old friend Klaus Voormann, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Ravi Shankar who all performed. Sadly John did not appear after a disagreement with George regarding Yoko’s participation. However the great coup was the re-emergence of Bob Dylan who hadn’t performed live since 1969 in the Isle of Wight. Indeed Bob took so much persuading by George that he later recalled “I was not sure that he would show up”. George had a written set list and after his song ‘Here Comes The Sun’. George had put a question mark. He needn’t have worried, he looked around and a nervous Dylan took to the stage. Ringo also was very nervous as he hadn’t performed live for many years. Apart from raising much needed money, the other great achievement of the concert was to highlight the plight of the Bangladesh people, which had been hitherto virtually ignored by the worlds media.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BANGLADESH (Room 504)
Perhaps George’s defining moment was the Concert For Bangladesh. Fresh from the success of the release of his solo album ‘All Things Must Pass’, George was emboldened to organize perhaps the most ambitious concert ever staged; ‘The Concert For Bangladesh’. Dismayed by the terrible displacement of 10 million refugees in Bangladesh, George decided to do something to help. All he knew was music so he wrote a song and organized two concerts at Madison Square Gardens on August 1971 in New York City with all monies raised going to an emergency relief fund. The concert was so successful that it spawned a film and a triple disc album and all profits from those went to the fund. It has since been labelled ‘The precursor of Live Aid’ and it certainly was one of the first occasions that rock musicians had raised funds in this manner. George enlisted the help of Ringo, Badfinger, old friend Klaus Voormann, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Ravi Shankar who all performed. Sadly John did not appear after a disagreement with George regarding Yoko’s participation. However the great coup was the re-emergence of Bob Dylan who hadn’t performed live since 1969 in the Isle of Wight. Indeed Bob took so much persuading by George that he later recalled “I was not sure that he would show up”. George had a written set list and after his song ‘Here Comes The Sun’. George had put a question mark. He needn’t have worried, he looked around and a nervous Dylan took to the stage. Ringo also was very nervous as he hadn’t performed live for many years. Apart from raising much needed money, the other great achievement of the concert was to highlight the plight of the Bangladesh people, which had been hitherto virtually ignored by the worlds media.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BANGLADESH (Room 504)
Perhaps George’s defining moment was the Concert For Bangladesh. Fresh from the success of the release of his solo album ‘All Things Must Pass’, George was emboldened to organize perhaps the most ambitious concert ever staged; ‘The Concert For Bangladesh’. Dismayed by the terrible displacement of 10 million refugees in Bangladesh, George decided to do something to help. All he knew was music so he wrote a song and organized two concerts at Madison Square Gardens on August 1971 in New York City with all monies raised going to an emergency relief fund. The concert was so successful that it spawned a film and a triple disc album and all profits from those went to the fund. It has since been labelled ‘The precursor of Live Aid’ and it certainly was one of the first occasions that rock musicians had raised funds in this manner. George enlisted the help of Ringo, Badfinger, old friend Klaus Voormann, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Ravi Shankar who all performed. Sadly John did not appear after a disagreement with George regarding Yoko’s participation. However the great coup was the re-emergence of Bob Dylan who hadn’t performed live since 1969 in the Isle of Wight. Indeed Bob took so much persuading by George that he later recalled “I was not sure that he would show up”. George had a written set list and after his song ‘Here Comes The Sun’. George had put a question mark. He needn’t have worried, he looked around and a nervous Dylan took to the stage. Ringo also was very nervous as he hadn’t performed live for many years. Apart from raising much needed money, the other great achievement of the concert was to highlight the plight of the Bangladesh people, which had been hitherto virtually ignored by the worlds media.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON