George Harrison‘s darkly humourous response to being stabbed has been revealed in a new biography by Philip Norman.
The former Beatle was the victim of a home invasion in 1999, which resulted in the musician receiving 40 stab wounds, puncturing his lung. Harrison was already dealing with cancer at the time, and it is presumed that the attack only worsened his condition. The musician died in 2001.
George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle explains the attack in detail, with Norman providing new facts about the incident. Upon hearing someone break into his home, where he lived with his wife, Olivia, Harrison got out of bed to investigate.
He was soon confronted by Michael Abram, who was wielding a knife. An altercation ensued as Harrison attempted to take the knife out of Abram’s hands. Yet, the intruder managed to get on top of Harrison and stabbed him 40 times.
Olivia hit Abram over the head with a lamp, preventing him from delivering any more potentially fatal stab wounds. In Norman’s new book, he reveals what Harrison said following his close shave with death.
According to Harrison’s son Dhani, the ex-Beatle described Abram by saying, “He wasn’t a burglar and he certainly wasn’t auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys.”
Abram was sent to a psychiatric unit following the incident, avoiding prison time on the grounds of insanity. He has since announced regret over his actions, asking Harrison’s family for forgiveness.
Meanwhile, in other Beatles news, when Ringo Starr was asked to provide a timeframe on The Beatles’ upcoming final song, the drummer revealed it “should have been out already”.
Although Paul McCartney said they used artificial intelligence on the song, he later clarified the usage of AI, which was only used to clean up recordings and confirmed Lennon’s authentic voice was used on the new track. “Been great to see such an exciting response to our forthcoming Beatles project. No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year,” McCartney wrote on Twitter.
