Fame is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can be the key to unlocking everything a person has ever desired, providing access to places many could only have only dreamed of entering. However, simultaneously, fame can often cost those in the spotlight their privacy and prevent them from living an everyday life, something The Beatles guitarist George Harrison discovered the hard way.
From a young age, Harrison was obsessed with mastering his instrument and didn’t join a band with the intention of becoming a famous rock star. When The Beatles emerged into the biggest band on the planet, his life changed forever, and while it was fun at first, the guitarist soon started seeking a deeper source of fulfilment, a path that ultimately led the musician down a spiritual journey in later life.
Once he found religion, Harrison had meaning and could escape the vacuous nature of a celebrity existence. As he learned on his path of discovery, money and fame don’t compensate for the important things in life. In the decade after the split of The Beatles, Harrison’s life changed dramatically, and he was happier to be out of the limelight.
As the music industry moved on into the 1970s, Elton John picked up where The Beatles left off and took the mantle as the world’s most in-demand musician. Everything he touched seemingly turned into a hit record. However, just like Harrison years before, John made personal sacrifices to achieve his level of stardom, a situation which made the former Beatle sympathise with Elton.
Speaking to India Today during an interview in 1976 about his fame complex, Harrison explained: “It was such a strain having to live up to people’s conceptions of The Beatles and not be able to do what I really wanted to do. I’m not knocking it, man; I’ve done it all: got drunk, fooled around, done crazy things and had a great time. But that’s not where it’s at. It’s OK for a while, but finally, you want something deeper. I think that we all ought to increase our God-consciousness and try and find a purpose in life.”
He added: “Now that the initial ‘love generation’ fad is over there is a more genuine recognition of the need for a spiritual fulfilment. Look at Elton John: he’s the only one who’s come near to the Beatles and I feel so sorry for him. All that fame and all that money, and ultimately it means so little.”
Harrison was right to fear for Elton, who was struggling with drug addiction at the height of his fame. Years after Harrison’s death, the ‘Rocketman’ explained how the former Beatle reached out to help him during his lowest moments and warned him about the road he was venturing down. “It’s very hard to put into words. He was very forthright, and he actually administered quite a few tellings-off to me about my drug problem,” Elton recalled to Rolling Stone.
The singer continued: “I think he was the kind of sage of the Beatles. He was the youngest member. But as people said, he was very spiritual and very serious about his religious beliefs. It wasn’t just a five-minute-wonder thing with him. He found something worth more than fame, more than fortune, more than anything. I think that helped him the last few months of his life. Because he was pretty stoic.”
Thankfully, Elton successfully dealt with his addiction problems and has been sober for many decades after the wake-up call he received courtesy of Harrison.
