"The art school party in Liverpool, in a flat in the students' accommodation, was the first all night party I ever went to...I puked up next morning. Cynthia was there, and I remember saying drunkenly to her 'I wish I had a nice girl like you'"
George Harrison
Cynthia and George on the plane over the Atlantic Ocean from England to America on February 7, 1964.
Possibly photographed by John Lennon?
When I was in my late teens/early 20s (late 1990s/early 2000s), I thought George had a bit of a crush on Cynthia. George was around 15 years old when he met around 19 year old Cynthia; he attended Liverpool Institute next door to her Liverpool College of Art. During lunch breaks, George and Paul McCartney would meet John and Cynthia to jam around until it was time to go to class or play hooky.
Not long after Paul and John met in 1957, George soon followed as he and Paul knew each other for a few years by living close to one another and shared the same bus ride. The young boys bonded over music and Paul convinced John to let George auditioned to be in the band. John consented and George was in. By that time, the romance between John and Cynthia were blossoming and George became a tag-along. One day, John and Cynthia had a moment alone when Cynthia experience excruciating pain in her adominion that led her to the hospital; she had her appendix removed. John came to visit and, to Cynthia's disappointment, George came too. She wanted John all to herself but instead… she burst into tears so John told George to be in the visiting lounge. After the visit, John and George had tea with her mother before heading back to home.
"When George was a kid, he used to follow me and my first girlfriend, Cynthia- who became my wife- around. Cynthia and I would come out of the art school together and he'd be hovering around like those kids at the gate of the Dakota now. He was literally like that! Cyn and I would be going to a coffee shop or a movie and George would follow us down the street two hundred yards behind. And Cyn would say 'Who is that guy? What he want?' I'd say, 'He just wants to hang out. Should we take him with us?' She'd say, 'Oh ok, let's take him to the bloody movies'. So we'd allow him to come to the movies with us."
John, 1980
John, Cynthia, and George at The Knack (and How to Get It) premiere in London on June 2, 1965
One time George raved about Cynthia to John, except there was one flaw- he thought Cynthia had teeth like a horse! Luckily, George saw past that minor flaw and was friends with Cynthia. George did attend John and Cynthia's wedding and after he met Pattie Boyd, the two couples went on two trips together in 1964- Ireland (which was cut short due to the media intruding) and Tahiti. In 1965, George, Pattie, John and Cynthia went out to dinner at George's dentist's home and it turned out that the dentist laced LSD in the sugar so when they had the tea, they had a dose of LSD. They freaked out after the Dentist informed them and left while they were tripping out. They (along with Ringo, Paul, Maureen and Jane) went out to nightclubs together and were frequent visitors to each other's homes.
"He was paranoid about being short-sided...it was funny when Cynthia was out with him, they'd sit outside in the car, arguing as to whose turn it was to put the glasses on to go in (a club) and see where we were sitting."
George Harrison
"I think Cynthia brought out a soft side to John we didn't see very often.he really protected her and Julian in the early days and made sure they weren't being harassed or bothered so he denied he had a family. She was a really nice girl, always made me feel like I wasn't the runt of the band."
George Harrison*
*I honestly don't know if this is a true or false quote.
What kind of girl do you prefer? (Press Conference, Dallas 1964)
"My wife" John
Your wife? What kind of girl is she?
"She's a nice girl." John
What kind of girl do you like?
"John's wife." George Harrison
"I told you not to say that! Nobody likes a smart aleck." John
George, John, Cynthia, Maureen Starkey, and Pattie Harrison relaxing in Rishikesh, India during Spring of 1968
Photographed by Paul Saltzman
After John and Cynthia divorced, George's friendship with Cynthia dwindled. George and Pattie separated and divorced in the 1970s and married Olivia. Although they both thought fondly of each other and George did kept in sporadic touch with Julian until his death in 2001 [more on that later]. Cynthia released a statement after his death:
"This is a very sad day for myself and everyone who knew and loved George. He was part of my teenage years, he was part of my marriage to John, in fact, a very important and unforgettable part of my life. He was part of my family. George may have departed from this World that we all know, but his generosity of talent and spirit he bequeathed to all he left behind. A spirit that searched for the truth and I'm sure has finally found peace. My love and condolences to Olivia and Dhani. I know his memory will give them immense strength and courage, the memory of a very special human being"
Cynthia, 2001
On September 10, 2017, George's Twitter (handled by his estate, Olivia, and their son Dhani), acknowledged Cynthia's birthday with two pictures- one taken by George and the other of John, Cynthia, and George in the airplane taken by Harry Benson, both taken in 1964 during the first America trip [both photos are already posted on the blog]. How did John's estate Twitter acknowledged her birthday that day? By retweeting George's tweet… you should've heard my ranting that day! Wasn't pretty.
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