Concert for Bangladesh: The moment George Harrison stepped out of The Beatles’ shadow

Often, when bands break up, it’s a recipe for disaster for at least one member. Someone will shoot off to the stratosphere, a few more will maybe coast long quite comfortably, leaving the runt of the pack to mine for whatever scraps of fame remain in the wake. It’s a pretty bleak affair. But such was their unworldly level of fame that The Beatles broke that mould on their solo ventures, with even the quiet Beatle, George Harrison, assuming the spotlight in a way no one could have anticipated.

Of course, this is not to say that Harrison was in any way a backseat part of The Beatles, but by comparison to the likes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, it was easier to fall into their shadow somewhat. In this sense, it was potentially a blessing in disguise for him when the band went their separate ways, as it allowed him to explore his own unique sonic visions and innovate a new philanthropic approach to music that the world had never seen before.

Harrison set about creating this new groove relatively quickly, as little over a year after The Beatles disbanded, he heeded the call for humanitarian relief in war-torn Bangladesh, and staged the famous Concert for Bangladesh as a result. It was a moment that would either make or break him, but on August 1st, 1971, Harrison and a litany of rock star counterparts performed two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York, and music history was made.

Featuring an all-star lineup and a rapturous audience to boot, the Concert for Bangladesh and the subsequent album it produced redefined a piece of musical philanthropy forever. Charity work was no longer limited to a single release or the odd public donation – it could be taken to the live stage for all to see, and it got the brains of the industry whirring. If the setup sounds familiar, it’s because Harrison’s concept for the Concert for Bangladesh was the inspiration for other seismic events down the line, including Live Aid. As such, Harrison was no longer the quiet one but a philanthropic pioneer.

Why did George Harrison organise the Concert for Bangladesh?
It’s a well-known fact that Indian music and spirituality cast a huge influence over Harrison, even during his time in The Beatles. As such, when his friend and fellow musician Ravi Shankar told him of the plight of the Bengali people caught up in the Bangladesh Liberation War in the summer of 1971, his natural reflex was to use all his contacts and commanding star power to do something to help.

It was just as well Harrison was so connected, as merely a month later, the concert was in full swing, and the singer was universally lauded for his efforts. Having raised the international profile of Bangladesh significantly, the concerts alone raised $243,000 for Unicef, and the album version of the gig, produced by Phil Spector and released in the US and UK in December 1971 and January 1972, respectively, went on to be a huge critical success.

This was to the point that the Concert for Bangladesh album won the award for ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammys in 1973, and was subsequently followed by numerous anniversary re-releases in memory of Harrison, which have cumulatively raised over $1.2million for UNICEF’s appeal in the Horn of Africa in the decades since.

…and who played the Concert for Bangladesh?
But it almost goes without saying that the Concert for Bangladesh would never have been such a seismic success if it weren’t for Harrison’s litany of starry friends showing their support. Flanked by a backing band of over 20, including Shankar, playing a range of instruments from the humble guitar to the sitar, Harrison’s last-minute lineup came together to unknowingly change the world, with favours being called in from both near and far.

The highest echelons of the lineup included Eric Clapton, Don Preston, Leon Russell, and one Ringo Starr, marking the first time a pair of Beatles had been seen performing live together since the band gave up touring in 1966. All the musicians who appeared held some form of special place in Harrison’s innermost circle, but for one specific ‘Tambourine Man’, the event would go on to hold more significance than most.

No one truly knew if Bob Dylan was going to appear until he rocked on to stage for his set midway through the afternoon show, but performing a five-song setlist including ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ and ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, it marked his first live concert in the US in over five years. In doing so, in that moment, it was not only the Concert for Bangladesh, but the revitalisation of Dylan’s career, and a changing of the tides in combining the forces of music and charity forever.