32 replies to this topic

[Stefan Ornerdal]

Sirs,
Last week I visited the Ronnie Perterson exhibition at Örebro, Sweden. (Good, nice etc!) In a booth, between Ronnies March 761 and Lotus 72, we was able to hear in headphones, George Harrisons tribute to Ronnie: "Faster".
Tonight, in Swedish TV, we had "The Jackie Stewart Story". And once again, "Faster" was played, with Jackie Stewarts comments: "This tune was about me and Niki Lauda"!

?????

Stefan

[Ruairidh]

Interestingly IIRC proceeds of the sale of Faster went to the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer fund. And IIRC the picture disc 45rpm single I have somewhere has a picture of Gunnar in a 78 on the front and reference to his dates of birth and death and on the back a collection of F1 greats (I'm now looking at a copy on the internet, its easier than rummaging through my attic) of the 9 drivers - 5 were Lotus pilots - happy times.

The rear of the packaging of the picture disc single had the lyrics of the song. It had a picture of Harrison and JYS and the dedication "Inspired by Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, and dedicated to the Entire Formula One Circus" and "Special thanks to Jody Scheckter" plus, "In Memory of Ronnie Peterson"

I guess George honored a number of his heroes with this song.

[Frank S]

Originally posted by Ruairidh
Interestingly IIRC proceeds of the sale of Faster went to the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer fund. And IIRC the picture disc 45rpm single I have somewhere has a picture of Gunnar in a 78 on the front and reference to his dates of birth and death and on the back a collection of F1 greats (I'm now looking at a copy on the internet, its easier than rummaging through my attic) of the 9 drivers - 5 were Lotus pilots - happy times.

The rear of the packaging of the picture disc single had the lyrics of the song. It had a picture of Harrison and JYS and the dedication "Inspired by Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, and dedicated to the Entire Formula One Circus" and "Special thanks to Jody Scheckter" plus, "In Memory of Ronnie Peterson"

I guess George honored a number of his heroes with this song.

If you play it backwards it asks, "Did I miss anyone?"

[Ralliart]

During ABC-TV's tape-delayed coverage of the '77 Monaco GP (followed, I think, by live coverage of the Indy 500), they included a piece with Jackie Stewart. In one portion, in answer to a question from Stewart as they walk around, Harrison answered that he thought music and motor racing "could help each other" and that he'd have no problem with "having a Marlboro sticker on his Fender Stratocaster" and Ringo could have "Elf drums". When asked his favorite for the race, Harrison said, "Jody Scheckter. If he gets away fast, he's gonna do it." Stewart turned to Ringo (his first time back since the '71 race) who replied, "Oh, Fangio."

[catfigs]

now that's a funny tale. you've got to rememeber that ringo was pissed pretty much every day and night from 1963 through to 1997, i'm not even sure if he knows he was in the beatles. ask him and he might tell you it was the dave clark five. with fangio on bass guitar.

[stuartbrs]

A bit OT..
I went to the first Australian GP back in `85, and before the race the drivers did a parade on the back of a flat bed truck. I was with my father and we couldnt figure out who the 2 long haired blokes were that were with the drivers, they looked so familar!
Once the truck had gone back to the pits the PA announced that it was George Harrison and Ringo Starr ( or should I say Richard Starky!! )...anyway, being big Beatles fans we were quite chaufed at having seen 2 of them for real, even if we didnt realise it at the time!!

[Maldwyn]

In his 1980 book "I Me Mine" George Harrison says of Faster:

'Are you going to write a song about motor racing, George?' was a question I was asked a lot by various people from the Grand Prix teams during visits I made to the races. So I did Faster to write about something specific, as a challenge.

I got the title first - I took it from Jackie Stewart's book! I then wrote the chorus "faster than a bullet from a gun, etc." and later worked out the rest of the song in a way that doesn't limit it only to motor cars. Once I put the sound effects on then obviously it is about racing but, if you took that away the only thing in the song which is anything to do with cars is the word machinery.

The story can relate to me or you or anybody in any occupation who becomes successful and has pressure upon them caused by the usual jealousies, fears, hopes, etc. I have a lot of fun with many of the Formula One drivers and their crews - and they have enabled me to see things from a very different angle than the music business I am normally involved with. (Brrm-Brrm - do you think I'll ever get over it mother?)

Interestingly, he says of his song Blow Away:

During 1977 I went to a lot of Formula One races, and didn't write any songs at all. I started feeling guilty because so many of the racing people were relating to me as George the Musician. But while they were entertaining me, I was not working.

I had been talking to Niki Lauda after the Watkins Glen race and he had said 'Nothing nicer than being able to go home, relax and listen to some nice songs and records'.

I thought I should do some work and maybe write a song that Niki-Jody-Emerson and the gang could enjoy. That would make me happy. That was my inspiration.

George Harrison - "I Me Mine"

[Martyj]

Strange....it seems like the title of this thread is a likely listing of the results had these four men raced against each other in identically prepared cars.

By the way, catfigs, I believe Ringo was into sobriety well before 1997.

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by Martyj
Strange....it seems like the title of this thread is a likely listing of the results had these four men raced against each other in identically prepared cars.

Identically prepared cars? I wonder. I think I'd have bet on Ronnie in those circumstances.;)

[Martyj]

Originally posted by Ruairidh


Identically prepared cars? I wonder. I think I'd have bet on Ronnie in those circumstances.;)

Now that I think about it, Ruairidh, the order of the top three could probably be argued adnauseam. The only certainty is that that quite Beatle would bring up the rear.

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by Martyj
By the way, catfigs, I believe Ringo was into sobriety well before 1997.

Apparently in the late 80s:- http://web2.iadfw.ne...hultz/bio3.html

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by Martyj


Now that I think about it, Ruairidh, the order of the top three could probably be argued adnauseam. The only certainty is that that quite Beatle would bring up the rear.

I agree.

[catfigs]

i think the real question is who of the beatles would win in identical cars? my pick: george harrison, paul mcartney, ringo starr, john lennon. naturally this hypothetical race would have taken place before december 8th 1980.

[Martyj]

George wins hands down. He was the only Beatle who enjoyed driving and did so on a recreational basis. In "The Beatles Anthology" George states that John was a horrible driver. Ringo admitted in a mid-nineties interview with "Goldmine" that he can't remember actually driving a car after 1970 -- he has been chauffered every day since. Paul I don't know about, but he did pilot the Wings tour bus around Scotland in the early 70's.

Catfigs, I think your prediction is on the mark.

[dmj]

Wasn't it Paul McCartney who managed to park Lamborghini Espada in his own pool? Or, no, on second thought I seem to recall it was Linda...

[catfigs]

i can't remember which book it was, it may have been many years ago, the paul mcartney biography, which is excellent by the way, but at some point in th emid to late sixties george and john would pile into george's car and ringo and paul would get into ringo's car (it might be back to front, i know george was driving one of them though) and, with megaphones on the rooves of their cars they would basically race each other to john's home or george's home commentating through the suburbs of london. which would have been interesting. to see.
john also owned a pychedelic rolls royce in the late sixties too, though i don't think he drove it, he was driven around in it. i have to consult my vast beatles library and get the facts right on these stories...
paul used to drive a fair bit but he can't match george's abilities.
i know sometime in the early sixties ringo, i think, had a kart track built at the back of his house, there's footage of them all driving around on it. i think ringo bought his own bar at the same time though so i suppose the kart track kinda fell by the wayside unfortunately. this is all a bit sketchy though. can anyone correct some of these memories of mine?

[stuartbrs]

The pychedelic Rolls had speakers installed on the outside ( outstalled???! ) and the story goes that John would play machine gun sounds and laugh hysterically at peoples reactions.(not nice )
Paul had a Mini Cooper at one point in the sixties and would tear along country lanes with Jane Asher.
Was it wood and pickett that built the special Mini Cooper for Ringo with the hatch back and Rolls Royce headlights for him to carry his drums in ( although apparently he never actually drove it ).
And one of the few times John actually drove he had an accident with Yoko and his son Sean in the car, quite nasty too.
Oh, and somewhere theres a story involving George, Patti, illegal substances, and Mick Jaggers DB4...although it was a young sound engineer who tried ( unsuccesfully ) to drive it.

[ruther]

Harrison forever

[Macca]

Stuartbrs

At the first or second Goodwood Festival of Speed, in 1993 or 1994, I took a photograph in the paddock of, from memory, the Alfa Romeo 158, and when it came back from processing there were two long-haired casually-dressed chaps in the background also studying it with knowledgeable interest; after a bit, I twigged that they were George Harrison and Gordon Murray.


How big a grid could we assemble for a Pop Stars and Personalities race? Sadly, Steve o' Rourke passed away a few days ago, but there's Mark Knopfler, Chris Rea and Dave Gilmour to start with.



Paul

[Gary C]

'And one of the few times John actually drove he had an accident with Yoko and his son Sean in the car, quite nasty too.'
Are you sure about this?? I remember John having an accident while on holiday in Scotland in about 1970. Sean was certainly not involved, as he wasn't born until 1975, and John & Yoko were living in New York by then!!! I seem to remember John was driving his Rolls at the time of this accident.

[AdrianM]

This is OT but does anyone know of the availablity of Faster. Is it on any of the George Harrison best of albums? Is the album it was on still around?
Thanks

[Martyj]

"Faster" isn't yet on any Harrision greatest hits collection that I know of. Despite it's notoriety among racing fans, it was not a particularly successful single. It is an album track on, I believe, an album titled "33 and 1/3rd".

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by Macca
How big a grid could we assemble for a Pop Stars and Personalities race? Sadly, Steve o' Rourke passed away a few days ago, but there's Mark Knopfler, Chris Rea and Dave Gilmour to start with.

How could you forget Nick Mason, Macca? He is a Ferrari man, after all
You could also add someone you probably haven't heard of - chap called Andrew Wilkinson, who raced a Lotus XI and a Cobra a few years ago, and was IIRC the Rolling Stones' accountant

[catfigs]

Originally posted by Gary C
'And one of the few times John actually drove he had an accident with Yoko and his son Sean in the car, quite nasty too.'
Are you sure about this?? I remember John having an accident while on holiday in Scotland in about 1970. Sean was certainly not involved, as he wasn't born until 1975, and John & Yoko were living in New York by then!!! I seem to remember John was driving his Rolls at the time of this accident.

i'm sure there'll be a photo of this somewhere on the internet. i think there's a photo in the imagine picture book, i'll have to look through boxes for it.
it wasn't the rolls. it was a hire car i think? it sure wasn't a rolls though.
but you're right, it wasn't sean, it was yoko's daughter from her first marriage, kyoko i think her name was. her father actually pretty much ran away with her and denied yoko any contact, though in recent years i think kyoko and yoko are back in contact. etc etc etc.
julian might have been in the accident too?

ah ha, done some searching, haven't found much but it was apparently july 1st 1969 in Golspie scotland while visiting one of john's aunts or something. and it was john yoko julian and kyoko.
treated at the Lawson Memorial Hospital. i cut and pasted that. note the capital letters.

now can someone find photos of lawson memorial hospital and golspie?

[Macca]

David,
You're right - how could I have forgotten Nick Mason or Andrew Ridgley of 'Wham' - though whether he can be counted as a musician is debatable

Paul

[jonpollak]

Sure do miss him....

I will never forget that rainy day I watched George, Bernie, Herbie Blash and Gordon Murray playing 'Go Fish' in the Brabham garage....
Bernie won all the toothpicks BTW

Jp

[indysteve]

Originally posted by Martyj
"Faster" isn't yet on any Harrision greatest hits collection that I know of. Despite it's notoriety among racing fans, it was not a particularly successful single. It is an album track on, I believe, an album titled "33 and 1/3rd".

"Faster" was on George's 1979 album entitled George Harrison, which I think is out of print. It did not appear on Thirty-three and 1/3, but there was one song on that album with a reference to F1. "It's What You Value" contained these lines:

"Someone's driving a six-wheeler
Seems the world is all blurred
Knows he's in a show stealer
With a sound that's uncompared"

In his book, George made this comment about the song:

I played around with a few different lyrics and I ended up on:

Someone's driving a six-wheeler

which is a reference to the six-wheeled Elf Tyrrell Formula One racing car that appeared in 1976/77.

[AdrianM]

Thanks guys. That is a real shame that it is out of print.

[theunions]

Originally posted by catfigs
though in recent years i think kyoko and yoko are back in contact. etc etc etc.

This is true, per a People magazine article interviewing both last year.

[Maldwyn]

George Harrison apparently wrote a song about the politics of F1, but it has not (as yet) been released.

[indysteve]

Originally posted by AdrianM
This is OT but does anyone know of the availablity of Faster. Is it on any of the George Harrison best of albums? Is the album it was on still around?
Thanks

Since AdrianM was interested in obtaining a copy of Faster, I decided to resurrect this thread. Several of George Harrison's albums have been remastered on CD and were released this week. Among these is his 1979 album entitled George Harrison, which includes the song Faster. It seems to be widely available. I found it on Amazon and a number of other web sites that sell music.

[WDH74]

The official release date in the States was this past Tuesday. IIRC, John Lennon had a Ferrari in the mid sixties with which he used to scare George. Ringo owned a Facel Vega at one point, and we all know that Paul McCartney died while driving his Aston Martin.

Anyone see the "Anthology" DVDs? Theres a "bonus" piece showing Paul, George, and Ringo getting out of a McLaren F1 that apparently belonged to George. Paul just keeps staring at it saying "keen motor, man. Keen motor...."

-William

[Gary C]

'The official release date in the States was this past Tuesday. IIRC, John Lennon had a Ferrari in the mid sixties with which he used to scare George. Ringo owned a Facel Vega at one point, and we all know that Paul McCartney died while driving his Aston Martin.

Anyone see the "Anthology" DVDs? Theres a "bonus" piece showing Paul, George, and Ringo getting out of a McLaren F1 that apparently belonged to George. Paul just keeps staring at it saying "keen motor, man. Keen motor...." '

Ha!! Nice one.