Concert for George

Performances

The concert opened with a traditional Sanskrit invocation, the Sarvesham chant, followed by Indian music when Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, played "Your Eyes". Next, Anoushka Shankar and Jeff Lynne performed "The Inner Light", followed by a Ravi Shankar composition "Arpan" (Sanskrit for 'to give'), specially written for the occasion.

Next there was a comedy interlude with four surviving members of the Monty Python troupe (Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam along with Python contributor Neil Innes) performing "Sit on My Face". Then Michael Palin came out as an over-the-top announcer who eventually states that he only ever wanted to be a lumberjack. He was then joined by the Pythons, Innes, Carol Cleveland and actor Tom Hanks and The Fred Tomlinson Singers to perform "The Lumberjack Song".

The remainder of the concert featured "George's Band" and included the surviving members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as musicians Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Albert Lee, Sam Brown, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Ray Cooper, Andy Fairweather-Low, Marc Mann, Dave Bronze, Klaus Voormann, Harrison's son Dhani and several other musicians who appeared on Harrison's recordings over the years.

Between them they played a selection of mostly Harrison's songs, from both Beatles and post-Beatles eras, generally staying faithful to Harrison's original arrangements. Performances included Clapton on "If I Needed Someone" and "Beware of Darkness"; Clapton and Preston on "Isn't It a Pity"; McCartney on "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass"; Starr on "Photograph"; McCartney and Clapton on "Something" (McCartney opening with a solo ukulele accompaniment which then shifts into a full band version featuring Clapton); Preston on "My Sweet Lord"; McCartney, Clapton and Starr reuniting on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; Petty on "I Need You" and "Taxman"; Lynne on "I Want to Tell You" and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)"; Petty and Lynne with Dhani Harrison and Jim Keltner on "Handle With Care" as a quasi-Traveling Wilburys; and the group performance of "Wah-Wah".

Joe Brown closed the show with a rendition of "I'll See You in My Dreams" on ukulele, one of Harrison's favourite instruments.

The event was filmed and a motion picture version, directed by David Leland and photographed by Chris Menges was released on DVD on 17 November 2003. A compact disc version was also released on the same date although the Monty Python and Sam Brown tracks were not included on the CD. A Blu-ray version was released by Rhino Records on 22 March 2011.

Set list

1. "Sarveshaam"
2. Traditional prayer – including a dedication by Ravi Shankar
3. "Your Eyes" (Ravi Shankar) – 8:22
4. Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Tanmoy Bose: tabla
5. "The Inner Light" (Harrison) – 3:01
6. Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Tanmoy Bose: tabla; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, piano; Unidentified musicians: other instruments
7. "Arpan" (Ravi Shankar) – 23:01
8. Anoushka Shankar: conductor; Sukanya Shankar: vocal-shloka; M. Balanchandar: mridangam; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: mohan vina; Tanmoy Bose: tabla, dholak; Chandrasekhar, Balu Raghuraman: violins; Eric Clapton: electric guitar; Pedro Eustache: wind instruments; Sunil Gupta: flute; Anuradha Krishamurthi, O.S. Arun: lead vocals; Jane Lister: harp; Gaurav Mazumdar: sitar; Snehashish Mzumdar: mandolin; Ramesh Mishra: sarangi; Pirashanna Thevarajah: percussion; Kenji Ota: tanpura; Barry Phillips: cello; Emil Richards: marimba; Partho Sarathy: sarod; Hari Sivanesan, Sivaskti Sivanesan: veena; Boys and Girls Choir courtesy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; English Chamber Choir; London Metropolitan Orchestra (Andrew Brown, Roger Chase, Chris Fish, Helen Hathorn, Lynda Houghton, Ian Humphries, Zoe Martlew, Stella Page, Debbie Widdup)
9. Michael Kamen – string conductor, string arrangement
10. Comic Interlude including four members of Monty Python: Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam. Also performing: Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland and Tom Hanks.
11. "Sit on My Face"
12. "The Lumberjack Song"
13. "I Want to Tell You" (Harrison) – 2:52
14. Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
15. "If I Needed Someone" (Harrison) – 2:28
16. Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
17. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) – 3:48
18. Gary Brooker: lead vocals, electric piano
19. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Harrison) – 3:29
20. Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
21. "Beware of Darkness" (Harrison) – 4:00
22. Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
23. "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison) – 3:09
24. Joe Brown: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Phil Capaldi: drums; Andy Fairweather-Low: electric guitar
25. "That's the Way It Goes" (Harrison) – 3:39
26. Joe Brown: lead vocals, mandolin; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Andy Fairweather-Low: slide electric guitar; Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Phil Capaldi: drums
27. "Horse to the Water" (George Harrison / Dhani Harrison)
28. Sam Brown: lead vocals; Jools Holland: piano; Jim Capaldi: drums
29. "Taxman" (Harrison) – 3:10
30. Tom Petty: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
31. "I Need You" (Harrison) – 3:00
32. Tom Petty: lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
33. "Handle with Care" (George Harrison / Jeff Lynne / Roy Orbison / Tom Petty / Bob Dylan) – 3:27
34. Tom Petty: lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Dhani Harrison: acoustic rhythm guitar; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Jim Keltner: drums
35. "Isn't It a Pity" (Harrison) – 6:58
36. Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, lead guitar; Marc Mann: slide guitar
37. "Photograph" (Starkey/Harrison) – 3:56
38. Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Jim Horn: sax solo
39. "Honey Don't" (Carl Perkins) – 3:03
40. Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Albert Lee: lead guitar solo; Gary Brooker: piano solo; Billy Preston: Hammond organ
41. "For You Blue" (Harrison) – 3:04
42. Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Marc Mann: slide guitar
43. "Something" (Harrison) – 4:25
44. Paul McCartney: lead vocals, ukulele, acoustic rhythm guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Marc Mann: lead guitar
45. "All Things Must Pass" (Harrison) – 3:33
46. Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: electric guitar; Klaus Voormann: bass; Marc Mann: slide guitar
47. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison) – 5:57
48. Eric Clapton: lead vocals, lead guitar solos; Paul McCartney: lead vocals, piano; Ringo Starr: drums; Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar; Marc Mann: lead guitar
49. "My Sweet Lord" (Harrison) – 5:02
50. Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Paul McCartney: piano; Eric Clapton: twelve-string acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, acoustic guitar; Marc Mann: slide guitar
51. "Wah-Wah" (Harrison) – 6:06
52. Eric Clapton: rhythm guitar/vocals; Jeff Lynne: acoustic rhythm guitar/vocals; Billy Preston: backing vocals, Hammond organ; Supergroup of Guest Musicians: other instruments
53. "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Isham Jones / Gus Kahn) – 4:01
54. Joe Brown: lead vocals, ukulele; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave 'Rico' Nilo: bass; Jim Capaldi: drums

George's Band (after interlude) and guests