The lines, ‘So, Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise,’ were reportedly aimed at Paul McCartney, as John Lennon never made this fact an exact secret. I don’t know if ‘How Do You Sleep?’ took Paul by surprise, but it was surely startling for George Harrison to be invited over to Lennon’s home studio to help him record some guitar riffs.
You see, things had been reasonably awkward and complex between the two former Beatles ever since Harrison grabbed his jacket and left a recording session at the iconic Abbey Road studios, being the second Beatle to leave after Ringo Starr’s brief departure in 1968. And to make matters slightly worse, Lennon didn’t even bother to convince Harrison to come back upon seeing his former best buddy leaving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB183XkDq5Q
So, without a doubt, things had been bitter. Still, it might be safe to assume that the pair had a natural bond with one another, as they were known to be quite inseparable during their days with the Beatles. And, perhaps, it was this timeless connection that brought them together in 1971.
The two were on the phone, awkwardly talking about Lennon’s bassist, Klaus Voorman when Lennon asked George if he wanted to come over and contribute to his then-new album without worrying about getting rejected by his former buddy. Well, that was an offer Harrison couldn’t refuse.
“I just put my guitar and amplifier in the car. I turned up, and he was openly pleased I came,” said Harrison as he recalled Lennon’s joy upon seeing that his old friend took on his invitation to take part in the recordings of ‘Imagine’ while chatting with the Musician Magazine in 1987.
Hence, no matter how bitter they might have been, George always wanted to be there for John and couldn’t abandon him, perhaps out of instinct. What made this particularly complicated friendship even more potent and convinced Harrison to be there for Lennon even after their conflicts was John’s nature. He would always know when he messed things up, as Harrison discussed in another interview with Mark Rowland in 1989.
“John, you know, he was a good lad, he was — there was a part of him that was saintly, that aspired to the truth and great things,” the late Beatles icon recalled the fond memories he had with his friend. He then added, “And there was a part of him that was just, you know… a looney.”
The guitarist continued, “[He was] just like the rest of us! And he had his mood swings and that, but he was basically very honest. If he were a bastard one day, he’d say, ‘Ah well, f*ck that, you know, I’m sorry, I was wrong.’ And he’d just deflate any feeling you had against him, any negative feeling. Not like some other people I know who sit on walls and don’t come clean.”
Thus, the fact that Lennon always knew when he messed things up and his virtue in apologizing afterward strengthened his bond with George Harrison. The late guitarist, maybe, never had it in him to leave John on his own, even after they had their fair share of disputes and a bit of a feud.
