The Beatles is considered one of the most influential and successful bands in music history. When the band broke up in 1970, despite their worldwide popularity, the band members continued their professional musical careers as solo musicians. They started focusing on writing and composing their solo records and released many albums.
The band’s lead guitarist George Harrison released his third studio album entitled ‘All Things Must Pass,’ his first record after the Beatles disbanded, on November 27, 1970. It was a triple album and reflected Harrison’s musical muses such as Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, and Billy Preston which whom he collaborated on different projects.
George Harrison Pulled A Prank On Phil Collins
During the production and recording process of ‘All Things Must Pass,’ George Harrison teamed up with various artists, such as Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and many more. Their collaboration was appreciated by music critics and their fans all over the world.
Genesis drummer Phil Collins went to the studio and worked with Harrison and Starr for the guitarist’s solo album, but his performance wasn’t featured in the album. Harrison and Collins became very close friends after the recording sessions. For Harrison, it was an excellent opportunity to pull a prank on Collins. Thus, he sent a terrible recording to Collins, saying that he would use his percussion performance.
In Collins’ words, he said:
“I got a tape from George of the song that I played with the congas quite loud. I thought, ‘Oh my god, this sounds terrible.’ In fact, it was a Harrison joke. He’d recorded Ray Cooper. He said, ‘Play bad, I’m going to record it and send it to Phil.’ I couldn’t believe that a Beatle had actually spent that much time on a practical joke for me.”
In the beginning, Phil Collins was very worried about Harrison’s plan to use his terrible performance, but later, he understood that it was a prank. The records belonged to Ray Cooper, who Harrison convinced to play bad as a part of the joke. Collins reflected his feelings about the prank, saying that he still can’t believe that a Beatle wanted to fool him.
