Olivia Harrison - Blog Posts

Maybe you won’t know but you’re like the only person I see on here that consistently even acknowledges Olivia Harrison’s existence so I thought I’d ask:

Do you have any knowledge/idea as to why she (apparently) cut off George’s sister Louise after George’s death? To my understanding (which could be wrong it’s been a while and a lot of what I’ve seen has been on gossip sites so I’m prepared to be wrong), he was giving her some sort of “allowance” (which from what I read was admittedly rather small compared to his wealth but also was probably more money back then maybe even up to 2001) after she divorced an abusive husband that he continued until he died, and then Olivia apparently stopped the allowance. I’ve seen some people say it’s because Louise was somehow connected to a Beatles fan/tribute band (i don’t remember whether she was managing it or what), and maybe there was something about a Beatles restaurant?? But never seen Olivia comment on it herself so much of that seems to be hearsay

I ask because a) from what I’ve seen it seems George hired his brothers or at least had them interacting with Friar Park in some way, which Louise living in the US obviously couldn’t have done but it still shows to me that he had strong familial ties and b) every interview I’ve seen of Louise she seemed in pretty good spirits to the day she died, very little if any resentment towards being cut off.

Its just an all around fascinating situation to me! George and his family’s relationship to money has always fascinated me because of the weird space he occupied of being in one of the most successful bands in the world, a multi multi millionaire, reportedly generous with his money not just to family and friends but also projects he liked, while also consistently being fucked over by things like Northern Songs and Lennon-McCartney in general, and also maybe not having the best understanding of money considering his issues with tax fraud and taking out huge mortgages to fund projects he liked

I'm not that well informed in all the drama there is, maybe @oliviasflapjacks can help us with this?

Louise Harrison is a complicated topic. Obviously she and George used to be close but it seems like she enjoyed the attention from Beatles fans a bit too much for George's taste and they ended up distanced because of that (she called herself "the unofficial Mum to the family of Beatle People). I know she managed a tribute band but their most known disagreement was when she promoted the creation of a "Beatles Bed&Breakfast" in the place where George stayed during his first visit to America.

George and Louise reconciled before George's death but things remained tense with Olivia and Dhani. We know that they are very protective of George's legacy so things like the tribute band probably weren't well received by them. Louise published her own book in 2014 where she expressed her displeasure with the Harrison state and even made a weird comment about how there weren't biological Harrisons managing it.

George's relationship with his brothers was better as they worked in Friar Park and they appeared in George's documentary.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! These are photos of the most kind, loving, caring, and most beautiful inside and out in the world. God, it’s so great to be able to look up to them as moms and wives. (Also I added Iman, “David Bowie’s wife”) because who doesn’t love Iman!❤️ 💐🌼 and I added Paul McCartney’s mum, Mary ( Paul’s eldest daughter named in her memory) too, she was such a lovely person…

Anyways, peace and love and hope everyone has a wonderful day 🤗✨✨✨

INTERVIEWER: It’s hard, given his level of fame, to imagine [George] in such fatherly domesticity.

OLIVIA: You mean doing the school run? He did. He used to be there handing out oranges at half-time. Being a dad was something he loved. He just loved that time. - The Times (2014)

“George never held anything back, even when Dhani was really young, so they were very close, and Dhani had a clear understanding. Some of the things George told him, it was almost like he knew he might not be around later on, so he had to tell him then. So yes, it’s difficult to make your own way, but that’s what it was, and Dhani loved that guy, they were very close.” - Olivia Harrison, The Huffington Post (2014)

“He pulled out a photo of his baby son Dhani, and showed the group. Baby Dhani was dressed in a miniature Gumby suit, thanks to his Uncle Eric [Idle].” - Howard Johnson

“Olivia spends hours each day playing with Dhani, and George talks to him like an adult, and patiently answers his never-ending stream of questions.” - Liane Maxfield, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1982)

“What I saw in the father was great devotion, love, and gentleness. His whole thing was that little boy.” - Eric Estrada, People (1986)

“I’m sure he’d watched every skate film with me anyway because there’s no way he couldn’t have seen from start to finish every single Bones Brigade film. I must have sat him down and watched them all.” - Dhani Harrison

“I can’t even begin to describe how I miss him. He always supported me in everything I did. He was a very wise man and I realised at an early age I could learn a lot from him. He always gave me the right answer. But above all he was a very easy-going guy and all he wanted was to be my best friend. I’m an only child and so he shared everything with me. Of course he was very young to die and I was very young to lose a father. But there was nothing left unsaid between us.” - Dhani Harrison, The Times (2002)

OLIVIA HARRISON, LINDA McCARTNEY and BARBARA BACH at the premiere of GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROAD STREET. London. 1984.