Concert for George, the 2002 event at London’s Royal Albert Hall that honored the late George Harrison a year after his death, will be re-released this month in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
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The tribute show, which saw Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, and members of Monty Python sharing a stage, can now be watched on the big screen for one night only. The remastered film, with an introduction by Harrison’s wife Olivia and son Dhani, will be available in select theaters around the world on November 29.
“A long time ago, imagining his ideal gig, George had said, ‘I could do something like that someday… [it’s] the perfect idea… I mean if I had a ‘special’ I would like to have a few people who mean something to me,’” Olivia recalled in a statement.
“And he was right, he was so prescient and so right,” she continued. “It went from the sublime Ravi & Anoushka Shankar Orchestra to the ludicrous Monty Python. The most deep moving songs written by George, whose meanings were potentised by his absence, played with heart and soul by a core group of friends. It is a joy to be able to relive that incredible evening again, on a big screen, 20 years on.”
The concert film and its soundtrack, available now, was remastered by Dolby Atmos Audio. Concert for George was organized by Eric Clapton and Olivia Harrison. The film was directed by David Leland and produced by Ray Cooper, Olivia Harrison and Jon Kamen.
“20 years ago, I stood on stage beside my father’s dearest friends and celebrated his life and music,” Dhani added. “It was one of the most beautiful things we could’ve done on that day to mark his passing. There was a lot of love involved in that show, which has been preserved in this Concert for George film.”
Get a glimpse at Concert for George, below.
Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns/Getty Images
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