George's latest record is riding high in the album chart.

He wrote the song A Horse To Water with his son Dhani and recorded it with Jools Holland for his album Small World Big Band. Harrison showed a dark sense of humour with the new track by prophetically crediting the publishing company RIP Ltd 2001, the tracklisting reveals. 30/11/01

He is currently working on a new studio album, the first since Cloud Nine was released in 1987. In an interview with German News agency DPA, he said: "When people see me they see a Beatle. But for me it was all such a long time ago. Sometimes I ask myself if I was really there or whether it was all a dream." He added he was amazed by the success of the Beatles greatest hits album, 1, which according to EMI sold over 18 million copies in 36 days. "I thought it would do well, but not that well," Harrison said. "It is like a new Beatlemania. I suddenly noticed that everyone had the album, even the 6 and 7 year olds. They act as if I belong to a boy band."

Speaking about his current work, he said: " I have enough material for three albums but none of the songs are really complete so I have to work on all of them." This time the album will be produced without Jeff Lynne of ELO fame. "I have stopped working with Jeff because I did not want him to make ELO albums out of my songs, " he said. "On this album you can hear guitar, bass and drums and no computers."

He criticised the current music scene saying: "Anyone can make music using computers today. But the worse thing for me is the drum machine. They are like a disease which spreads more and more over the entire world. I hate it and it makes me sick". 8/01/2001

Traumatic Time For Ex-Beatles son.

Dhani Harrison, 22 year old son of George Harrison of the Beatles was lucky to escape serious injury after he crashed in his sports car. An article in the Sun newspaper stated that Dhani crashed his 150mph Audi S3 in Oxfordshire causing £4,000 damage, just three weeks after taking delivery of the £25,000 vehicle. Damage to his Audi was said to be a ruined right wing and burst tyres. The Sun also quoted an expert who surveyed the wreckage as saying: "It had a right wallop."
This comes only a week after watching proceedings at Oxford Crown Court during the trial of 34 year old Michael Abram who was accused of attempting to murder his 57 year old father George and mother Olivia.24/11/2000

Lynda Abram, the mother of Michael, gave an exclusive interview to the Liverpool Echo for which neither she nor any member of her family received any payment. In this interview she told of the background leading up to the incident. Mrs Abram was very emotional when she revealed how Michael thought that George Harrison was a "sorcerer and a witch". She stated that it was a mixture of drug abuse and mental illness that led her son to go to the Harrison's home and stab him. Lynda said "she hopes that George and his family do know exactly what has gone on for Michael to become the way he was, and that George can find it in his heart to forgive him". "Michael was so very ill when he did that terrible thing". His mother added that her son had a normal childhood. "Growing up he was into all the same things as the other boys". He left St Columbias RC Comprehensive school with three O Levels and started work with computers. At this time he and his girlfriend had their first child and soon after their second child arrived. Michael flirted with cannabis and then began to take heroin. He very quickly became addicted. His mother said, "Michael thought he could control it, but it was only a matter of time before he was hooked and it controlled him. Drugs destroy the whole family". She claims doctors misdiagnosed her son and failed him during his nine year ordeal of mounting mental illness from 1990.

Michael had a rift with his girlfriend and moved into his own flat. After this, his mother began to be concerned about his mental state. He became obsessed with music. Oasis released Wonderwall and Michael believed they had written it directly to him. He came off Heroin and started using Methadone and his mother said he was convinced he was "on a mission". He said, "it was too late for his generation, but not for the children. It was his task to save the children from drugs and witchcraft". He used to walk into town and stand in front of HMV records singing at the top of his voice. He purchased some headphones and played music on a Walkman because it stopped the voices coming through.

Michael borrowed tapes from his mother, became obsessed with The Beatles and started asking questions about their lives. She added "it seemed unimportant t the time but then he started saying Paul McCartney was a witch and it was Paul he focussed on. I told him the Beatles words are beautiful and the songs are lovely but not to read too much into them. He became totally obsessed with them and would get up at 7am and walk the length and breadth of Liverpool listening to music". She added "Michael has a good, loving family, but things went horribly wrong and it is very sad that it had to come to this to get help".

Health bosses in Merseyside have apologised for failing to help Michael before the incident. Michael was schizophrenic. Whiston Hospital Chiefs where Michael was receiving treatment for his illness have admitted the hospital did not do enough. A month before the attack, Abram spent two seeks in Whiston's psychiatric ward. He was discharged for assaulting a nurse. Ken Sanderson, the Chief Executive of St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust said that "procedures for mental health patients have been reviewed since the attack, and until we study the judges comments in relation to this case, we don't want to make comment". "Lessons have already been learned and we are sorry for the distress that has been caused to all the families involved in this incident. We offer our due sympathies".

Georges son, Dhani, aged 22 said "Abram was only acquitted by a loophole in the law. We shall never forget he was full of hatred and violence when he came into our home".

Abram will only be released from the medium secure unit by a tribunal. Abram's mother said, "It is likely to be around 10 months before a hearing to decide if he is well enough to be released. He is so much better and is finally getting the treatment we have been asking for for years."

Dhani Harrison said, "The prospect of him being released back into society is abhorrent to us. We hope the authorities will act with the utmost responsibility in avoiding it in the future and allow us to be consulted before reaching a conclusion".

The facts of this article have been taken from the Liverpool Echo. Thanks to them you now have both sides of the story. What is your opinion? Who is really to blame? Should the authorities be in court? E-mail us and let us know. Your opinions do count, as it could have been you in Georges' situation.

George Harrison's Attacker Gets Day in Court.