George was down at the rejection by Decca and the death of Stu. But the spectre of success always seemed to be the tonic to bring his spirits up. The Beatles, while still unsigned, were now bringing in rather large sums of money and George was quick to spend it. His fondness for cars had resulted in numerous, often impulsive purchases. Clothes had always been important to him and now he could afford to wear the most trendy London fashions.

Needless to say, he had also become a massive celebrity in his neighbourhood, the cliché of local boy makes good. And Louise, ever the proud mother, was revelling in George’s success. She would greet fans who came around to their modest home in hopes of seeing George and chat to them about what was happening in her son’s day. Occasionally she’d even bring out biscuits for the fans. When fan mail arrived, as it was beginning to do in increasing quantities on a daily basis, Louise would dutifully go through each letter, often write a response herself and suggest to her son which letters were deserving of a personal reply. Harold, while equally proud of his son’s accomplishments, was more subdued in his praise; he let George know how he felt in passing father-and-son conversations but rarely let his emotions out to the degree that his wife did.

Following another series of headlining performances at the Cavern Club, Brian negotiated a new contract for their third series of appearances at the Star Club in Hamburg in April 1962. When he announced to the band members that they would each get £85 a week, George was so happy that he would inform anybody who would listen of his plans for his future riches.

His Hamburg friend Klaus recalled, ‘He felt he was going to make a lot of it [money]. He was going to buy a home and a swimming pool and then he’d buy a bus for his father.’

There was more to George’s attitude towards money than mere materialistic fantasy. Early in his association with the Beatles, Brian Epstein would recall being constantly peppered by George with detailed questions about how much the band was earning and what each share was. In later years, despite being represented by sound legal and financial advisers, George would regularly be all over the books with questions regarding concert revenues, record sales and song royalties. To George, according to Brian, the business side of what the Beatles were doing was of major importance.

In the meantime, Brian Epstein, back in England, was continuing to marshal his forces in an attempt to land the Beatles a recording contract. Convinced the demo session that Decca had rejected was actually quite good, he sent a copy to his friend, producer George Martin at Parlophone Records. Martin was impressed, particularly with George’s guitar playing, and offered them an audition. The Beatles returned from Hamburg and, on 6 June 1962, they performed a set for Martin – a series of songs including the originals ‘Love Me Do’, ‘P.S. I Love You’, ‘Ask Me Why’ and ‘Hello Little Girl’.

This audition was light-years ahead of their Decca fiasco. The band was tighter, much more polished and, with an emphasis on original material, showed superior skills. Martin was also mentally ticking off the opportunities the Beatles would offer in the studio. He liked what he saw and heard. And he would get back to them.

While they awaited Martin’s decision, the Beatles returned to a series of one-night stands that included the venues the Cavern Club, the Casbah, the Norwich Memorial Hall, the Hulme Hall Golf Club and the Majestic Ballroom. It was all a calculated attempt to put money in the band’s pockets and to impress record companies with their growing popularity. Finally, at the end of July 1962, Brian received a phone call from George Martin letting him know that he was ready to sign the Beatles and wanted them to go into the studio as soon as possible. John, Paul and George were immediately told the good news.

They did not tell Pete Best. On 16 August, Brian met with Pete and told him he was no longer in the band, claiming the rest of the band had decided they did not want him in the band any more. His replacement would be Ringo Starr.

The reason for Pete’s firing is still clouded in mystery, with various explanations being floated over the years. While the decision to axe Pete was ultimately a group decision, it was obvious that George – who behind the scenes had been complaining about Pete’s drumming and his attitude – had been pushing Brian and George Martin to fire Pete and replace him with Ringo.

In the wake of Pete’s firing, his many loyal fans verbally and physically accosted the three remaining Beatles at every opportunity. In one rather angry confrontation, George was punched in the eye.

For the first time, George had been cast in the uncharacteristic role of bad guy and he was uncomfortable with the idea, feeling it was not him, and, in what would become his typical response to uncomfortable situations, he denied any involvement in the firing of Pete Best.

George Martin took the Beatles into the studio on 11 September 1962 to record their first record. The A-side of the single was ‘Love Me Do’, the B-side ‘P.S. I Love You’. The record was released on 4 October 1962, and did respectable business in London and eventually crashed the Top Twenty. George remembered the first time he heard the record on the radio.

‘I went shivery all over. I listened to some of the lead guitar work and couldn’t believe it.’

The Beatles returned to Hamburg for a fourth time before returning to England in November 1962 to record their second single, ‘Please Please Me’, and just as quickly hopped on a plane back to Hamburg for a fifth series of Hamburg shows. ‘Please Please Me’ was released in January 1963 and went to number one the following month.

Although the Beatles came across primarily as a band, it was not surprising that individual members quickly began to stand out. It was also not surprising that John, the fiery, temperamental Beatle, and Paul, the cute Beatle, were getting most of the ink. But George was not to be left completely in the dust. With the aid of friend and journalist Derek Taylor, George struck a deal with the London Daily Express to ‘allegedly’ write a weekly column, entitled ‘George’s Column’. While the reality was that George had only some input into the feature, usually suggesting a topic that Taylor would dutifully write, his six-month stint as a newspaper columnist did help him garner his share of notoriety.

The early months of 1963 were a literal blur of activity: their first headlining tour – a four-night stand in Scotland; their first national tour of the continent, as the opening act for then reigning songstress Helen Shapiro. In February, they jumped off the Helen Shapiro tour and into the studio where they recorded the ten tracks for their debut album, Please Please Me, in just under ten hours. Then it was back on the road with the Helen Shapiro tour and immediately into a 21-day UK tour supporting American stars Tommy Roe and Chris Montez.

George, now twenty, was experiencing stardom on a level that made his Hamburg experiences pale in comparison and was quick to take advantage of the willing women, various substances and the all-night parties that marked the tours. And although they were largely serving in a support capacity on tours, it became evident by the time Please Please Me was released in April 1963 that Beatlemania was in full bloom. That fame, at least for George, was already beginning to exact a price.

‘After the initial excitement and thrill had worn off, I, for one, became depressed.’

But George would readily admit that those thoughts never lasted long in the wake of their growing popularity. Please Please Me had gone to number one in the British charts and, although they were once again a support group – for Roy Orbison on a May 1963 tour – a healthy black market for tickets to see the Beatles was already evident.

However, it would be September 1963 that would signal the official transformation of the Beatles from local British phenomenon to worldwide stars. That was the month they had the number one album in Please Please Me, a top-selling EP in ‘Twist and Shout’ and the top-selling single in ‘She Loves You’. Year-end tours in the UK and Sweden began to mirror the hysteria that had already taken hold in England. Young girls were screaming and fainting, young boys were sporting Beatle haircuts and the magazines and newspapers were proclaiming the Beatles fully fledged stars. Thousands of screaming fans would regularly meet their planes, and more elaborate ways of avoiding their adoring fans were constantly being created.

This was all thanks, in large measure, to the songwriting skills of Lennon and McCartney. The duo had instinctively bonded in a creative sense which had resulted in literally dozens of commercial pop songs by the time Please Please Me was released. And with the pair constantly writing new material, it was next to impossible for the other members to try their hand. Ringo seemed quite content to play the drums and accept the accolades, but George was another matter. In recording sessions, he would often attempt to introduce his songs into the sessions or attempt to interject his ideas into a Lennon–McCartney piece. In the latter, he would occasionally be acknowledged for his superior musicianship. Unfortunately, in the former he was usually rebuffed, which was a constant source of frustration to George, who looked on his songwriting as a cleansing process.

‘To write a song helps to get rid of some subconscious burden,’ he once said. ‘Writing a song is like going to confession . . . to try and find out, to see who you are.’

In September 1963, during a short break from touring and recording, George travelled to America for the first time to visit his sister Louise, who had married an American and moved to the States in 1954. This was a happy time for George; with news of Beatlemania barely a whisper in America in 1963, he was able to walk the streets and eat at restaurants without being identified and mobbed. It would be the last time George Harrison would enjoy that kind of anonymity.

The Beatles follow-up album, With the Beatles, would be the group’s first million-selling album and their next single, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, would hold the number one spot in the UK charts for four weeks by selling in excess of a million copies. The Beatles continued to tour England and Europe until the end of the year. To their way of thinking, in less than a year they had conquered Europe. Now it was time to set their sights on the ultimate goal . . .

Conquering the Unites States of America.

The States had traditionally been a tough nut to crack for British artists and the streets of London were littered with those, such as Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard, who had tried and failed. Consequently the Beatles and especially George were mindful of possible failures across the pond.

‘Apart from the odd singer, nobody had ever made it,’ he once explained. ‘So we definitely felt the pressure. But we knew we’d had sufficient success in Europe and Britain to have a bit of confidence.’

Confidence coming, in large measure, because of Brian Epstein’s late-1963 trip to America in which he laid the groundwork for the Beatles’ first trip to America. During a protracted negotiating session with the producers of the influential TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show, a deal was struck to have the group appear live on 9, 16 and 23 February 1964. He also agreed terms with concert promoter Sid Bernstein to book the Beatles into the prestigious Carnegie Hall for two shows on 12 February. These two elements would form the backbone of the Beatles’ first US tour.

But the first US tour would mean nothing if they were not flying into America on the wings of their first US hit. After much hand-wringing over which of the Beatles’ songs would be that all-important first release, it was decided that the pop anthem ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ would be the most radio-friendly. George liked the idea that a rocking song, featuring his distinctive lead guitar work, would be the song to kick open the doors to America.

This was an attitude in George that was not uncommon. For while outwardly George was the perfect bandmate who would jump through fire if it helped the group, lurking below the surface was that self-centred streak that was always subconsciously thinking, How is this going to benefit me? This was not necessarily bad or good. It was just the way George’s mind worked.

The group prepared for their invasion of America with a three-week series of concerts in France. Although the concerts were meant more as a warm-up for America, as well as a chance to strengthen their already iron hold in Europe, the Beatles were in for a rude awakening. The fans in France were not easy to please and, in fact, were largely sedate in the face of the band’s first concert. There were no screaming mobs and the press was adding fuel to the Beatles’ sudden insecurities in the face of a rumoured British backlash that reportedly had fans jumping ship for the likes of the Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones.

Although they put up a good front in France, there was an air of apprehension on Pan Am Flight 101 as it winged its way across the Atlantic for a scheduled 7 February touchdown at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. George, who was fighting a bad case of the flu during the flight, seemed particularly concerned.

‘America’s got everything,’ George was heard to say on the flight. ‘Why should they want us?’

While it was not discussed, privately Brian Epstein had real concerns that George’s illness might force them to cancel The Ed Sullivan Show appearances and the Carnegie Hall concerts. Any fears that the Beatles might fail in America were quashed the moment the door to the airplane opened and the group saw thousands of screaming fans welcoming them with every element of Beatlemania they could possibly imagine. From the signs and buttons to the fainting young girls.

The group got off the plane and were led to an airport lounge where they were subjected to yet another round of often inane and repetitious questions. George, feeling sicker by the moment, did his best to entertain with his wisecracks and snappy repartee but, as Brian Epstein watched, he knew George was sinking fast. So much so that he called an early halt to the proceedings and whisked them off to the Plaza Hotel.

George barely made it to his room before collapsing into bed. His sister Louise, who had come in from her home in St Louis to be with her brother, became his around-the-clock nurse. A doctor was called. With George laid up in bed and the fate of The Ed Sullivan Show appearances, as well as the other concert dates, up in the air, the rest of the Beatles went to the studio on 8 February and ran through a rehearsal and a soundcheck with their road manager standing in for George to keep up appearances. George made enough of a recovery that, on 9 February, the day of the Ed Sullivan appearance, he was well enough to perform.

That night an estimated 73 million viewers watched as the Beatles ran through the songs ‘All My Loving’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’. The reaction from the 728 audience members was vintage Beatlemania, with girls crying, screaming and fainting. Outside, thousands of teenagers who could not get in were milling around for streets around the theatre.

Following their first Ed Sullivan appearance, the Beatles travelled to Washington, DC, where they made their US concert debut at the Washington Coliseum in front of 20,000 screaming fans who quite literally drowned out the band’s set which was performed on a revolving stage. George would often relate that, for a band that had never played to more than 2,000 people in Europe, playing in the middle of a sporting field in front of 20,000 was a bit of a shock.

The 12 February shows at Carnegie Hall, the subsequent Ed Sullivan Show appearances and their final concert of the tour in Miami, Florida, were literal mirror images of the responses in Washington, DC. And although the Beatles’ first contact with American audiences was a rousing success, nobody could have been happier than George when the Beatles got on a plane on 21 February for the flight back to London.

Turning 21 shortly after the conclusion of the US tour, George was going through a transformation. He was relaxed and fulfilled as a musician and, at least outwardly, was comfortable with his celebrity. But there was also an edge of cynicism that was becoming increasingly angry. At one point in the flight home, those on the plane overheard an obviously exhausted George rail against what they had just gone through in America.

‘How fucking stupid it all is,’ he reportedly said. ‘All that big hassle to make it, only to end up as performing fleas.’

The Beatles’ arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport on 22 February 1964 was a national media event that was the lead story on major radio and television outlets. The members of the Beatles did the obligatory round of interviews and then disappeared for a few days’ rest. George went home, only to find that Beatlemania had literally followed him to the doorstep of his parents’ house.

Fans were outside Harold and Louise’s front door all hours of the day and night and the crowds got so out of control that the local police had to be called regularly to break up the throng. Bags full of fan mail addressed to George were arriving daily. Louise, ever the supportive mother, had initially done her best to answer them, but by this time was overwhelmed with mail.

George had been looking forward to a few days of doing nothing and then a quick dash into the recording studio to record a handful of new songs including ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’. Facing this latest bout of adulation only succeeded in putting him in a dark mood. When asked by his family and close friends how the tour went, he continued to be sombre and cynical in the face of his and the Beatles’ growing notoriety. He complained bitterly about having to wear what he considered silly clothes, being chased by crazed fans and having to sneak in and out of hotels in increasingly elaborate disguises. But what bothered George the most was that the US tour, musically speaking, had been a complete and utter failure.

‘We were cranking out music that no one could hear.’