On November 12, 2001, the three living members of the Beatles meet for the last time. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr visit George Harrison in New York, where he is undergoing treatment. The meeting takes place in Manhattan and is described in various reports as a visit to a hotel room or a hospital.
The date remains one of the last quiet meetings of the musicians who changed the history of popular music. There is no concert, no cameras and no official reunion of the band. The three spend time together, talk and reminisce about the years they shared.
McCartney and Harrison’s Last Conversation
Paul McCartney later recalls that his last visit to Harrison was sad, but did not descend into silence. The two joked, just as they had in the years when they were young musicians from Liverpool.
The gesture carries particular weight for him. The two had known each other since their teenage years and had traveled together even before the Beatles became a world-famous band. McCartney later notes that such closeness was not common among men of their generation.
Harrison Dies 17 Days Later
George Harrison had been battling cancer since the late 1990s. In 1997, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and the disease later spread to his lungs.
On November 29, 2001, Harrison dies at the age of 58 in Los Angeles. The first reports, including information from the Associated Press, state that he died at a friend’s home. Later reports question the exact address, as those close to him wanted to protect the family from attention and intruders.
With Harrison’s death, McCartney and Starr remain the only living members of the Beatles’ classic lineup. John Lennon was murdered in New York in December 1980, and Harrison is the first of the remaining three to die.
As a guitarist, singer and songwriter, Harrison leaves a lasting mark on the band with compositions such as “Something,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Here Comes the Sun.” The last meeting in New York is not an official Beatles reunion, but it remains the final moment when the three living musicians are together.
Sources: irishexaminer.com, washingtonpost.com, cbsnews.com