•Mimi Smith: "The Harrison's weren't as well off as other families, perhaps, but George wasn't from a slum either, the way the press had it...and that's why you never saw photographs of John's boyhood home.

•Arthur Kelley's grandmother-Arthur was a boy from Liverpool who knew the Harrison boys-"made the first investment in George's musical ambition by buying him a three-penny washboard from a local market (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 25).

•From 1950-1955 the average number of guitars sold in Britain was about 5,000. By 1957 sales were up to about 250,000 (Porter, A. Before They Were Beatles, p. 18).

•Louise (George's sister): And, you know, a lot of kids in the same income bracket as ours probably didn't see as much of the world as we did...so although we didn't have a great deal of money, we didn't realize it.

•Occasionally she [George's mom] would take a job at Christmas time, you know, to get a bit of extra money for Christmas (Louise Harrison).

•George's father became a bus driver in 1938. Some customers on the bus driven by George's father would give him an apple or banana as a tip in the early 40's.

•Towards the end of George's last year in school he would often spend his lunch money on a matinee. The movies in Liverpool cost 9p to sit in the back or upstairs.

•Louis Harrison worked in a grocery store until the birth of Louise, her first child (Goldsmith, Martin. The Beatles Come to America, p. 28).

•Playboy: "As hard-bitten refugees from the Liverpool slums-- according to heart-rending fan magazine biographies-- do you feel prepared to cope with all this sudden wealth?"

•George: "We never starved. Even Ringo hasn't."
Ringo: "Even I."
Playboy: "What kind of families do you come from?"
George: "Well, you know, not rich. Just workin' class. They've got jobs... just work."
Playboy: "What does your father do?"
George: "Well, he doesn't do anything now. He used to be a bus driver..."
John: "In the Merchant Navy."
Playboy: "Do you have any brothers or sisters, George?"
George: "I've got two brothers."
(Beatles Ultimate Experience. Playboy Interview With The Beatles. Interviewed by Jean Shepherd in Edinburgh. Copyright © 1965 Playboy Press)

•George's mother stated: George was always giving away money to tramps and old people who needed it (Shapiro, p. 14).

•Money continued to be an ongoing life challenge in the Harrison family but George was oblivious to the importance of a pound and was, even as a young child, generous to a fault (Shapiro, p. 15).

•George played his first ever live performance with the Rebels as an opening act. The headliners didn't show up so the Rebels played the whole night and received the headliners fee of 10 bob per man (Shapiro, p. 26).

General Statements:

•On a trip home from school one day, Paul discovered that he didn't have enough money to pay the fare. George got his mother to pay the fare, and Mrs. Harrison then characteristically invited Paul in for some tea and biscuits (Goldsmith, Martin. The Beatles Come to America, p. 30).

•I study the way the words were written and sung, then I'd go over them myself. I bought a little book with all the chords. I couldn't make head nor tail of it, but I forced my fingers to put out the right chords (Shapiro. Behind Sad Eyes.)

•I heard about this kid at school who had a guitar for £3/10. It was just a little acoustic round hole. I got the £3/10 from my mother-that was a lot of money for us, then (Beatles Video Anthology Vol. 1).

•A youth employment worker sent George to a large department store to apply for a job as a window dresser. By the time George got their the position had been filled, but someone at the store offered George a position as an electrician's assistant. Although George did learn the basics of wiring he admitted that he spent most of his time playing darts (Goldsmith, Martin. The Beatles Come to America, p. 34).

•Whatever was playing on the radio we'd try and listen to it. You couldn't even get a cup of sugar never mind a rock and roll record (Beatles Video Anthology Vol. 1).

Guitars:

•George's mother lent him £3 for a guitar from another student at George's school (Harry).

•Louise Harrison would later save enough to buy George a guitar for £30 (Miles).

•Peter Harrison bought a guitar in the mid-fifties for 25p or 5s. It was one of 6000 and made in Germany.

•For an account of George's guitar purchases go to voxtalks.com. An excellent site for information.

Post School Days:

•After George left school he worked for £1.50 per week as an apprentice electrician under a Mr. Pete at Blackler's.
George: I just got out of school and all I wanted to do was be in a band. I didn't want a proper job, and I have no idea what I would have done were it not for this (Giuliano, Glass Onion).

•The Cavern was opened in 1957 as a jazz club in a former wine stone cellar by Alan Sytner (Schultheiss 10).

•George left school in the summer of 1959 without a graduating certificate to go to work (Schultheiss 13).

History:

•In George's family there had been a lamplighter, an engine driver, and a stonemason (Tremlett, p.19).

•In 1926 Harold Harrison, George's father, began a ten year job as ship steward with White Star Line (Schulthiess 2).