George Harrison’s songs saved him from knifeman: Widow Olivia reveals ex-Beatle survived blade attack because he had lyrics stuffed in his top pocket
George Harrison’s songs saved him from the knifeman: Widow Olivia reveals ex-Beatle survived knife attack because he kept lyrics in his top pocket
- George Harrison’s widow Olivia has revealed her reaction to the 1999 stabbing
- Knifeman Michael Abram stabbed George in the chest, but his notes saved him
The widow of ex-Beatle George Harrison has revealed how his songs saved his life when he was attacked by a knifeman while stashing stacks of lyrics in his top pocket.
His wife Olivia Harrison said her husband’s notes, which he kept in his pocket over his heart, were folded so thickly that they protected the vital organ during a 1999 knife attack.
The Here Comes The Sun writer was attacked at his home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, by intruder Michael Abram, who stabbed the Beatles legend ten times in the chest.
Olivia Harrison with her late husband George Harrison, who died in 2001 at the age of 58
Olivia Harrison (pictured) said George’s notes, which he kept in his pocket over his heart, were folded so thickly that they protected the vital organ during a knife attack in 1999.
Michael Abram (pictured) stabbed George Harrison ten times in the chest
Olivia, 75, told Radio 3 on a program broadcast tomorrow that Harrison had ‘notes in his pocket, right above his heart and he had folded them up… and that saved him’.
She added that his passion for “notes and texts on gardening… saved his life.” The mirror reports.
The late Beatle George’s widow also said she tried to attack the knifeman with a lamp to defend her husband – despite her views on violence being unjustified.
Olivia told the Private Passions show that she ‘had to respond’ – and that if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t be here now.
She said the “brutality” of the knife attack made her realize the fact that she had to “renounce” what she believed so she could fight back to save her and George’s lives.
Speaking to the radio show, she said the moment she questioned herself was: ‘Am I a pacifist? Can I hurt anyone?’
Olivia said she thought the answer was ‘never’, but then there’s the ‘put down the cloak’ – she said it was ‘brutal’.
Abram was acquitted of attempted murder of Olivia and George Harrison on grounds of insanity.
A judge at Oxford Crown Court ordered him to be held in a secure hospital in November 2000.
Abram, who suffers from schizophrenia, was released from hospital in 2002.
George Harrison died a year later, in 2001, at the age of 58 from lung cancer.
George Harrison was attacked at his home (pictured) in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, by intruder Michael Abram, who stabbed the Beatles legend ten times in the chest
Intruder: After the 1999 burglary, a police officer is kept on guard outside the entrance to Friar Park