“Yeah, I can do this”: The one show that brought George Harrison back to rock music
While The Beatles were never short of an idea as a group, the fact that they heavily relied on the talents of John Lennon and Paul McCartney for coming up with their best-known material often meant that an equally-talented songwriter in George Harrison was pushed to the sidelines.
It was always clear from some of his contributions to the band that he had just as much to offer as the other bandmates in terms of songwriting capability, but he was rarely ever given the opportunity to shine, writing only a fraction of the material that both Lennon and McCartney contributed. In addition to this, the fact that the band curtailed their time as a touring act and spent so much time in the studio that they didn’t have the opportunity to focus on anything else was an obstacle to Harrison having his own freedom.
Surely he must have thought that his time was coming eventually, but when album after album was made where he only had the space for a couple of songs allocated to him, it was clear things couldn’t continue in this manner, which prevented him from showcasing the full range of his talents.
His 1970 record, All Things Must Pass, was an LP comprised of material he’d had for years and was unable to do anything with, hence its bumper length, and was the first time he’d been given the space to truly accomplish what he wanted to.
Having a newfound sense of freedom also gave him the capacity to enjoy the work of others and witness shows that would change his perspective on the creative process, and what would be more telling in regards to him showcasing his brilliance was the fact that his prolific solo career continued far beyond this standout record. Harrison produced plenty of hits throughout his solo career without others dictating his every move, and his inspirations were undoubtedly coming from a completely different place.
One of his most notable tracks, taken from his 1987 album, Cloud Nine, was called ‘Devil’s Radio’, and the idea for the song came from a couple of different sources, one of which was seemingly far removed from anything that he’d have had the capacity to explore while still a Beatle.
During a 1988 interview with Creem Magazine, he elaborated on how the concept for the track came about, and that attending a certain live performance encouraged him to explore a side of his artistry that had been all but buried for a considerable amount of time.
“I have to go past this little church to take my boy to school, and they have a little billboard saying, ‘Gossip: The Devil’s Radio… Don’t Be A Broadcaster’,” he explained. “I wrote it going to one of the Eurythmics’ concerts. I sort of spent a bit of time with Dave Stewart, checking out his live show on The Revenge Tour. I went to a couple of shows, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do this. I can write these.’ So I wrote a couple of rockers.”
It may have been a bit of an adjustment for him returning to rock music having been put off by it after his negative experiences of having his ideas quashed by the other Beatles, but it worked in his favour to come back to it at this point in his career, and showed that his capacity to write in this manner was still an integral part of his artistic identity.
