Happy Birthday, Olivia Harrison!
“[George] was a terribly sweet person, and I thought he needed a pal.” - The Sun (2014)
“He had this way of looking at you that made you feel you were without limitations. It just went straight to your heart. Once you’d been with him, he had this way of making you want to bring out a truer version of yourself, unlocking something. It was profound and electrifying, and it can still bring prickles to the back of my neck.”- HuffingtonPost (2014)
“I remember hearing ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret,’ hearing that accent, thinking, ‘Wow, that’s interesting.’ He had such a heavy accent at that time. I loved George’s music before we met, he was always a favorite of mine. I think he really had something to say and even to this day when I listen to ‘Be Here Now’ or ‘Run of the Mill,’ they always reset my radar. I always say ‘Run of the Mill’ is my favorite song. George liked that song, too. He used to ask, ‘Which song should I play?’ and I’d say, ‘Oh, play that one.’ And he would. He always appreciated when somebody liked a song.” - Filter (2011)
“He had the most distinctive voice, those funny little vowels. I always have that disconnect where I’m listening as a music lover and then I suddenly go, ‘Oh, oh, it’s you.’” - The Sunday Times (2014)
“I think for George, he talked about the inner journey and that was very important to him, although he was yin-yang. He could hang with the best of them. [laughs] He was a scoundrel yogi. That’s what I loved about him, because he was honest. He was right up front about it. ‘I’m bad? O.K., I’m bad.’” - The New York Times (2011)
“After the show, Carl said that Olivia came to his dressing room to tell him that George was happy. ‘Carl, I don’t know what to say to you, because I saw my old George so happy tonight, I saw something there that I hadn’t seen in a long time.’” - The George Harrison Encyclopedia
“He liked the moon, you know. If the wind was blowing and the full moon was up, he’d put on Bing Crosby singing “Sweet Leilani” and just make the moment even better. And then he might hand you a gardenia. You know, he just painted life like that. He drew all the elements and he was a very sensual person.” - George Harrison: Living in the Material World
“I never even thought about the fact he was a Beatle. George was so humble, that honestly when I met him it was just like meeting any other person. He wasn’t a Beatle at that time, and so I never saw that. I only ever saw the person, George. I don’t think we’d have been together so long if it had been any other way.” - The Herald (2009)
“Without a doubt, George never felt more at peace than when he was gardening. He loved the gardens here and always said you felt closest to God when you were in the garden […] Every time I go out there, I think he’ll just pop out from behind a shrub, like he used to.” - The Daily Mail (2008)
“I ask Olivia what she would say to George now. She pauses. ‘I hope I told you everything. I hope I told you how wonderful you are.’” - The Sunday Times (2014)
“I love you, George. The joys, sorrows, lessons and love we shared are more than enough to fill my heart until we meet again. “ - Harrison (2002)
“[Simon] Leng sees thematic parallels between [”Grey Cloudy Lies”] and two Dark Horse tracks that deal with the end of Harrison’s marriage to Pattie Boyd: “So Sad” and “Bye Bye, Love”. These three songs, Leng suggests, constitute a cycle of ‘sheer unhappiness’ in the singer’s life that was only alleviated by the positive presence of Olivia Arias, soon to become Harrison’s second wife.” - Wikipedia
“Olivia had the hardest job in the world, because she loved George more than all of us, and she really took care of him and cleared the path in front of him, behind him, and inherited that crazy life, you know.” - Tom Petty (2002)