Olivia Harrison halts Beatles statue plans

James Lambert had been trying to raise interest in putting up a statue to George Harrison in Henley On Thames, but he's put his ideas on hold after Mrs Harrison suggested he might think again:

James Lambert, 42, from Henley-on-Thames, wrote to Olivia Harrison but was informed she would prefer a community project in his name.

What's quite cute is that Lambert has taken this to be a warning about the dangerous power having a lifesize Harrison would give the town:

Mr Lambert admitted: "The statue could create problems of different types of fans turning up, the unwanted fans."

Sadly, the BBC News report lacks a venn diagram showing who the "unwanted fans" might be - or, indeed, who the wanted ones are.

Presumably there's a fear of Henley being overtaken by rowdy fans of 60s Music and statuary, getting up to - who knows what? The unlicenced erection of Ringo Starr statues? The singing of madrigals inspired by Harrison? Attempts to use some form of electricity to animate the Harrison statue, marching it up the high street stealing watches and valuables from frightened locals?

"I think the danger was it wouldn't just become a Henley acknowledgement of George's work but would encourage more people to visit Henley."

Good lord, can you imagine the scenes? People from Henley being stood in front of the George statue, only to have their reverie interrupted by a car from, say, Milton Keynes, or Welwyn, or Liverpool, packed full of people wanting to look at the bronze.

When you consider that possibility, why, there's no way it could go ahead, is there?

Gordon in the morning: An end to welfare

Blimey. Gordon Smart might not reflect his employer's stance on binge drinking, but he's clearly a supporter of the Sun's distaste for welfare payments. Robbie Williams has been helping out his girlfriend's mum, which would seem like a nice thing to do.

Gordon isn't so sure:

Robbie's made it clear how much he loves Ayda, but it seems a bit much to extend his generosity to her mum.

At least put her on the payroll and get her working.

Yes - if the woman's got her two legs, send her out digging holes. Anything else smacks of socialism.

It sounds like we're going to have sit through another long lost Beatles song:

A FORGOTTEN Beatles song begun by George Harrison has finally been completed - 40 years on.

Harrison, who died in 2001, scribbled the first ten lines of a number called Silence (Is Its Own Reply) on a piece of scrap paper in the 1960s.

On the back of the paper were instructions on how to reach Beatles manager Brian Epstein's country house in Sussex.

It's not clear how much of the original song was there, although the chorus - "down the A23/ turn left onto the Haywards Heath road/ it's the third entrance on the left" - suggests not very much.

This has, at least, been completed away from the heart of The Beatles industry:

The lyrics remained ignored until BBC Radio Merseyside host Spencer Leigh asked contemporary songwriter Dean Johnson to finish them.

There is, though, a lingering problem. Generally, if a scrap of lyrics has been discarded, it's because they're not very good. Could that be the case here?

"I'm happy to say it's only a dream, When I come across people like you, It's only a dream and you make it obscene."

Makes you think, doesn't it? Mostly, it makes you think "woah, I wish George Harrison had invested in a shredder."

Is it only Ringo holding out now?

After Paul McCartney foisting Dance Around onto Apple as a peacemaking iTunes advert, now John Lennon's schmaltzy pop hypocrisy is coming to the store - so you can legally download that one about imagining no possessions onto your desktop, upload it to your iPod, and sing along with it as you drive to work.

And, actually, Ringo and George Harrison's solo stuff is expected to join their former colleague's post-interesting work on iTunes by the end of the year.

At least when he interviews Henry Kissinger, there's only one to keep track of

Larry King, flagship presenter on CNN, had a bit of trouble last night interviewing The Beatles.

He forgot which ones were alive, and which were dead:

KING: Where were you when — when John passed?
MCCARTNEY: When John passed I was in Sussex, at my home in Sussex. That’s where I was.
KING: Did somebody call you?
MCCARTNEY: Yes, my manager at the time called me. And it was just the shock of all shocks, you know?
KING: George, where were you?
MCCARTNEY: George!
KING: Ringo.
MCCARTNEY: No, this is Ringo here.
KING: Ringo, where were you?
STARR: I was in the Bahamas.
KING: I was getting to (INAUDIBLE) George.
STARR: I was…
MCCARTNEY: No, you weren’t, Larry. You said his name wrong.
STARR: Shut up, it’s my turn.
MCCARTNEY: I know, but he got your name wrong, Ringo, on national television.
STARR: I know. Give him a break.
MCCARTNEY: We can’t cut it. It’s live.

I suppose we should at least be grateful that he knew two of them had died.