Exceedingly rare EMI/Apple Records 7-inch ‘white label’ test pressing of the 1971 single ‘My Sweet Lord / What is Life’ by George Harrison, who has signed the ‘A side’ label in black felt tip, “Best wishes from, George Harrison,” and annotated the song titles on either side, “My Sweet Lord” and “What is Life.” The consignor notes that this test pressing was Harrison’s personally owned copy and was given by Harrison to a mechanic at his Friar Park estate, Henley-on-Thames, in March 1971, as a ‘thank you’ gift for repairing his famous psychedelic Mini, an Austin Cooper 'S,’ LGF 695D, which was featured in the 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour. The 'A Side' label bears an ownership notation. In fine condition, with a trivial smudge to the first letter of the sentiment. Test pressings formerly belonging to any member of the Beatles are exceedingly scarce. Few examples have ever surfaced, and signed examples, such as this, are virtually nonexistent. This early and important example of, arguably, George Harrison’s most iconic song as a solo artist, signed and gifted by Harrison under such personal circumstances, makes this truly unique.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, John Glazbrook: “In 1971, I worked in a garage that rectified faults on what are now known as classic cars. In March of that year a Mini Cooper "S" came in that had a lot of very strange drawings painted on the body. The driver of the car was none other than Klaus Voormann, who was a friend and session bass player for George Harrison. Indeed, the Mini was George Harrison’s personal car. Klaus explained to me that the car had no power and left it with us to be repaired…On completion of the work the car stayed with the garage for two weeks. I was asked to deliver the car back to Friar Park, George Harrison’s home in Henley-on-Thames. This was at the end of March 1971. Upon entering the grounds through a large electric gate, I saw George Harrison driving a dumper truck. He was doing some groundwork to his garden at the front of the house. I drove the car up to the front of the house and George came over to speak to me. I explained to him what the fault was, and what I had done to rectify it. He thanked me for the work I had done. I then asked him if he would mind giving me his autograph. He asked me into the house and gave me a plain white labelled record, which he signed in front of me…He also wrote the song titles, ‘MY SWEET LORD’ on the front, and ‘WHAT IS LIFE’ on the back. That was the one and only time that I met George Harrison.”
In 1965, Beatles Manager Brian Epstein teamed up with Terry Doran (‘the man from the motor trade’ mentioned in ‘She’s Leaving Home’) to buy Minis at cost price to give to all four Beatles. Harrison’s Mini was customized by coach-builder Harold Radford with a full-length sunroof, horizontally mounted Volkswagen tail lights, and hood-mounted rally fog lamps. In early 1967, Harrison commissioned the Dutch artist collective ‘The Fool’ to repaint the car in a psychedelic motif inspired by the book ‘Tantra Art: Its Philosophy & Physics.’ This is the same psychedelic Mini that featured prominently in the 1967 Beatles film, ‘Magical Mystery Tour.’
In the mid-1960s, Harrison and John Lennon, along with their wives Pattie and Cynthia, experienced their first LSD trip while driving in the Mini. Upon leaving the home of a dentist friend who had slipped the drug into their tea, Harrison ended up driving the four of them back home from London to Surrey at 10 mph. Needless to say, although he owned a number of expensive cars, this custom Mini held significant memories for Harrison, and his deep appreciation for the mechanic was conveyed through such a meaningful gift: his personal test pressing of his first-ever single as a solo artist that was released only weeks earlier—the Beatles had split up in April 1970.
Harrison began writing the song ‘My Sweet Lord’ in December 1969, while still a member of the Beatles. Upon its release, on January 15, 1971, ‘My Sweet Lord’ became an international hit that helped propel Harrison’s triple album All Things Must Pass up the charts. The song was Harrison’s first solo release and it was the first solo single for any of the Beatles to top the worldwide charts—it remained the biggest seller by any of the Fab Four throughout the 1970s. Today, it remains Harrison’s most popular composition from his post-Beatles career. ‘My Sweet Lord / What is Life’ was released in the UK on the Beatles’ Apple label with catalog number R 5884. For this test pressing, the matrix code on side one is 7YCE 21511 - 1, and side two is 7YCE 21512 - 1, with 1/G first mother / first stamper codes denoting the earliest pressing, plus KT tax codes.
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