Late Beatle's completed lyrics earn Wirral's Dean international fame (From Wirral Globe)

Late Beatle's completed lyrics earn Wirral's Dean international fame

4:05pm Wednesday 25th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

WIRRAL musician Dean Johnson has found himself at the centre of a multi-media storm after completing the lyrics of a song written by George Harrison.

The Oxton-based singer/songwriter was invited to put the finishing touches to a fragment of Silence (Is Its Own Reply), the first ten lines of which were written by the late guitarist at the height of The Beatles' fame in the 1960s.

Dean will perform the finished song at the View Two Gallery in Mathew Street, Liverpool, a week on Friday, December 4.

Our story about Dean's work spread quickly around the world after it was published on October 17. It was picked up by the national press and even crossed the Atlantic.

It has also become the subject of hundreds of online postings and message boards.

Footage of Dean singing the song on video-sharing website You-Tube has received tens of thousands of views around the world and his name has been Googled more than one million times.

The lyrics have divided Beatle fans across the world, earning Dean both praise and savage criticism.

George's former bandmates Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are said to be aware of the new words but so far have not commented.

Dean now hopes George's widow Olivia will give him permission to record the song for charity.

He told the Globe: "I can't quite believe what's happened since you broke the story.

"The news has been everywhere and the song is also mentioned on George's official website, so his widow Olivia is now aware.

"I'm sure that if Olivia wasn't happy about the song being written, she would have been in contact by now.

"I set out to interpret George's original lines and with hindsight suggest some of the motives behind them, just as every painting at the View Two is interpretive.

"Each artist takes licence from what he sees and feels to complete their own vision.

"My actions, though not self-motivated, have divided Beatle's fans and I hope this event can bring some clarity to the issue.

"All the Beatles had artistic aspirations beyond music and the gallery seems the ideal venue for this latest chapter of Beatle mythology."

The original ten lines were given to the Fab Four's biographer Hunter Davies by Harrison for inclusion in a biography, which was published at the time.

The lyrics, which seem to hint at an uneasy relationship between George and bandmate John Lennon, were put aside and forgotten about until they were recently rediscovered.

Dean was asked by Radio Merseyside presenter Spencer Leigh to finish the song in the spirit in which George had started it.

It was performed live during an interview with Hunter on Spencer's 'On The Beat' radio show last month.

Updates are available by visiting the link below.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)