George Harrison's seminal project The concert for Bangladesh is now available on streaming platforms for the first time. Listen to the full album below.
This massive event took place in 1971 and pioneered the concept of large-scale charity musical shows. The acclaimed concert was held over two performances at New York's Madison Square Garden and saw Harrison welcome the likes of fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, virtuoso instrumentalist Ravi Shankar and Eric Clapton throughout the event. Focused on both raising money for UNICEF and awareness of the humanitarian crisis of the Bangladesh Liberation War (which had not been covered in depth by Western media), “The Concert for Bangladesh” was hailed as a huge success.
The album won the Album of the Year award at the 1973 Grammy Awards and the concert is often cited as a turning point where big stars used their voices, platforms and concerts for a greater purpose. In the decades since, “The Concert for Bangladesh” has become a northern star for people hoping to gather audiences for important causes. Over 250,000 copies of the album were sold in its first week; to date, it is reported to have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
Recordings of the event were later packaged into a 3-LP box set (get your copy here) here), and a concert film was released in theaters the following year, with all proceeds going to UNICEF. More than 50 years after the concert, sales or streaming revenue will continue to benefit the cause, specifically through The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
Since the concert's original date, the project has generated millions of dollars for UNICEF. “George and his friends were pioneers,” said former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Check out our retrospective on The concert for Bangladesh here.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that director Sam Mendes is working on a four-part film series about The Beatles and is working to secure full approval and music rights to create a biopic focusing on each member of the band.
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