The Concert For Bangladesh - Reviews and Aftermath

Reviews and Aftermath

Harrison’s manager Allen Klein immediately boasted of the entirely peaceful nature of the event: “There was no rioting. Not one policeman was allowed in there … Zero!” In fact, as reported in The Village Voice on 12 August, midway through the evening show, a crowd of 200 non-ticket-holders charged and broke through the doors of Madison Square Garden. A force of 100 security guards and New York City police then clubbed the crowd, during which counterculture figure Wavy Gravy, who was seriously ill, was allegedly hit from behind after showing the officers that he did indeed have a valid ticket. Aside from this unfortunate episode, press reports concerning the Concert for Bangladesh shows were overwhelmingly positive.

While the appearance of Bob Dylan on the same stage as two former Beatles caused a predictable sensation, lavish praise was bestowed on George Harrison. “Beatlemania Sweeps a City!” was a typical headline, and in Britain the NME declared the concerts “The Greatest Rock Spectacle of the Decade!” Dylan’s choice of songs, particularly the "apocalyptic" “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, were found to have a new relevance in the troubled early '70s − made “the more chilling for the passage of years”, opined Rolling Stone. The same publication stated of Starr’s contribution: “Seeing Ringo Starr drumming and singing on stage has a joy in it that is one of the happiest feelings on earth still.” Not lost on the media was Ravi Shankar’s role as both concert instigator and the true conscience of the UNICEF shows. Musically, as The Village Voice noted, the pairing of him and Ali Akbar Khan was “almost as unique as the mix of Dylan and Harrison”.

In the wider countercultural context of the time, with disillusion increasingly rife with each post-Woodstock rock event, the concerts were viewed as “a brief incandescent revival of all that was best about the Sixties”. Writing in 1981, NME critic Bob Woffinden likened it to a "rediscovery of faith", adding: "Harrison had put rock music back on course." Politically, as Bangladeshi historian Farida Majid would note, the “warmth, care and goodwill” of the August 1971 concerts “echoed all over the world”, inspiring volunteers to approach UNICEF and offer their assistance, as well as eliciting private donations to the Bangladesh disaster fund. Although the altruistic spirit would soon wane once more, the Concert for Bangladesh is invariably seen as the inspiration and blueprint for subsequent rock charity benefits, from 1985’s Live Aid and Farm Aid to the Concert for New York City and Live 8 in the twenty-first century. Unlike those later concerts, though, which benefitted from continuous media coverage of the causes they supported, the Harrison−Shankar project was responsible for identifying the problem and establishing Bangladesh’s plight in the minds of mainstream Western society. As author Gary Tillery puts it: “Because of its positioning as a humanitarian effort, all descriptions of the show included a summary of the catastrophe in South Asia. Overnight, because of their fascination with rock stars, masses of people became educated about geopolitical events they had not even been aware of the week before. The tragedy in Bangladesh moved to the fore as an international issue.” One of these revelations was that America was supplying weaponry and financial aid to the Pakistani army, led by General Yahya Khan.

In his musical biography of George Harrison, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Simon Leng identifies friendship as the key factor behind the success of the two UNICEF shows, both in bringing all the participants together on the stage and in the affection with which the audience and music critics viewed the event. Harrison’s close friend Klaus Voormann has often cited this quality also.

Friendship played out through the next, far more lucrative stages of the Bangladesh relief project, as the accompanying live album and concert film were readied for release. Harrison had assured all the main performers that their appearance would be removed from these releases if the event turned out “lousy”, to save anyone having to risk possible embarrassment. Having sent out personalised letters of thanks to all the participants on 1 September, he expressed his gratitude further by guesting on Billy Preston’s first album on A&M Records that autumn and donating a new song to Jesse Ed Davis.

Around the same time, rumours of a possible repeat of the New York concert triumph, to be held at London’s Wembley Stadium in early October, had been gathering momentum. Harrison and Klein soon quashed the idea, but an English version of the Concert for Bangladesh did take place, on 18 September, before 30,000 fans at The Oval in south London, with a bill featuring the likes of The Who, The Faces, Mott the Hoople, America and Lindisfarne. By that time, George and Pattie Harrison were on their way home to the UK, mixing having been completed on the upcoming live album, with Harrison due to meet with Britain’s Treasury financial secretary Patrick Jenkin − to deal with the unforeseen obstacle of a “purchase tax” being levied on the album. One of a number of problems that would blight Harrison’s Bangladesh project following the Madison Square Garden shows, the British politician would allegedly tell him: “Sorry! It is all very well for your high ideals, but Britain equally needs the money!”

On 5 June 1972, in recognition of their “pioneering” fundraising efforts for the refugees of Bangladesh, George Harrison, Ravi Shankar and Allen Klein were jointly honoured by UNICEF with its “Child Is the Father of the Man” award. Over three decades later, moves would be under way in the Bangladeshi High Court to have Harrison officially recognised and honoured as a hero for his role during the troubled birth of the nation.

See also: The Concert for Bangladesh (album), The Concert for Bangladesh (film), and The Day the World Gets 'Round