Apple Corps is proud to release "The Concert For Bangladesh" by George Harrison & Friends on DVD and CD.
The Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert of its kind, bringing together an extraordinary assemblage of major artists collaborating for a common humanitarian cause - setting the precedent that music could be used to serve a higher cause. It is acknowledged as the inspiration and forerunner to the major global fundraising events of subsequent years. Says United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "George and his friends were pioneers."
Besides George, the concert features some of his friends, including: Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston and Badfinger.
Performances include "Here Comes The Sun," "Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "My Sweet Lord," "Just Like A Woman," "Blowin’ In The Wind" and "A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall."
During the struggle for independence from Pakistan millions of refugees fled to neighboring India to escape hunger, disease and bloodshed. The crisis was deepened when massive floods hit the region. Alerted to the scale of the suffering by his friend Ravi Shankar, George Harrison organized the Concert For Bangladesh as two shows at Madison Square Garden on August 1st, 1971 with the proceeds going to UNICEF.
The DVD, released by Warner Music Group, is a 2-disc package, including the original 99-minute film restored and remixed in 5.1, as well as 72-minutes of bonus material. The extras feature a 45-minute documentary "The Concert For Bangladesh Revisited," about the background to the two shows with exclusive interviews and contributions from Annan and Bob Geldof.
There is also previously unseen footage: "If Not For You," featuring George and Bob Dylan from rehearsals, "Come On In My Kitchen," featuring George, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell at the sound check and a Dylan performance from the afternoon show of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit," which was not included in the original film.
The album of the concert, which has been remixed and repackaged as a 2-disc set, contains "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" as a bonus track.
All artists' royalties from the sales of the DVD and the CD will continue to go to UNICEF.
