In January 1968, while “Get Back” was being filmed, George Harrison was privately dealing with a lawsuit with a photographer. “The Beatles: Get back”, a documentary by Peter Jackson, offers a totally different vision of the group in its last days than we have always had.
Any anecdote about one of the best musical groups in history is always welcome. A multitude of works have revolved around the recovery and assessment of the artistic career of the Beatles, as well as their development, success and subsequent breakup.
Now, it highlights a new perspective of the group, this time more striking by revealing some of its key best-kept secrets. Peter Jackson presented “The Beatles: Get back”, a documentary that portrays the making of the British band’s last album, “Let It Be”, released in 1970. In this documentary, the film director has revolutionized social networks by showing revealing images about the real reasons for the breakup of the Beatles.
One of the intriguing thing that was mentioned in the documentary was George Harrison’s photographer lawsuit.
Lennon is seen reading a newspaper headline in his best newsreader’s voice: “Beatle George May Face French Jail.”
“Beatle George Harrison, above, is due in court here today to answer assault charges,” John read. “Harrison is accused of assaulting a photographer last May as he and Beatle Ringo Starr left a nightclub.” George did not react.
Den of Geek reported, “The incident is mentioned in an online day-to-day Beatles diary, but the entry gives the same information we get in the documentary. It is confirmed in Keith Badman’s book, The Beatles: Off the Record, which says M. Charles Bébert testified in court about the incident. But it was reported.”
What really happened?
In May 1969, the Beatles George Harrison put down the Nice photographer Charles Bébert, irritated by his flash. Half a century later, the indescribable Bébert recounts this funny misadventure which almost ended up in court.
Den of Geek managed to uncover the news published by Belfast Telegraph on George’s photographer lawsuit in early 1969.
The headline was: “BEATLE George Harrison was fined 1,000 francs (tB5 sterling) at Nice today for assaulting a French Press photographer.”
The report also stated that the French photographer was Charles Bébert and “told the court that Harrison tripped him outside a nightclub in this French Riviera resort last May, causing him a knee injury which needed seven stitches. He originally intended to claim 15,000 francs in damages from Harrison, but photographers had dropped the action.”
“Harrison was not in court today and sent an apology through his lawyers. Hebert [sic] alleged the incident occurred when he took a flash picture of Harrison and the Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr and their wives leaving the nightclub early one morning.”
Den of Geek noted that Bébert was not a paparazzi, but was a “paparazzi-like” incident. Bebert who returned to a restaurant called La Pignata, located on the heights of Fabron in Nice.
“I see George Harrison and his wife. I start to shoot,” Bébert revealed Christophe Cirone of Nice-Matin magazine (per Den of Geek) in 2021. “They go inside. But there are so many people that they immediately come out.”
Wanting to get a good look at George Harrison, he ended up being too close to him.
“The moment I ran, he tripped me up,” Bébert remembered. “I was going to hit him. I know it’s George Harrison, but he doesn’t know my name is Bébert.” Bebert is a famous French photographer