George Harrison signed QE2 Menu 1971

An original menu from onboard the Queen Elizibeth 2 cruise ship which has been signed to the front by George Harrison in Blue ball point pen the inscription “To Ruth” has been added above George’s name in an unknown hand George Sailed back to England from New York on the 8th of September 1971 with friend Gary Burden after his performance at the concert for Bangladesh which was organised by George and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide and the 1970 Bhola cyclone. The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album, a boxed three-record set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972. The event was the first-ever benefit of such a magnitude, and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison, fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger. In addition, Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan – both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh – performed an opening set of Indian classical music. The concerts were attended by a total of 40,000 people, and the initial gate receipts raised close to $250,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Gary burden spoke about his time on the QE2 with George in his book: “I played on the single Bangladesh but didn’t play at the concert. The event was filmed, and after George had finished editing it, he invited me to return to England on the QE2, which was the newest and sleekest ocean liner at the time. We had to have special, odd eating times in the dining room because word had spread that he was onboard and people were starting to hassle him with photo and autograph requests. I remember very early one morning playing Ping-Pong with him in the recreation room just so we could avoid curious tourists. We weren’t following any rules, just whacking the ball as hard as we could at each other like little kids. We had that kind of friendship where we could joke around with one another. George had brought a mandolin and several guitars with him for the trip back to the U.K., and we would pass the time in his suite playing, writing songs, and reading spiritual books together. I still have several songs on cassette from that trip that I plan to finish writing one day.” - Gary Wright, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison The autograph comes with an original press photograph of George at the concert for Bangladesh The menu measures 28.5 x 20.5 cm The photograph measures 25.5 x 20.5 cm The condition is very good with some mottling to the cover