Following singer Annie Lennox‘s acceptance speech at an event in New York City on September 18, 2017, honoring her with the George Harrison Global Citizen Award, she invited Dhani Harrison to join her onstage. The pair then performed George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity” (including the brief portion of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” that’s in the recorded version).
The organizers of the 2017 Global Citizen Festival, the organization that promotes volunteerism, presented Lennox with the award for her humanitarian efforts, at New York’s NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
After George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, presented Lennox with the award, the singer said: “Thank you so much Olivia. And thank you so much to the Material World Foundation for this incredible award. I’m moved, humbled and honoured to receive it.
“The beauty and power of George Harrison’s music continues to inspire millions of people, with it’s social, political, universal message for a more sustainable, peaceful world.
“I have always loved George’s music and everything he stood for, not only as a brilliant artist, but also as a highly intelligent, sensitive and compassionate man – deeply committed to the issues of human rights, freedom and justice.
“In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh was an innovative, groundbreaking event where he fearlessly created a global platform for advocacy through music, to raise awareness and inspire action in response to a desperate situation.”
Read the rest of Lennox’s speech here.
When she completed her speech, Lennox invited Dhani Harrison to the stage to huge applause.
Watch Lennox’s speech. The performance of “Isn’t It a Pity” begins at the 6:45 mark
Stevie Wonder, Green Day, the Killers and many others performed several days later on the Great Lawn in New York City’s Central Park, on Sept. 23, at the annual Global Citizen Festival.
Watch Wonder and Pharrell perform one of Stevie’s big hits
And here’s Wonder performing a song that he wrote and recorded in the city
2 Comments
That is NOT ‘Hey Jude’ Lennox and Harrison were singing at the end. It is the extended fadeout of ‘Isn’t It A Pity,’ a song which George had offered to the Beatles in late 1966 (it was rejected by Lennon), a full two years before the release of ‘Hey Jude’.
Right on point.