[originaltext] Flags are at half-mast in Liverpool as the city mourns one o

Flags are at half-mast in Liverpool as the city mourns one of its most famous songs, George Harrison. He rose to international fame at the age of 17 as a member of the Beatles and went on to a career as a leading British film producer. (33)Musically, he defined a generation, with borrowings from Eastern music and religion.  Millions of fans worldwide have been united in their grief and tributes have been paid by musicians and world leaders as diverse as Michael Jackson and Queen Elizabeth.
     George Harrison was an unlikely rock star, an unassuming man, cynical about celebrity, concentrating on what mattered, the music. He’d been a heavy smoker for many years. Three years ago, he disclosed that he had cancer. He’d gone to Los Angeles for a final attempt at treatment.  He died at a friend’s house yesterday afternoon. In a statement, his family said, he left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace.
     (34)In Liverpool, the city that was the Beatles’ and which they made famous, some people laid flowers for George Harrison at a statue of the Beatles. Others signed a book of condolence.
     Bob Geldof said sorrowfully: I think almost uniquely possibly in music  and certainly  in guitar,  are a guitarist’s paces. (35)A11 his solos or his little licks can be hummed by practically everyone in the world. I don’t think there is another guitar player can claim that.
     Some months ago, just before his final illness, George Harrison undertook his last project. It was the reworking of a 1970 album entitled, "All Things Must Pass."