Inside George Harrison's Criminal Past

George Harrison just might be one of the most famous musicians of all time. He was the lead guitarist of the Beatles, one of the most influential rock bands ever to exist, and was known as "the quiet Beatle," according to Britannica. Born on February 25, 1943, Harrison met the other members of the Beatles in Liverpool, England. The four would go on to make arguably the biggest splash from a band in music history.

After the Beatles broke up on April 10, 1970, Harrison went on to establish his own successful solo career (via History). As Britannica explains, Harrison released his solo album, "All Things Must Pass," in 1970, and it was quite successful. Despite the many notable events and accomplishments in his life — including popularizing charity concerts and raising millions with an invention — some may not know that Harrison actually committed a few crimes.

Many people might not have suspected the quiet Beatle of having a criminal past, but George Harrison's home was once raided by police searching for drugs. As History explains, it all started on March 12, 1969. Harrison wasn't at his home at the time, but was at the Beatles' headquarters when he received an abrupt phone call from his wife, Pattie Boyd. She told him that the police were raiding the entire house on suspicion of drug possession.

Despite Harrison's anger, the police continued their search, eventually finding a plethora of hashish, enough to arrest Harrison and Boyd. According to Cosmic Magazine, they both got off with a slap on the wrist, which is not surprising for a wealthy celebrity. All they had to do was pay a 250-pound fine each after they pleaded guilty, and the charges didn't affect Harrison much at all after that.

George Harrison's run-ins with the law did not end with the confiscated hash. At some point in his life, he was also deported from Germany. It happened on November 20, 1960, as Harrison and the other Beatles were in the country for a gig at a club called Kaiserkeller. As Far Out magazine explains, the band initially had an offer to play at Kaiserkeller but found the atmosphere and people to their disliking.

After breaking the contract with the club and going for a better offer at a club called the Top Ten, Bruno Koschmider, Kaiserkeller's owner, then reported Harrison to German authorities. Since Harrison was not yet 18 years old, this breach of worker age laws promptly got Harrison deported. As said in the Beatles Bible, Harrison taught John Lennon his parts of the songs, so that he could be replaced during the performances. It seems like Harrison eventually got the last laugh on Koschmider, as he ended up being one of the most famous people in modern history.