June 1981
Japanese pressing, Warner-Pioneer P-10944D
BONUS TRACKS:
11) "All Those years Ago" mono promo single, 45-rpm, 3:45
12) "Teardrops" mono promo single, 45-rpm, 3:24
13) "Teardrops" stereo single edit, 45-rpm, 3:24
About "All Those years Ago":
Harrison originally wrote the song with different lyrics for Ringo Starr to record. Although he recorded it, Starr
felt the vocal was too high for his range and he did not like the words. Harrison took the track back and after Lennon's death the lyrics were changed to reflect a tribute to Harrison's lost friend and colleague, John Lennon. In the song, Harrison makes reference to The Beatles song "All You Need is Love" and the Lennon song "Imagine".
The recording of the song featured all three remaining Beatles (Harrison, Starr and Paul McCartney), though this was expressly a Harrison single. It is one of only a few non-Beatles songs to feature three members of the group. Harrison and Starr recorded the song at Harrison's Friar Park studios between 19 November 1980 and 25 November 1980. After Lennon's death the following month, Harrison removed Starr's vocals (but left Starr's drumming track) and recorded his own vocals with rewritten lyrics honouring Lennon. McCartney, his wife Linda and their Wings bandmate Denny Laine visited Friar Park to record backing vocals. The lineup was rounded out by Al Kooper on keyboards. The three surviving Beatles would not appear together on the same track for another thirteen years until The Beatles Anthology. The album's liner notes also thank the Beatles' producer George Martin and the Beatles' engineer Geoff Emerick, although what contribution (if any) they made to the track is unclear.