With the issue of previously unreleased Beatles tracks towards the end of 2013 it is no surprise that a number of new books have also appeared. In fact, new books about The Beatles are being published on a regular basis and it is a wonder that there is anything new to discover but there is. Graeme Thomson's Behind the Locked Door is a detailed biography of George Harrison. This could be the most challenging of any Beatles biography due to George's near reclusive nature, especially in his final years, hence the title.

George Harrison's story is fascinating as he came from a similar background to the other Beatles and grew up with similar influences but his life took a much different route from the mid-1960s. Both this book and Mark Lewisohn's Tune In portray The Beatles very much as an equal group of three (prior to Ringo joining and despite other drummers in the band) in the early days. This is emphasised by the recent BBC sessions and iTunes releases where lead vocals appear to be shared more or less equally between John, Paul and George. However, once the band started to be more successful this started to change with the group dominated by Paul and John and with George seemingly relegated to the third member. Of course, this may be a natural consequence of the immense songwriting power of Paul and John to which George was not really contributing at this stage. George even ended up with lead vocals on a couple of Lennon-McCartney tracks Do You Want to Know a Secret and I'm Happy Just to Dance With You.

Even when George started writing it was difficult to gain the same level of recognition as John and Paul, indeed it would be difficult for anyone in such an environment to be accepted as an equal. It has been written many times that the competitive nature between John and Paul helped them develop into such wonderful songwriters but George would always be a distant third as a songwriter despite the quality of much of his work. Effectively it was not until Abbey Road that George's songs were generally seen as the equal of Lennon-McCartney with Something and Here Comes The Sun arguably the best two tracks on the album. George's late blossoming as a songwriter, at least when compared with John and Paul is even more emphasised by the fact that as a solo artist it was George who made the greatest immediate breakthrough post break-up with My Sweet Lord and the LP All Things Must Pass.

George was more than just a member of the Beatles. Like the others he was pushing and exploring rather than just a guitar player. It s largely thanks to George's developing interests in Indian culture that these influences started to appear in Beatles music. The sitar and other Indian influences such as writings had an impact on the music. The sitar was first heard on a Beatles record as early as Norwegian Wood in 1965. George's interest in Indian culture was much wider than a religious interest and he brought different elements if it into his life and this include support for the Hare Krishna movement. To a large extent this led to a major and uncomfortable conflict in his life with a desire for space and tranquillity or meditation while, as a Beatle, he was extremely high profile. The "Beatle" tag would weigh heavily on him after the band split. Keen to pursue his own life and be recognised as himself he would always be a Beatle and, of course, everyone wanted to hear Something. This did not mean that he could not lean on Beatle George when he wanted to.

While the Beatles were an important part of George's life and this is well-documented, including the friction with 8-months older Paul McCartney, there is ample detail given to George's life after the Beatles. The varied success in his solo career and non-musical ventures such as Handmade Films are well-covered. George was a big fan of Monty Python and financed the superb film Life of Brian. Without George's support this film would probably not have been made. He even appeared in a cameo role in The Rutles, the 1978 parody of the Beatles.

George was an intensely private person despite his massive fame. This became all the more apparent after Lennon's assassination. Not surprisingly, George became more aware of his own security and was even the victim of an attack at his supposedly secure home in Henly-on-Thames. After this he became more withdrawn from society, venturing out when he wanted to. His life with ex-wife Pattie Boyd who subsequently married best friend Eric Clapton is well covered. Both guitarists wrote songs about Pattie, Something and Layla. Although George has been widely seen as the wronged husband, the book notes that the intensely spiritual George had been unfaithful many times starting with Ringo Starr's first wife Maureen Cox and even including Clapton's ex-girlfriend Charlotte Martin.

This is an excellent book and a good way to learn more about George Harrison beyond the Beatles. He continued to make some wonderful music notably All Things Must Pass and Cloud Nine and these come alive more with a greater understanding of his life and his troubles.