BANGLADESH DVD RELEASED, RINGO REMEMBERS REAX

A Gala event for the re-release on DVD of the Concert For Bangladesh was held in Los Angeles Wednesday evening (October 20) to screen the DVD and to celebrate the release of the collection. The concert was the brainchild of George Harrison, and the benefit was the first of its kind. The concert was attended by a veritable who’s who in music in the early ’70s from Eric Clapton to Bob Dylan.

Harrison’s Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr played drums that night, and while the concert was monumental, at the screening he said that it was the performance of the rock stars’ opener that was his most memorable moment.

“Yes, well the whole thing about Bangladesh was he and Ravi were great friends and Bangladesh went downhill real fast and he wanted to help. Ravi does the first half of the concert and then rockers came and did it next. There was a great moment where Ravi was tuning up and the audience applauds, and he says — because no one knew Indian music really back then. It was really sort of small — and he said, ‘Well, if you like the tuning, I hope you like the concert.”

The Concert For Bangladesh hits stores courtesy of Apple Records. The gala event in Los Angeles also featured appearances from Tom Petty, Jim Keltner, Harrison’s widow Olivia, and Doors member John Densmore. Movie stars Alyssa Milano and Angelica Houston were also in attendance.