From MeetTheBeatlesForReal - Hidden Girl Friends
Estelle Bennett:
I met the Beatles when I was in England on tour. I’m a member of the Ronettes, a singing group. I hit it off with George Harrison as soon as we met. We kept running into each other at parties and gatherings and always found our eyes meeting no matter how many other people were in the room. George and I talked whenever we’d see each other. We found we liked the same things, long walks while wearing comfortable clothes and being with sincere people who liked us for ourselves and not because we were in show business.
I think I was the happiest when I was talking with George. There was something about him that made me open up and spill out anything that was on my mind. I think he felt the same way, for he’d often call late in the evening and talk on the phone for hours. We started seeing each other in England, but then had to say goodbye when he and the other Beatles left for Paris and an engagement. He called me every day. He even flew into London so he could see me on the one day he was off. I liked George. He wasn’t my boyfriend, but someone special, someone who meant an awful lot to me. When our tour of England was finished, I was truly sorry to say goodbye to him. I knew he’d be visiting the U.S. in a few months and we made plans to see each other.
Finally the day came when the Beatles arrived here. And what an arrival! Thousands of fans at the airport. Thousands of fans surrounding their hotel. Along with my sister Ronnie and cousin Nedra (who make up the rest of the Ronettes) we went to greet them. The boys seemed so happy to see us, amongst the dozens of people milling about their suite; we were the only visitors who really knew them. George took me aside and asked me to please come back and see him the next evening when he’d be free to talk with me. We then said goodbye.
The next night I met George at the hotel. Along with the other Beatles, and Cynthia, John’s wife, we sat down to dinner. What a good feeling it was to be with all of them again, just like old times in England. After dinner, George and I went into an adjoining study and brought each other up to date on the various happenings since our last meeting. George looked tired and told me he never gets a chance to relax. I got the impression he didn’t enjoy traveling as much as the other boys did. He picked up his guitar and played. This is his favorite form of enjoyment. He played for hours and I was enchanted listening to him. It was comfortable and nice. That’s the best way I can describe my feelings about being with him. Neither of us felt any obligations, we just enjoyed being there together. George playing and I, listening.
We saw each other many times. I was with him at the party after their concert and on other evenings when we just sat around the hotel with the rest of the group. But somehow things weren’t the same. We couldn’t recreate the same relationship we had when I was in London.
Instinct told me this wasn’t the right time to be with him. I didn’t want to be around when he wasn’t happy. Since I’d be returning to England soon, I decided it would be better to see each other on his home ground. Over there he’s at his best, he’s relaxed, he’s George Harrison, Englishman and not George Harrison, Beatle.
