Hundreds pay tribute to George Harrison

More than 1,000 people have attended a vigil to George Harrison in his birth city of Liverpool.

High winds extinguished plans for a candle-lit memorial but fans held up pictures of Harrison during a one minute silence at 6.30pm.

At the end of the silence, the crowds clapped along to Harrison's hit My Sweet Lord.

They then broke into spontaneous cheering and applause.

Lord Mayor Gerry Scott described the musician as "a true son of Liverpool".

He told the crowd: "Tonight, we are gathered here in memory of George Harrison, a true son of Liverpool, whose music reached out to the whole world and shaped a generation.

"George was a truly gifted musician. But he was much more than that. His ideals and his love of peace inspired countless thousands. His loss will be deeply felt but his vision will live on."

One of the mourners, Elsie May, said: "We felt we have to come tonight because losing George is like losing one of the family.

"His music shaped our lives and in the past we would take our children to see the Beatles when they were passing in a cavalcade. He was a wonderful man."

Before the vigil, pupils from Harrison's former school, Dovedale Juniors, planted a tree in the Peace Garden behind St George's Hall. The English oak stands just a few feet away from a tree planted in memory of John Lennon two years ago.