“They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did," George Harrison said in the Beatles' 1995 Anthology documentary. "And then blamed it on us.” But even he could never suspect that, four years later, those words would ring true again when, on Dec. 30, 1999, a mad man attacked Harrison in his own house, nearly killing him.

At approximately 3:30AM, Michael Abram, a 33-year old native of Liverpool, avoided security by scaling the fence of Harrison's Friar Park estate near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and entered the mansion by throwing a statue through a window, which woke up the sleeping Harrisons.

George confronted Abram, who was screaming at the spiritual Beatle with a knife in his hand. The 56-year-old Harrison ran at Abram to try to tackle and disarm him. The attempt was unsuccessful, and George was stabbed repeatedly in the chest.


Read More: 20 Years Ago: George Harrison Nearly Killed in His Own Home