SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND The Beatles’ most famous album has only grown in stature over the last 50 years and marks the moment in musical history where pop was afforded equal rights with high art. Steve Harnell doffs his cap 30 gt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band occupies a singular place in the Beatles canon – it’s both their most important album Sand their most misunderstood. In terms of its significance, there can be no more game-changing long-player in the history of recorded music than the band’s 1967 opus. It marked the moment where pop music broke the cultural glass ceiling and could be considered high art. However, its reputation as rock’s finest ‘concept’ album has always been a misnomer. Under examination, the Sgt. Pepper ‘fake band’ conceit unravels after its second song and only makes a cursory reappearance on the penultimate track. So much for joined-up thinking, then. Like Revolver, the diversity of musical styles and tonalities – from Lennon’s acerbic bitterness and psychedelic imagination to McCartney’s whimsy and Harrison’s American pop artist Jann Haworth with two of her soft sculptures: the ‘Old Lady’ figure on the mysticism – is really what lies at the right features on the cover of Sgt. Pepper, heart of Sgt. Pepper’s long-term appeal. co-designed by her and her husband Peter Blake Tony Evans/Getty Images Evans/Getty Tony It’s also George Martin’s finest achievement as a producer. The genesis of Sgt. Pepper marks a “I thought it would be nice to lose our You could argue that the band made key moment in Beatle history where identities, to submerge ourselves in the more consistent albums (step forward, McCartney asserted himself as the persona of a fake group. We could Revolver) and created more diverse main motivational force within the make up all the culture around it and collections (no doubt, the astonishingly band. Meanwhile, manager Brian collect all our heroes in one place.” generous pick’n’mix smorgasbord of Epstein, who was battling depression At first, the idea formed just the seed the ‘The White Album’) but there’s and an addiction to pills, was by this for the rocking opening song from the something about the whole package of point proving to be far from the album. It was only three months into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band dynamic force of old. Distracted by his recording sessions that McCartney – its clutch of now-classic tunes, the troubles, his role was becoming more suggested that the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ psychedelic, era-defining front cover, reactive than proactive. concept could be used as an the much-vaunted audio trickery The bassist wrote the lion’s share of overarching framing device. within – that holds a special place in the material on the album and came up George Martin recalled: “Sgt. Pepper many Fab Four fans’ hearts. with an idea for a song which would itself didn’t appear until halfway All was not idyllic within the ranks of eventually become Sgt. Pepper’s through making the album. It was Beatledom, though. Itchy feet had set seemingly unifying concept while on a Paul’s song, just an ordinary rock in as they reacted against the return flight to London from Kenya number. But when we finished it, Paul suffocating pressure of being part of with tour manager Mal Evans. With a said: ‘Why don’t we make a whole the world’s biggest band. Harrison view to freeing up The Beatles album as though the Pepper band even threatened to leave until his stylistically, McCartney posited the really existed, as though Sgt. Pepper anger was appeased by Brian Epstein’s concept of creating a fictional was making the record?’ I loved the promise that their touring days were Edwardian-era military band. idea and from that moment on it was as officially over. Lennon took time out Evans, for his part, riffing off the au though Pepper had a life of its own.” to hook up once again with A Hard courant West Coast psychedelic band The Beach Boys’ seminal Pet Sounds Day’s Night and Help! director names of the times, reportedly came up was a regular touchstone throughout Richard Lester, playing the part of with the title Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely the recording process and a continual Musketeer Gripweed in How I Won Hearts Club Band. Paul later explained: reminder of how a studio could The War. McCartney explored his growing fascination with brass band “PAUL SAID, ‘WHY DON’T WE MAKE A music by providing the soundtrack to the TV drama The Family Way, WHOLE ALBUM AS THOUGH SGT. PEPPER but he had bigger plans in mind for WAS MAKING THE RECORD?’ I LOVED his future. THE IDEA” GEORGE MARTIN 31 SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND 1967 • PARLOPHONE Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon & McCartney) With A Little Help From My Friends (Lennon & McCartney) John Lennon’s Romany Sgt. Pepper caravan, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Lennon & painted by The Fool, July 1967. The vehicle spent McCartney) years on Lennon’s Irish island but was retrieved Getting Better (Lennon & McCartney) and part-restored by Ringo after John’s death Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Archive/Getty Standard/Hulton Evening Fixing A Hole (Lennon & McCartney) become an instrument in itself. February 1967. Remarkably, what is She’s Leaving Home (Lennon & McCartney) McCartney has recognised the almost universally considered the Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (Lennon & influence of Freak Out! by The Mothers greatest 7-inch record of all time only McCartney) of Invention, now often seen as rock’s made it to #2 in the UK singles chart. first fully-fledged concept album (in a Engelbert Humperdinck’s Please perfect example of pop eating itself, Release Me pipped it to the summit, Within You Without You (Harrison) Frank Zappa’s band went on to satirise breaking The Beatles’ four-year run of When I’m Sixty Four (Lennon & McCartney) Sgt. Pepper with their 1968 album chart-topping singles in the UK. Lovely Rita (Lennon & McCartney) We’re Only In It For The Money, which The two sides of the single were Good Morning Good Morning (Lennon & parodied the famous cover art. Upon omitted from the eventual tracklisting McCartney) their record company’s insistence, of the album, a decision which George Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band however, Zappa’s artful reference was Martin has described as the biggest (Reprise) (Lennon & McCartney) removed from the front of the album mistake of his professional life. The A Day In The Life (Lennon & McCartney) and placed inside the gatefold). whole affair left a sour taste in the With The Beatles afforded the luxury mouth, for not only did the single fail of limitless studio time, they originally to make it to #1 but the two songs’ pressurised into writing songs to order began recording sessions for what absence also stymied the entire rather than being left to wait for the became Sgt. Pepper with the idea of ‘Liverpool childhood’ concept. muse to strike. Meanwhile, Harrison creating a themed work around their was sensing that the new working childhoods in Liverpool. Early fruit THE RACE TO WRITE methods of endless overdubs and yielded from those sessions were With Paul asserting his dominance assembling songs piecemeal was Strawberry Fields Forever, When I’m over the direction and workload of the ruining their traditional band dynamic. Sixty-Four and Penny Lane. With the band, resentment began to increase With so much dead time in-between band taking an unheard-of amount of among his colleagues. Always the first takes, Ringo was a passive bystander time between the delivery of albums to arrive at recording sessions with an for much of the recording. “The biggest – an unrelenting record-buying public armful of new compositions, memory I have of Sgt. Pepper is that I had ben led to expect most acts to McCartney’s proliferant talent forced learned to play chess,” he added drily. release two LPs a year – Epstein was Lennon’s hand. John’s inherent sense From the album’s opening moments eventually pressured into giving up of competition with Paul generally presenting an orchestra tuning up, The Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny allowed him to keep pace, but there Beatles tap into an interesting dualism: Lane for a double A-sided single in was a sense that he was being they are at once embracing the elder order and thumbing their nose at the THE TWO SIDES OF THE STRAWBERRY establishment. This is an album in the form of an event – unapologetic in its FIELDS FOREVER/PENNY LANE SINGLE scale, wilfully indulgent and very WERE OMITTED FROM THE TRACKLISTING knowing. George Martin’s adept OF THE ALBUM sprinkling of sound effects – refined 32 John Downing/Getty Images John Downing/Getty It’s May 1967, and the four Beatles PERSONNEL show off the sleeve of their new album JOHN LENNON – lead, harmony and at the press launch at Brian Epstein’s house at 24 Chapel Street, London background vocals; rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars; Hammond organ and final piano E during his years working with The become a psychedelic treasure, but chord; harmonica, tape loops, sound Goons and many more comedy acts of among the plaudits for its effects and comb and tissue paper; the day – is a continual feature of Sgt. groundbreaking use of surrealism the handclaps, tambourine and maracas Pepper. The audience noise at the pleasing counterpoint of laid-back album’s beginning was a combination verses and stomping chorus is often PAUL McCARTNEY – lead, harmony and of a recording of the Beyond The Fringe missed.