The night Jimi Hendrix played "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band to The Beatles, June 3, 1967

Jimi Hendrix made a public display of his admiration for The Beatles when their seminal classic 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was released during the 'Summer of Love' in 1967.

Purchasing the record on the day of its release, he performed the title track just two days later at the Saville Theatre in London's Shaftesbury Avenue.

Unbeknown to Hendrix, some of The Beatles were actually in the audience, listening intently to his audacious performance.

Speaking at a later date, Paul McCartney spoke of his honour of the tribute, calling the performance "simply incredible, perhaps the best I have ever seen him play".

US album release: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

The day after it was released in the United Kingdom, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely HEarts Club Band was issued in the United States of America.

Sgt Pepper was the first Beatles album to be released with identical track listings in both the UK and USA, as stipulated by the group. As it was arguably their first long-player to be a conceptual whole rather than a straightforward collection of songs, it was important to them that Capitol issued it in the form envisaged by the creators.

US copies of Sgt Pepper, however, didn't include the high-pitched run-out whistle following A Day In The Life, nor the gibberish in the side two runout groove.

De Lane Lea Recording Studios, London

Engineer: Dave Siddle

On the evening that the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album had its UK release, The Beatles went to De Lane Lea Studios at 129 Kingsway, London, where between 10.30pm and 3.30am they recorded a number of instrumental jams.

The group had used the independent studio for the recording of It's All Too Much on May 25 and May 31st, 1967. For those sessions producer George Martin was not present, but he did attend this session.

The results of this session have never been officially released, and the most detailed description was provided by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn:

On this day, 1 June 1967, perhaps the most celebrated day in their career, The Beatles went into the studio and recorded nothing but untitled, unplanned, highly tedious and - frankly - amateurish instrumental jams, with a bass guitar, an organ, lead guitar with reverb, guitar strings being scraped, drums and tambourine. the single-minded channelling of their great talent so evident on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band did seem, for the moment, to have disappeared.

The Beatles returned to De Lane Lea on the following day to continue work on It's All Too Much, and also filled two more tape reels with untitled jamming.

De Lane Lea Recording Studios, London

Back to Kingsway for a 7:00 to 12:00 pm session (George Martin still absent; the May 26th team operative again) in which George's lead vocal, John and Paul's backing vocal, additional percussion and handclaps were overdubbed onto a new reduction mixdown of "It's All Too Much". (This session was incorrectly reported in the Recording Sessions book as May 26th).

The Beatles in-between recording at De Lane Lea Recording Studios in London.

Actress Jane Asher and boyfriend Beatle Paul McCartney pictured at Heathrow Airport.

The Beatles attend a party at Brian Epstein’s country house

The Beatles, minus Paul McCartney, attended a party at Brian Epstein's country house, Kingsley Hill in Warbleton near Heathfield in Sussex on this day.

Epstein had recently bought the house for £25,000, and the party was a joint housewarming and a celebration for the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The roads leading to the house were adorned with balloons for the occasion.

In addition to The Beatles and their wives, it was attended by a number of friends and celebrities including composer Lionel Bart and The Beatles' former press officer Derek Taylor.

This was Taylor's initiation to LSD; he was given the drug by John Lennon. The pair spent much of the party in Lennon's Rolls-Royce listening to Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade Of Pale. It was also Cynthia Lennon's third and final experience taking LSD.

Brian was having a party at the country house he'd bought in Sussex and John and I traveled down in the Rolls with a group of friends. On the journey everyone took LSD and I, against my better judgement but carried away by the jolly atmosphere in the car, decided to join in. Again, it was an awful mistake.

At Brian's house I followed John around, hoping he would comfort me as I went through what was, for me, a horrible experience. But he was not in a good mood: he glared at me and treated me as if I were a stranger. I felt desolate. Upstairs I found an open bedroom window and contemplated jumping out. For a few minutes, ending it all seemed like an easy solution: a chasm had opened between John and me, and I had no idea how to bring us back together.

Someone called my name, I turned back into the room and the fleeting thought passed. But I was low. For the first time I had to consider the very real possibility that my marriage might not survive.

Cynthia Lennon

 

John Lennon’s Rolls Royce, 27th May 1967

The Beatles masterpiece, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released in the UK, one week before its American debut. The album took over 700 hours to record under the direction of George Martin and cost $75,000 to produce. A then state-of-the-art four track recorder was used to build each song layer by layer. The LP spent 22 weeks at the top of the UK albums chart and 15 weeks at number one in the US. The iconic album cover, depicting the band posing in front of a collage of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by English pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth based on a sketch by Paul McCartney.

Recording: It’s All Too Much

De Lane Lea Recording Studios, London
Engineer: Dave Siddle

The Beatles recorded away from EMI Studios once again on this day, moving to the independent De Lane Lea Studios, then situated at 129 Kingsway, London.

Following considerable rehearsals the backing track for It's All Too Much was recorded in four takes on this day, though at this point the song was known simply as Too Much. It featured organ, bass guitar, distorted lead guitar and drums. The session took place from 7pm-2.30am.

Work on It's All Too Much continued at De Lane Lea on May 31st and June 2, 1967.

Source: Beatles Bible

The Beatles watch Procol Harum perform in London

All four members of The Beatles went to the Speakeasy in London on this day to watch new band Procol Harum perform.

The Speakeasy was a nightclub situated in the basement of 48 Margaret Street, W1. Managed by Roy Flinn and Mike Carey, it opened on 4 January 1967, and The Beatles often visited.

Procol Harum's debut single A Whiter Shade Of Pale was released on 12 May 1967. John Lennon, in particular, was a big fan of the song.

The Beatles in-between recording

On May 22nd 1967 it was announced that The Beatles would represent the BBC (and ultimately England) in the World's first worldwide television satellite link-up, to take place on the 25th June. They would be shown working "live" on a new song.
At this time in May, the song hadn't even be written ... then just one month later a finished piece that encapsulated the Summer of Love, Flower Power, the entire period, and would be an anthem to the sixties.

First thing to note on the label, is the very first time George Martin received credit as the producer on a single.

During the recording of Sgt. Pepper, Brian Epstein spent time trying to kick his drug habit, including spells in the Priory in Putney, London. Today, Brian temporarily leaves Priory Hospital, in Putney, for an afternoon tea with his parents at 24 Chapel Street.

The Beatles working on their next album.

The BBC bans A Day In The Life

BBC disc jockey Kenny Everett gave the official preview of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on this day, on the radio show Where It's At, broadcast on the BBC Light Programme from 4pm.

Where It's At was hosted by Chris Denning, but included a pre-recorded two-part feature by Everett about the album. This feature included pre-recorded interviews with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The feature sections were heard at the beginning and end of Denning's 90-minute show. Lennon spoke about the title track and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and mentioned the group's use of artificial double tracking (ADT) in the studio. Starr discussed The Beatles' past year, and McCartney spoke about why the album had taken so long to appear.

Extracts from every Sgt Pepper song were broadcast, apart from one. Everett was unable to play the album's final track - A Day In The Life as the corporation had banned it the previous day on the grounds that it promoted a permissive attitude towards drug taking.

Also on this day, John and Cynthia Lennon, George and Pattie Harrison and Brian Epstein took afternoon tea at Sunny Heights, the house owned by Ringo Starr and his wife Maureen.

Press launch for Sgt Pepper

Shortly ahead of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a press launch was held at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London.

Epstein had bought the house on  December 20, 1964, and lived there until his death on August 27, 1967. He hosted many parties at the house, the best-remembered of which was this press party for The Beatles' masterpiece.

Around a dozen selected journalists and broadcasters were invited to attend the event. Several photographers were also present, among them Linda Eastman, who had met her future husband Paul McCartney just four days previously.

I took my portfolio over to Brian Epstein's office and left it with his assistant, Peter Brown... Peter Brown got back in touch and said that Brian had liked my portfolio and invited me to a press launch for Sgt Pepper at Brian's home. Peter also said that Brian wanted to buy copies of two of my photos - one of Keith Moon wearing a lace cravat and one of Brian Jones at The Rolling Stones boat party.

So I went to the press launch where Sgt Pepper was played for the first time to the media, to take my first photographs of The Beatles. Because I was so used to working almost exclusively with black-and-white I didn't have any color film with me, and had to get some from another photographer. I eventually sold a color print of The Beatles from this session for $100 and I thought that I had it made!

The Beatles were photographed in Epstein's drawing room and on the steps outside the front door. The guests were served champagne, poached salmon and caviar. (Linda McCartney)

 

The Serpentine, Hyde Park May 18th 1967

On May 18, 1967, The Beatles had a photo session in Hyde Park with Marvin Lichtner from Time Magazine. Mal Evans was along for the ride, and a couple of his photos can be seen in The Beatles Monthly Book no. 49. This photo session was overshadowed at the time by the next day's event: The press party for the release of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
But they are nice, these photos, and they only pop up occasionally, so today's blog will be about them.
Paul was driven to the location by Terry Doran, while the three others arrived from the suburbs in John Lennon's psychedelically painted Rolls Royce. Or did they? The photo underneath is dated as May 18th. The car had recently been painted, so this may have been one of it's first outings in the new design - or is it too early? In fact, the invoice for the work and materials used are dated May 24th. The artist responsible for the painting, Steve Weaver worked on the car over at J.P. Fallon Painters, and there are photos of the car being unveiled on May 26th, so the inclusion of the photo here is a puzzle.

Recording: You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Recording began for one of The Beatles' most bizarre songs on this day. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) was taped, mixed and edited over a number of sessions between this day and November 1969, and it remained unreleased until March 1970.

You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) was inspired by a telephone directory that John Lennon saw at Paul McCartney's London home. It was originally envisaged as a 15-minute mantra.

The final recording was made up of five discrete parts, and during this session the first part was recorded. The Beatles taped 14 takes of the rhythm track, with guitars, bass and drums, and take 10 was labelled the best for the time being. The song was then set aside until June 7, 1967, when overdubs were added to take nine.

The Beatles in-between recording at EMI Studios in London.

Paul McCartney meets Linda Eastman

On this evening The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein hosted a dinner party to mark the completion of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Afterwards Paul McCartney went to the Bag O'Nails nightclub to see Georgie Fame performing. At the club McCartney had his first encounter with his future wife, Linda Eastman.

The Bag O'Nails was situated in the basement of 9 Kingly Street in Soho, London. The Beatles were regular visitors, particularly in 1967 and 1968, and McCartney had his own private table there.

The night I met Linda I was in the Bag O'Nails watching Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames play a great set. Speedy was banging away. She was there with the Animals, who she knew from photographing them in New York. They were sitting a couple of alcoves down, near the stage. The band had finished and they got up to either leave or go for a drink or a pee or something, and she passed our table. I was near the edge and stood up just as she was passing, blocking her exit. And so I said, 'Oh, sorry. Hi. How are you? How're you doing?' I introduced myself, and said, 'We're going on to another club after this, would you like to join us?'

That was my big pulling line! Well, I'd never used it before, of course, but it worked this time! It was a fairly slim chance but it worked. She said, 'Yes, okay, we'll go on. How shall we do it?' I forget how we did it. 'You come in our car' or whatever, and we all went on, the people I was with and the Animals, we went on to the Speakeasy.

The Speakeasy was a club on Margaret Street, where they heard Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade Of Pale for the first time.

We flirted a bit, and then it was time for me to go back with them and Paul said, 'Well, we're going to another club. You want to come?' I remember everybody at the table heard A Whiter Shade Of Pale that night for the first time and we all thought, Who is that? Stevie Winwood? We all said Stevie. The minute that record came out, you just knew you loved it. That's when we actually met. Then we went back to his house. We were in the Mini with I think Lulu and Dudley Edwards, who painted Paul's piano; Paul was giving him a lift home. I was impressed to see his Magrittes.

The pair met again four days later, on May 19, 1967, when Eastman attended the press party for Sgt Pepper at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London.

The Beatles enjoying a little break between recording.

The Beatles in-between recording at EMI Studios in London.

Recording, mixing: All Together Now

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Perhaps inspired by having recorded Baby You're A Rich Man during a six-hour session on the previous day, The Beatles recorded another song in just five and a half hours.

All Together Now was recorded in nine takes. The backing track had McCartney and George Harrison playing acoustic guitars, John Lennon playing harmonica, and Ringo Starr on drums and percussion.

McCartney overdubbed a bass guitar part, followed by his lead vocals, for which he was joined by Lennon and Harrison in the chorus. The final track on the tape was filled with Lennon's lead vocals in the bridge, more bass drum and finger cymbals, and the final singalong.

Six mono mixes were then made, and the song was complete and ready for inclusion in the film, and for release on the accompanying soundtrack LP.

This was The Beatles' second UK session to take place outside EMI Studios, following their February 9, 1967 visit to Regent Sound Studio. It took place at Olympic Sound Studios, an independent studio situated at 117 Church Road, Barnes, London.

The Beatles were working on Baby You're A Rich Man, intended for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, but which was eventually used as the b-side to All You Need Is Love. It was The Beatles' first song to be recorded and mixed entirely away from Abbey Road.

I'm a terrible pusher on sessions. I do a lot of orchestral work and you naturally push people along. The Beatles said that this was the fastest record they'd ever made. They were used to a much more leisurely pace. We started the session at about 9pm and it was finished and mixed by about 3am, vocals and everything. They kept playing, version after version, then we spooled back to the one they liked and overdubbed the vocals

One tape reel was filled with rehearsal takes, before 12 takes were recorded. The last of these was the best attempt, and featured piano, drums, maracas and tambourine. Paul McCartney then overdubbed a bass guitar part and John Lennon sang lead vocals, with harmonies by McCartney and others in the chorus.

Two reduction mixes were then made to free up space on the tape. The second, known as take two, had George Harrison's lead guitar and Lennon's Clavioline introduction overdubbed onto track three. Track four was filled with more vocals, some backwards piano in the final verse, and a single note of vibraphone played by tape operator Eddie Kramer.

A mono mix was then made. It took just one attempt, and became the version released on the All You Need Is Love single.

The Beatles in between recording at EMI Studios in London.

Studio Two, EMI Studios in London

A long (11:00 pm to 6:15 am) but decidedly unproduction session in which the Beatles committed to tape a mere sixteen minutes of an out-of-tune untitled instrumental jam comprising two guitars (one with vibrato effect), drums and a harmonium.

The Beatles are enjoying their break before recording again.

The Beatles are in-between recording at EMI Studios in London.