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Arguably the most famous album of all time, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band went straight to number 1, dominated the top slot for the next 23 weeks and sold 11.7 million copies. It was the first of its kind on many levels with trend-setting intricate cover art, experimentation with new styles of studio technology and exploration of new concepts and sounds. Epitomising the spirit of 1967’s ‘Summer of Love’, the album spread the essence of Eastern spirituality, electric guitars and acid around the world.
Perhaps the secret of the album’s success was its rebellious lack of conformity to a single or specific genre of music. Rarely does an emotional ballad such as ‘She’s Leaving Home’, with its harp and violins, feature alongside a song with the primary concern of paying tribute to a female traffic warden, in an album that also contains sitars, elephant sounds, noises of a fox hunt and countless other unusual and imaginative sound effects. Whilst this initially seems bizarre, the peculiar fusion somehow creates an oddly fitting combination, a psychedelic patchwork, that will ingrain itself into your memory whether you are a fan of The Beatles or not.
Whilst the intention to cover the classic tracks in Radio 2's Sgt. Peppers tribute appears acceptable on the surface, the results are not far beyond painful karaoke.
As a low budget tribute to the Sgt Pepper album, or, in this writer’s humble opinion, a publicity stunt for some of today’s top bands, a set of covers have been recorded by BBC Radio 2. Whilst the intention to cover the classic tracks appears acceptable on the surface, the majority are not far beyond painful karaoke. Razorlight’s rendition of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ is an insult to the original, and Travis’ ‘Lovely Rita’ makes no attempt to alter the initial recording in any way. However, it is definitely worth having a look at, even if it is partly for comedy value. To make your own mind up you can access a video of the performances here
Slightly more reverently, the anniversary of the album’s release has also inspired a series of three lectures at the University of York, taking place on Tuesdays at 6.15pm, in room P/L/001. Throughout the series, Professor Colin Campbell will analyse The Beatles’ contribution to the youth movement or cultural revolution of the 1960s, whilst considering the extent to which their cultural legacy still influences the world today. The lectures aim to put ‘The Beatles in Context’ and are friendly and easily accessible to anyone. Do not expect to feel lost if you don’t have an in depth knowledge of the music, Campbell does not get bogged down with details of musical technicality, claiming rather unpretentiously that he wants to talk about The Beatles just because he is a fan. As a self claimed sociologist of culture, Campbell approaches the band as a cultural phenomenon and unravels their development from Rock and Roll teddy boys, to mop-top pop idols, to laid back proto-hippies. The structure of the lectures is as follows:
In the first lecture Campbell discussed the early years of the Beatles, originally influenced by the music of Bill Haley and the Comets, and later Elvis Presley, and Eddie Cochran, the band, who did not become The Beatles until 1960, initially consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. Immersing themselves into the delinquent rock and roll culture of the late 1950s and early ‘60s, the original Beatles, who appear on the cover of the Sgt Pepper album, appear almost completely unrecognisable; it is hard to imagine that the same people who created Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band began their careers covering rock and roll classics.
Due to the growing link between rock and roll gigs and riots, pressure mounted calling for this genre of music to be banned. However, the obvious demand for rock and roll created an unrelenting debate over whether to prohibit or exploit the controversial music. The result was to tame it. Performers were required to look respectable, which meant leather jackets were replaced with suits and ties, their attitudes and performance styles had to become more polite, and sexually suggestive lyrics were strongly discouraged. Not all bands conformed to these new restrictions but, realistically, the market was moving on. The Beatles realised this and, not wanting to compromise their image completely, conciliated at least on a superficial level. Whilst they did clean up their appearance and lyrics, they still retained their childish cheekiness. John Lennon’s famous words during the 1963 Royal Variety Performance were touched upon by Campbell:
“…Those of you in the cheaper seats clap your hands” Then with a cheeky side-glance to the Royal Box he added, “…the rest of you just rattle your jewellery.”
(Not everyone’s a Cliff Richard.)
However, Campbell also pointed out what he sees as the ‘bourgeois politeness’ of The Beatles. Up until the release of their album ‘Help!’ in 1965, almost every Beatles song was related to respectable, non-threatening, non-sexual romance. Songs such as ‘Please please me’ ‘Love me do’ and ‘I want to hold your hand’ are all examples of their courteous, well-mannered style.
Colin Campbell’s second lecture will chart the next transformation of the Beatles’ image and hopefully answer the question of how and why those clean-cut boys strayed into the realms of experimentation that enabled them to create something as fantastically bizarre as Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
As I have not had the good fortune of growing up while The Beatles were still performing, sadly missing the craze of Beatlemania, my experience of The Beatles is hardly authentic. I can’t even claim to own a single vinyl LP! Campbell’s lectures are an excellent way to fill in the gaps; seeing video clips of screaming fans and finding out a bit more about how the band was created and developed adds an extra dimension that enhances the music immensely.
Professor Campbell's Beatles lectures continue on the Tuesday of weeks 8 and 9, 6:15-8:15 in P/L/001
