Sgt Pepper was issued as Capitol MAS 6253 (mono) and SMAS 2653 (stereo). It topped the Billboard chart for 15 weeks, and in 1968 won four Grammy Awards: Album of the Year; Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts; Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical; Contemporary Album. It was nominated for a further three: Group Vocal Performance; Contemporary Vocal Group; Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists (for ‘A Day In The Life’).
Paul McCartney once revealed the name Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had humble beginnings – the idea came from him mishearing an assistant’s request to pass the salt and pepper.
"What really happened was I was coming back from a trip abroad with our roadie, Mal Evans, just the two of us together on the plane. And we were eating and he mumbled to me, asked me to pass the salt and pepper. And I misheard him. He said [mumbles] 'saltandpepper'.
I go, 'Sergeant Pepper?' I thought he said, 'Sergeant Pepper'. I went, 'Oh! Wait a minute, that's a great idea!' So we had a laugh about it, then I started thinking about Sergeant Pepper as a character. I thought it would be a very interesting idea for us to assume alter egos for this album we were about to make.
Beatles: the real story of Pepper's Recording pt1
Beatles: the real story of Pepper's Recording pt. 2
Paul McCartney explains Pepper’ “track to track” – Pt. 3
Howard Goodall says: “Whatever music you like to listen to, if it was written after June 1st, 1967 then more likely than not it will have been influenced, one way or another, bySgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The record’s sheer ambition in its conception, composition, arrangements and ground-breaking recording techniques sets it apart from others of the time. It’s a landmark in twentieth century music, and I’ve hugely enjoyed exploring the story behind the music.”
Using visually-striking set dressing, projections and props the film will be conjuring up the multi-coloured, phantasmagorical world of Sgt. Pepper. Chronologically following on directly from the highly-acclaimed documentary cinema feature, Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years, Sgt Pepper’s Musical Revolution shows what happened when the studio took over from the stage and the screams.
This two-part documentary special, written and produced by Kevin Howlett of Howlett Media Productions, features interviews with Paul, George, Ringo and George Martin and in a new interview, composer Howard Goodall talks about – and illustrates on piano – the musical innovations of the album’s songs.
There will also be interview material with the album cover’s co-designer Peter Blake, Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, Tony King (George Martin’s assistant in 1967), Mike Leander (the arranger of ‘She’s Leaving Home’), poet Adrian Mitchell, DJ John Peel and some of the producers and musicians who were influenced by the achievements of the album, including T Bone Burnett, Dave Grohl, Tom Petty, Jimmy Webb and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
Martin Freeman says: “Sgt. Pepper is the most celebrated album by my favourite band. These documentaries will shed light on how The Beatles, with George Martin, created a piece of work that marked a watershed for what a long playing record could be. It’s my absolute pleasure to help tell you about it."
For the full article click links aside www.thebeatles.com / /www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/
