The Beatles Nearly Make it Home

1966 was a turning point for The Beatles, it was the year they would stop playing live. The band played there final gig on 29 August 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, to 25,000 fans. Fed up of not being able to hear each other, or the music they were playing over the screams and shouts of Beatles fans, they decided to step away from touring and focus their efforts into making new music. 

'Revolver' was The Beatles album fans got in 1966 and gone were the Four Mop Tops from Liverpool. It is the first time the band really showed what they could do, and ensure The Beatles that fans knew and loved were dead and buried. All four of them had become better, wiser, older musicians who were now willing to push, bend and perhaps break the boundaries inside the studio. It's an album that proved The Beatles were not just Lennon & McCartney, Harrison would reinforce himself as not only one of the best guitarists of his generation but also one of the best songwriters. He gave us 'Taxman' and 'Love You To' on this album, and it could be argued that this was the start of his purple patch. He was also introducing new elements to the bands sound, and it was revolutionary. 

The album is fourteen of the best songs The Beatles ever wrote, from the storytelling of 'Eleanor Rigby' through to the psychedelic blue print for the future in 'Tomorrow Never Knows' it took the band to a new space, and ensured that they would never be forgotten. So what do you do next.

Now here is where things get interesting, The Beatles had gone on an experimental journey physically, mentally and spiritually on 'Revolver' and for their next record they planned on something a lot more grounded. The band planned to do a concept album about their childhoods in Liverpool.

In fact they made a start. The band began sessions for what became 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane' which saw both Lennon & McCartney look back on their childhoods. 'Strawberry Fields Forever' sees Lennon look back on his memories of playing in the garden of the Strawberry Field, Salvation Army Children's Home a place close to Lennon's childhood home. The song itself has a childhood innocence about it and many of the places mentioned are real places in Liverpool, yet it is twinged with surrealism and psychedelia.

McCartney would write 'Penny Lane' in 1966 another song that talks about Liverpool. 'Penny Lane' has more of a child like quality to it, and see's McCartney follow the storytelling approach he took on 'Eleanor Rigby' another songs with nods to Liverpool. The song was the first Beatles song I remember hearing as a kid, and I was fascinated by it, McCartney manages to make the normal seem magical. Lyrically the song talks about the street and the people on that street, it contains nods to all of the bands childhood, the barbershop where they would get haircuts, as well as the shelter where the band used to meet. Like Strawberry Fields though the song has surreal moments. The song is seemingly narrated on a fine summer day ("beneath the blue suburban skies"), yet at the same time it is raining ("the fireman rushes in from the pouring rain") and approaching winter ("selling poppies from a tray" implies Remembrance Day, 11 November). It is seen through the eyes of someone looking back piecing together childhood memories, maybe under the influence. But then again maybe not, it may be an adult simply looking back at his childhood and wondering what is reality and what is not.

Following the success of these two songs, the band would begin work on the Liverpool Concept album with the first song being recorded an early version of 'A Day in the Life' which would later end up on 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' other songs that were meant to be included were 'When I'm Sixty Four' 'Lovely Rita' and 'She's Leaving Home' which also made 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'

The concept of songs about Liverpool was not alien to them at this point and to want to do this album 'Revolver' had 'Yellow Submarine' which has both a child like quality and is about a man from Liverpool, 'In the town where I was born' is the opening line, it directly references Liverpool. It also has that childhood innocence about it, if you take McCartney's word for it it's a song for children. However if you take others opinion it's about psychedelic drugs. For this post we will take McCartney's word for it. 

'Eleanor Rigby' has nods to the city, and although the song is about a fictional person, McCartney has claimed the song is about no one in particular and has given different answers when asked who it is about. It acts as a story of a woman's life, almost like a play in a pop song. It's one of the bands best, and a true highlight of The Beatles discography. Now where does the link to Liverpool come in.

This gravestone is in St Peter's Graveyard in Woolton in Liverpool, the same place where John Lennon and Paul McCartney met at a church fete in 1957. Perhaps it was always there from when Lennon and McCartney would walk through the cemetery. 

The idea of writing about where they were from was always present in The Beatles they were never afraid to do it, Liverpool is a part of the four of them and it would always transcend into the music. A Liverpool Concept may have never happened but each album had a nod to the city from George's 'Only a Northern Song' to John's 'One After 909' it was a theme that they went back to, it would always be home. 

No matter how they may travel, and go on trips of all variety's it was always there. They might have reinvented themselves as 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' instead of going home, but things could have been so different. 

George Martin famously said this 'it was the biggest mistake of my professional life' he was referring to the fact that he put 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane' out as singles, at that time The Beatles didn't put singles on albums. That decision put a stop to the Liverpool concept album before they had even really started. 

We know what happened next though, they would go on to release one of the most culturally significant albums ever, that saw a band at the peak of it's powers. A band who were becoming the best musicians they could and were pushing the power of new technology and recording techniques more and more. To see just how far they could go. I'd say it worked out ok.

Thank you for reading x