The Beatles Flashcards
24th November 1966
The day the band starting writing the album at Abbey Road studios
“More Popular than Jesus”
This claim, made by John Lennon about the popularity of the Beatles, offended many religious Americans and as a consequence they ended up performing to half–filled concert halls during their US tour
Screaming female fans
One of the reasons why the Beatles stopped touring. The music couldn’t be heard over the sound of girls screaming.
Two guitars, bass and drums were not enough to….?
Perform the songs from the album Revolver authentically. This album, written before Sgt Pepper, experimented with a wider range of instruments which they weren’t able to tour with. The excessive noise from the crowd would also drown them out. The band were frustrated by this and decided not to tour the next album.
Edwardian
The historic era which inspired Paul McCartney’s idea for Sgt Pepper’s colourful military style costumes.
129
The number of days it took to write the album ‘Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
Four Years
How many years the band had been touring for before they made the Sgt Pepper album.
As a result of this decision the band could be more experimental…
The band decided not to go on tour with the Sgt Pepper album. Instead the music on the album takes its own tour by experimenting with different musical influences.
The band decided not to go on tour with the Sgt Pepper album. Instead the music on the album takes its own tour by experimenting with different musical influences.
The genre of music featured in the song ‘Within You, Without You’ written and sung by George Harrison.
Peter Blake
The collage artist who created the front cover of the Sgt Pepper album depicting the band with many famous people from history.
Dubbing Down / Ping Ponging
A recording technique where four tracks of recorded music are ‘bounced’ across onto a single track of a master 4 track recorder. This frees up the original four tracks to add further layers that can continue to be bounced across to the master tracks. This technique allows for a possible 16 layers in total.
Concept Album
An album which explores an over arching theme within the music. Whether Sgt Pepper is a true example of a concept album is debated. The elements that are considered to make it so are;
The connecting theme of an Edwardian band.
The reprise of the title track at the end.
The cover art.
It was ground breaking in that it paved the way for future bands to explore this medium more fully.
Studer J37
The brand and model of the 4 track recorder used at Abbey Road studios.
Abbey Road
The studio in which the Beatles recorded the Sgt Pepper album with the producer George Martin.
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
An album produced by Phil Spector in the US that strongly influenced the experimental nature of the music and production techniques used on the Sgt Pepper album.
