I knew that The Beatles Sgt. Peppper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was something very special and different but I did not know to what degree. This album took 9 months to record – whereas the first one only took 12 hours. It had a four track medium – meaning they did not all have to be there at the same time, they would record vocals and each instrument separately. It was released in stereo, so those unfortunate ones with mono speakers could not hear the whole album. And this was the first concept album – meaning the entire album had a theme. What was their concept? To create an alter ego band, named the the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. That is why the album artwork (designed by Peter Blake) features the Beatles twice. Once, in their normal clothes off to the side and again, centred in more unusual clothing, representing their alter egos. Interestly enough however, the Beatles in their regular clothing are actually wax figures of them, this really shows how they were this alter ego because they actually dressed up in these new outfits – they didn’t just throw some outfit on a wax model.
Looking behind and beside the Beatles they are surrounded with some familiar faces: Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Temple. They wanted it to be seen that all those cut outs of people on the album artwork were seen as ‘helping’ the band complete this album.
FUN FACT: Paul McCartney actually has an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) badge on his left arm.
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