1st playing of Beatles Sgt Pepper, Radio London 5/12/1967

lungimsam

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I May have the details skewed but :I heard that an American played the title track live on stage in England (a non-Beatle) in first public performance of the song the day of album release and iirc McCartney was there to see it and was shocked. Rockthaurities here can better fill in the deets or correct if I misremember. Perhaps this is just an urban myth. But I remember seeing it in a documentary (about 30 yrs ago).
 
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Westerly Wood

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Hendrix did the same to one of Dylan's songs too. Rolling Stone probably. I think Radio London was pirate radio and broadcast from a ship out on the ocean. There was a movie on this too recently.
 

adorshki

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And was still playing it in '68:


First heard him cover it here:
R-4980223-1381233813-5738.jpeg.jpg


He covers "Sunshine of Your Love" on that one, too.

One of my all time favorite bootlegs even if the sources are credited incorrectly (liner notes say Amsterdam '68, is actually Stockholm '67,
except "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)," and "Sunshine of Your Love" from Stockholm in January '69.)
 
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Brucebubs

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Young boy on my way to school, stopped by my friends house so we could walk together, his older brother had just bought Sgt Pepper, we played it, read all the lyrics on the back cover, I was in another world, nothing would ever be the same again, we were late and had to run to class.


One amazing thing - many. many years later that friend's little brother went on to become a singer and had a hit here with this song.

 
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Westerly Wood

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I was born a few months before this record would have dropped.
my parents would NOT have bought it.

:)
 

Quantum Strummer

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Young boy on my way to school, stopped by my friends house so we could walk together, his older brother had just bought Sgt Pepper, we played it, read all the lyrics on the back cover, I was in another world, nothing would ever be the same again, we were late and had to run to class.


One amazing thing - many. many years later that friend's little brother went on to become a singer and had a hit here with this song.


I kept waiting for this song to morph into Shambala (by Three Dog Night). ☺️

-Dave-
 

Westerly Wood

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Why? Not into the Beatles?

walrus

my Dad was into Elvis, Everly Bros, Sinatra. He did have the Beatles greatest hits tape, but it was their earlier music. anything after 1965 would have been too weird to him, musically. :)
 

Quantum Strummer

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I was in England with my mom, visiting family and also some of her friends from the WAAC (Women's Auxiliary Army Corps…my mom served as a secretary during WWII as did her sister), when Sgt. Pepper's came out. I don't clearly remember the first time I heard it but I sure heard it a buncha times before we flew back home. One of my cousins had a copy.

-Dave-
 

matsickma

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A few other points to the Hendrix Sgt Pepper story...

Hendrix was already booked to play the event in honor of the Beatles release of Sgt Pepper. The Experience had their set planned. However a few hours before the show Hendrix relaxing and musing about the nights upcoming performance remembered he was given a copy of the Sgt Pepper album. So he unwraps it, puts it on the turntable and listens to it.

Meanwhile... Hendrix's "new" manager Chas Chandler, former bass player of The Animals, is getting really nervous at the venue. The place is near full, rock dignitaries around, and no Jimi.

Hendrix comes drifting in, calms Chas down then goes back stage to meet the band.
The Experience is scheduled to go on shortly.
Jimi comes in puts the Sgt Pepper record on for the guys to hear it. Then announces we're gonna open with the Sgt Pepper intro! Noel Reading's jaw drops and say's "We can't do that! We'll embarrass The Beatles!". Hendrix quips "Only if we F--k it up! We're a band man! We can do this!" Mitch Mitchal agrees. So Hendrix pass the word on to the MC the start of the show will be delayed a bit. This gives The Experience time to quickly practice the new intro. Chas Chandler is now beside himself!
About 45 minutes later the MC comes out and anounces the show is about to start. Behind the curtain Jimi looks over at Noel and says "I like your pants Noel!", The curtain opens and Hendrix kicks off his rendition of Sgt Pepper LHCB.

The Beatles are in the front row of the balcony. Cream, The Who, Jeff Beck, etc. Are all in the audience.

The Experience finishes the opener and dead silence from the audience. Chas Chandler is near having a heart attack!

Then from the Balcony come a pair of clapping hands. Paul McCartney stood up and began clapping the Hendrix rendition of Sgt Pepper and the audience goes wild!

At a Paul McCartney concert I was at Sir Paul also commented that later in the set after Jimi's whammy bar escapade his guitar is out of tune and he asks over the mic if "Eric" can tune up is guitar!

M
 

Aristera

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Saw this yesterday on YouTube about Strawberry Fields Forever. Why is Strawberry Fields Forever in A half-sharp Major. Talks about varispeed tape techniques used and merging of different takes with different BPM.

 
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