On this day in 1967, The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the US

The band had enjoyed a quiet couple of years after growing tired of touring, with each member taking some time to focus on themselves. During this period, Paul McCartney branched his interests into the London art culture, as well as avant garde and electronic music producers.

McCartney’s experiences inspired him to create a song that inspired the Sgt. Pepper concept. His idea was to create an Edwardian-era military band with a name reminiscent of contemporary San Francisco based groups like Big Brother and the Holding Company. By utilising a different name and theme, the group would be granted the freedom to experiment musically and differentiate from their previous releases.

The band took inspiration from a number of ideas for the creation of the Sgt. Peppers album, including the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album, sitar music and Hindu philosophy, electronic and avant garde music, psychedelia and art culture. 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is widely regarded as one of the best albums produced by The Beatles, and was immediately popular upon its release selling 2.5million copies within 3 months. Critics and the public alike were stunned by the ambitious effort and its unique sounds, themes and concepts.