In the Studio

It all started after their August 29th concert in San Francisco when they “left live performing for good.” They went on to spend an absurd amount of time in the studio, more than anyone has ever done before. “The idea that you would carry on recording until a record was finished (instead of hiring a studio for a few days) was a revolutionary concept and helped, said producer George Martin, to re-define “the studio as an instrument”. No wonder production costs at Abbey Road Studios reached a record-breaking £25,000. “Though their most recent album, Revolver, had been their most innovative, the Beatles understood that any new work would either make or finish them; they had to record an album that would re-establish their eminence.” (Gilmore 2017) This is when the process to one of their their most famous albums, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band began. It was between 1966 and 1967 when the majority of the work was done on the album. However their work wasn’t all based on music. Their break from touring was most significant because of the time period in which they took it in.

The sixties is best known for Sixties rock, which was a time of expressive lyrical tunes, forms of music that people loved to dance to and songs that provoked peoples thoughts. To go along with with Sixties rock there was the Civil Rights and anti–Vietnam War movements and a mass willingness to experiment with marijuana and LSD, which had given young people a new sense of empowerment. The Beatles were among those who took part in experiencing with drug use. Their experiences were unlike any other and were a main factor in the type of music they created. They were able to go about and perform a different style while creating their music from a different perspective, being under the influence of drugs. This is something that was appreciated by the people at the time and something many artists down the road attempted to experiment with.