SONGBOOK
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER/PENNY LANE
A-side:
Strawberry Fields Forever (Lennon-McCartney)
A-side:
Penny Lane (Lennon-McCartney)
Released: 17 February 1967 (Parlophone)
Highest chart position: 2
Weeks in chart: 11
FAB FACT
With no new releases since Revolver in August 1966, and the press wondering if the band had dried up, EMI pushed for a release taken from the recordings The Beatles had been working on since getting back in the studio in November 1966. In the can, earmarked for their next album, were ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’. Released as a double A-side, it was the first Beatles single not to reach the top of the charts, kept off the number one spot by Engelbert Humperdink’s ballad, ‘Release Me’.
John wrote ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ while he was on location filming How I Won the War. Tapping into the nostalgia he had explored during the recording of Rubber Soul, the song featured Strawberry Fields, the grounds around the Salvation Army children’s home close to where he’d lived as a boy. Similarly, Paul first mentioned the song ‘Penny Lane’ in an interview in 1965, and incorporated the shops (including the barber Bioletti’s) and buildings in the Penny Lane area of Liverpool.
FAB FACT
The Beatles recorded two versions of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, a light, acoustic version with the Mellotron, percussion instruments, harmonies and some sound effect overdubs, then a full, heavier orchestral version with brass, strings and a new vocal by John. He then decided that he liked the beginning of the first version and the end of the orchestral version. Both versions, however, were recorded in a different key, and a different speed, so Martin ironed out the differences by changing the speed of the two versions and editing them together a minute into the song.
FAB FACT
The recording of ‘Penny Lane’ was nearing its completion when Paul decided it needed an extra ingredient to make it sing. He’d watched David Mason on TV playing the piccolo trumpet as the English Chamber Orchestra played Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major and invited him to Abbey Road. Paul sang the part he wanted Mason to play to Martin, who wrote it out; David then recorded it. He was paid £27/10s (£27.50) for his iconic contribution.