Top bands re-create Sgt. Pepper
June1st 2007 was the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic Beatles album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
To mark the event the BBC asked some of today's top acts to record their own versions of the songs. These included:

Oasis (‘Within You Without You’),
Stereophonics (‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ reprise),
Razorlight (With a Little Help from My Friends)
Kaiser Chiefs (‘Getting Better)
Travis (‘Lovely Rita’)
The Fray (‘Digging a Hole’)
The Magic Numbers (She’s Leaving Home)
Bryan Adams (‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’)

The recordings were broadcast by the BBC on Radio 2 and BBC2 as part of their celebration of the 60s.

To make life more difficult for the bands they were recorded using the original one-inch, four-track equipment in a studio owned by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame. The recordings were also supervised by the original engineer, Geoff Emerick.

‘ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’ was the eighth album by The Beatles and was the first rock album to win Grammy Awards for album of the year and best contemporary album.

It’s often claimed to be the most influential album of all time, ranking number 1 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. In 2007 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gave it the rank of Most Definitive Rock and Roll Album.

Sgt. Pepper was recorded by The Beatles over a 129-day period beginning on December 6, 1966 at the famous Abbey Road studios and cost £25,000 to make. The album was released on June 1, 1967 in the United Kingdom and on June 3, 1967 in the United States.

The album cover is nearly as famous as the music it contained. Designed by Jaan Haworth and Peter Blake, it featured life-sized cardboard models of famous people, including Marlon Brando, Karl Marx, Marilyn Monroe, H.G.Wells, Bob Dylan and James Dean.

The initial design was altered, removing Hitler and Jesus from the image, before the album was released.
back