The cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Year of establishment: 1967
On the cover of The Beatles' most significant record, there were characters whom the musicians considered important. Each proposed his own list of candidates. Everyone but one.
The original cover design for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was made by the Dutch artist group The Fool. They were fond of fashionable psychedelics and offered a rather stereotypical version for that time with a surreal landscape. One of the leaders of British art, gallerist Robert Fraser, who was familiar with Paul McCartney, managed to dissuade the musicians from this idea. After criticizing the design, Frazier suggested himself as the project's art director. It was he who invited artist Peter Blake to work on the cover.
The cover concept was created by Paul McCartney. According to his idea, the album is presented not by The Beatles, but by another group - the fictional Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club.
The Beatles freed themselves from their usual roles and for the first time appeared in a new image - with regrown hair, beards and sideburns ... The "old" Beatles - neatly trimmed, in classic suits - remained behind in the form of wax figures. They were accompanied by the heroes of the time, who turned into human-sized cardboard silhouettes. The list of seven dozen famous personalities was compiled by the musicians themselves. Only Ringo Starr abstained from nomination. It took Blake only eight days to prepare the collage with cardboard characters. For the work he received 200 pounds.
On June 1, 1967, the album appeared on the shelves of the world. It ended up selling over 30 million copies and making it into the top 20 best-selling albums of all time, but Blake didn't get a penny for it anymore - he didn't have the copyright. But he received world recognition, although he was often burdened by it. “This cover for me is a cross that I have been carrying all my life, my heavy burden,” the artist admits. - I am very upset that I am known as Peter Blake, who drew the cover of "Sgt. Pepper", although in fact I created much more. From time to time I forget the offense, but every time I am reminded of this.
1. COSTUMES The Beatles, resembling military uniforms, were tailor-made for the shoot. Paul and George decided to attach the Order of the British Empire to them, received a couple of years before the shooting (on the sleeve of Paul, the chevron of the Ontario Provincial Police). John has medals he borrowed from the mother of former Beatles drummer Pete Best. In their hands, the musicians hold instruments uncharacteristic for their stage image: John - a horn, Ringo - a trumpet, Paul - an English horn, George - a flute.
2. DOLL IN A SWEATER, which reads: "Welcome, good folks of The Rolling Stones." Later, the Rolling Stones responded in the same style, using images of The Beatles on the cover of their psychedelic album "Their Satanic Majesties Request": portraits of the Liverpool Four were hidden among the flowers. Interestingly, both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were photographed for both covers by the same photographer - Michael Cooper. The doll sits on the lap of a rag figure of an old woman made by Blake's wife Jane Hayworth.
3. SHIRLEY TEMPLE. This American girl became one of the highest paid actresses in the US during the Great Depression and managed to earn a million dollars before she was 10 years old.
4. MAY WEST. American actress of the 1930s, sex symbol and one of the most controversial stars of her time. At first, she refused the Liverpool offer. “What did I forget in the lonely hearts club?” - asked the actress. The Beatles sent the Hollywood legend a detailed letter explaining the concept and urging them to reconsider. May changed her mind. In addition to Mae West, The Beatles considered Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and English actress Diana Dors to be sex symbols of the era.
5. FRED ASTER. The Hollywood dancer was chosen by Paul McCartney. It is known that when the American found out about the proposal of the Liverpool Four, he was delighted.
6. LEWIS CARROLL. Lennon insisted on the candidacy of his favorite writer. John claimed that Carroll inspired him to create the song "I Am The Walrus".
7 and 8. ALDOS HUXLEY AND KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN. The author of the dystopian novel Brave New World and the German composer appeared, according to McCartney, mainly because of "showy names".
9. SONNY LISTON. Boxer beaten twice in the ring by Muhammad Ali. The Beatles knew Sonny personally, and in 1964 the athlete even came to the musicians' show. True, Liston did not like the concert. "My dog drums better than this guy," he said of Ringo.
10 STU SUTCLIFFF Former bassist for The Beatles. John Lennon called him his best friend. Stu died in 1962 when he was only 21 years old. World fame came to the group later.
11. CLAY "TREE OF LIFE". Appeared on the cover thanks to the American actor, singer and comedian German Valdez (better known as Tin-Tan), who did not agree to his image and asked to be replaced by a traditional Mexican sculpture.
12. FIGURINE OF THE GODDESS LAKSMI. From Harrison's list. He recorded the song "Within You Without You" for the album with several Indian musicians without the participation of the rest of the Beatles.
13. STATUE. It was brought from home by John Lennon.
14. CARDBOARD GARDEN GNOME. After the photo session, at the request of the assistant photographer, all members of the group signed on it. Almost 50 years later, the figurine was sold for £17,000.
The working version of the cover featured Adolf Hitler. It was later removed. But, according to rumors, he is still there - behind the backs of the group members
ARTIST Peter Blake
1932 - was born in Dartford, Kent (Great Britain).
1946–1951 - Studied at Technical College and Gravesend School of Art
1950 - began to create collages with postcards, illustrations, photographs of actors and pop artists.
1953–1956 - studied at the Royal College of Art in London
1962 - held the first solo exhibition.
1967 - Designed the album cover for The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
1975 - joined the artistic association "Brotherhood of Ruralists".
1981 - became a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts.
2002 - awarded the Order of the British Empire and knighted. Since then, he has been entitled to the honorific title "sir".
2011 - developed a new design for the Brit Awards figurine.
Now lives in the London suburb of Chiswick.
Heroes of their time
Works of culture grow old like people. So on the cover of the still popular record there are many characters that few people remember today.
Albert Einstein disappeared from the cover for technical reasons - he was covered by John Lennon's shoulder.
1 Yukteswar Giri (guru)
2 Aleister Crowley (mystic)
3 Mae West (actress)
4 Lenny Bruce (comedian)
5 Karlheinz Stockhausen (composer)
6 William Claude Fields (comedian)
7 Carl Gustav Jung (psychologist)
8 Edgar Allan Poe (writer)
9 Fred Astaire (actor, dancer, TV show host)
10 Richard Merkin (artist)
11 Artist Albert Vargas' girlfriend
12 Huntz Hall (actor)
13 Simon Rodia (creator of Watts Towers)
14 Bob Dylan (musician)
15 Aubrey Beardsley (artist)
16 Sir Robert Peel (Prime Minister of Great Britain)
17 Aldous Huxley (writer)
18 Dylan Thomas (poet)
19 Terry Southern (publicist, screenwriter)
20 Dion Dimucci (singer)
21 Tony Curtis (actor)
22 Wallace Berman (artist)
23 Tommy Handley (comedian)
24 Marilyn Monroe (actress)
25 William Burroughs (writer)
26 Mahavatar Babaji (guru)
27 Stan Laurel (comedian)
28 Richard Lindner (musician)
29 Oliver Hardy (comedian)
30 Karl Marx (philosopher)
31 H.G. Wells (writer)
32 Paramahansa Yogananda (guru)
33 Unknown girl in a hat
34 Stu Sutcliffe (artist, former bassist for The Beatles)
35 Unknown girl in a hat
36 Max Miller (comedian)
37 Girl Petty (probably actress Lucille Ball). Artist George Petty is known for his flirtatious beauties drawn for Esquire magazine.
38 Marlon Brando (actor)
39 Tom Mix (actor)
40 Oscar Wilde (writer)
41 Tyrone Power (actor)
42 Larry Bell (artist)
43 David Livingston (missionary, explorer)
44 Johnny Weissmuller (swimmer, actor, Tarzan)
45 Stephen Crane (writer)
46 Izzy Bonn (comedian)
47 George Bernard Shaw (writer)
48 Horace Clifford Westermann (sculptor)
49 Albert Stubbins (footballer)
50 Lahiri Mahasaya (guru)
51 Lewis Carroll (writer)
52 Thomas Edward Lawrence (otherwise Lawrence of Arabia, officer, traveler, author of the memoirs "Seven Pillars of Wisdom")
53 Sonny Liston (boxer)
54 Petty Girl (probably actress Binnie Barnes)
55 George Harrison (wax figure)
56 John Lennon (wax figure)
57 Shirley Temple (actress)
58 Ringo Starr (wax figure)
59 Paul McCartney (wax figure)
60 John Lennon (as bandleader)
61 Ringo Starr (as bandleader)
62 Paul McCartney (as bandleader)
63 George Harrison (as bandleader)
64 Bobby Breen (singer)
65 Marlene Dietrich (actress)
66th Legionnaire of the Order of Buffalo
68 Shirley Temple as a lady (actress)
69 Diana Dors (actress)
The Beatles are, of course, brilliant, but, in my opinion, their genius is compilative. They are like Mozart in classical music or Salvador Dali in painting: they did not create anything new, but they very sensitively followed all world trends, applied the successful and promising to themselves, bringing everything they heard and saw to perfection...
Of course, the producers of The Beatles could not but respond to the new trend and, towards the end of the sixties, the Beatles began to appear really wonderful album covers that had a huge impact on the entire global music industry.
The first non-standard album by the Beatles was "Help!". In principle, it is only interesting because it seemed to photographer Robert Freeman that the word "help", which the band members depicted using the semaphore alphabet, looks bad and he replaced "help" with the meaningless word "nujv".
Also, in order to achieve the perfect composition, Freeman mirrored photographs of John Lennon, Ringo Star, George Harrison: if you look closely, you can see that the buttons of their jackets are on the "female" side.
There is another version of this cover released in Holland. The Shell logo is in the background.
A record with such a cover could not be bought in a store, they were distributed only among employees of the oil giant. The Shell company once again demonstrated to the whole world the truth of its slogan: forget the word "impossible"!
Cover of "Revolver" (Apparently the Beatles did not mean a gun, but something that rotates: in English, "revolver" means "that which rotates": a revolver (pistol) is named so because it had a rotating drum with cartridges in its design) drew with a felt-tip pen on a piece of drawing paper. Artist Klaus Voormann.
Together with the band members, Klaus cut images of the Beatles from photographs and made a collage of them, with which he supplemented his drawing. Among others, a photograph of Paul sitting on the toilet was used, but EMI management could not take such liberties and this photo was removed.
Brian Epstein, the band's manager, loved this cover so much that he even burst into tears.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967
The Beatles decided to pretend they weren't the Beatles at all and record an album by the fictitious Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This album cover was designed by Paul McCartney. He drew some sketches and showed them to artist Peter Blake, a rising star of pop art. Based on Paul's sketches, Blake suggested making a collage and each of the Beatles was tasked with making a list of people they would like to see at a concert of their imaginary new band.
John Lennon wanted to invite Jesus, but since the scandal that broke out due to the fact that Lennon publicly compared the popularity of Christ with the popularity of his group had not yet subsided, they did not invite Jesus ...
The whole idea ended with Blake himself having to "invite" people to the concert. According to the recollections of his wife, it was he who filled in about 60% of the collage.
They decided to make the collage life-size and hired designer Gene Mahon to find the right photos. Even a few wax figures borrowed from Madame Tussauds were used.
When the collage was assembled, Michael Cooper was commissioned to take the photo.
The album "The Beatles" (unofficially called "White Album") is one of the most minimalist albums in the history of music.
The interesting thing about this album is that each record from the original series was numbered. The first four numbers were intended for the band members (number one was given to Lennon, since, according to McCartney, he demanded this copy the loudest), the next sixteen were for close friends. The remaining numbers could be bought by mere mortals.
Numbering albums is a great commercial idea: however, collectors have counted as many as twelve records with number 1 and none of these twelve are fakes.
The "Abbey Road" cover could technically be categorized as "me and my gang in an album cover photo". And it would have been included in this category if the album "The Road to the Abbey" would not have belonged to the Beatles.
The Beatles made everything they touched iconic, and Abbey Road was no exception. After the release of this album, London became a place of pilgrimage: everyone wanted to walk along the famous passage. This cover not only became one of the most recognizable in the history of the music industry, spawning countless imitations and parodies, but also associated a real-life place with the name of the group.
After the release of this album, EMI Studios renamed itself Abbey Road Studios. A number from a white "bug" that belonged to one of the residents of one of the neighboring houses was immediately screwed up by the fans, and the "bug" itself was sold at auction in 1986 for 2530 pounds sterling.
Another story is connected with this album: after its release, Beatle fans were convinced that Paul had died and found eight confirmations of this on the cover:
1) In this procession, John appears as a preacher (or God), Ringo appears as an undertaker, Paul is dead, and George is a gravedigger.
2) Paul's eyes are closed, and his feet are not shod.
3) Paul is out of step with the rest of the Beatles.
4) Paul holds a cigarette with his right hand, although he is left-handed - this was the most compelling argument in favor of the fact that Paul died, and in his place the Beatles attached someone similar to Paul.
5) An ambulance or a hearse is parked on the right side of the street.
6) The car in the background appears to be heading straight for Paul.
7) The numbers of the "beetle", which is parked on the left side of the street, "28IF". Which can be deciphered as "28 if he were alive." Paul would have been 28 when "Abbey Road" was released.
8) Also on the numbers are the letters "LMW", which can be decoded as "Linda McCartney Weeps" (Linda McCartney Weeps).
Several "hard evidence" was also found on the back cover.
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Exactly 44 years ago, The Beatles took their famous Abbey Road album cover photo.
For almost half a century, the legendary "Liverpool Four" has been the most popular and respected group. The musicians, who worked together for only 8 years, managed to record 13 full-fledged albums, and had a huge impact on the development of music.
Abbey Road is considered one of the most significant albums. It was she who became the last joint project of all four members of the ensemble, containing all the best that they managed to create during The Beatles. The cover, in which the Beatles are photographed crossing Abbey Road, was widely known. Photographer Ian McMillan had ten minutes to take a picture: this section of the street was specially blocked by the police, since already at that time Abbey Road was one of the busiest in London. McMillan filmed the group from the stairs and took six shots, one of which made it onto the cover. Subsequently, she was recognized as one of the most recognizable covers in the world.
On this day website collected for you the most interesting facts about The Beatles and offers you to see photos of the group that changed the world.
Abbey Road cover
[McCartney death theory]
● The cover provided a lot of food for those who developed the "Paul McCartney is dead" theory. According to her, Paul died in 1966, and was replaced by a double. At the same time, the other three members of the group inserted hints of "truth" into the lyrics and covers. So it is here: for some reason, Paul McCartney is barefoot (in some cultures it is customary to bury barefoot), he holds a cigarette in his right hand, and not his left, although he is left-handed. Also, it is in the direction of Paul that a car is driving, which can be seen in the distance. According to the theory, he died in a car accident.
Musicians in 1957
John Lennon is 16, George Harrison and Paul McCartney are 15
[Childhood]
● I must say that the musicians' relatives were skeptical about their work at first. For example, John's aunt, Mimi, always repeated the phrase: “The guitar is a good instrument. However, it is unsuitable for making money.” After becoming rich, John bought his aunt a villa that had a marble wall with the above quote.
● None of the band members ever learned the basics of musical notation.
Photo shoot with champagne, 1965
[The appearance of The Beatles and the first contract]
● At the beginning of its existence, the musicians changed the name of the group more than once: Beatals, Silver Beats, Silver Beetles, Silver Beatles and, finally, The Beatles appeared in April 1960. According to the memoirs of the group members, Sutcliffe and Lennon are considered to be the authors of the neologism, who were fascinated by the idea of coming up with a name that had different meanings at the same time.
● The start of a serious career for The Beatles is usually associated with the name of the band's manager, Brian Epstein. It was he who saw the potential in the group and gave them all possible auditions on record labels. Using his connections in the show business world, Epstein secured an audition with Decca Records, which was scheduled for January 1, 1962. On the morning of the first day of the new year, the foursome and Epstein arrived in London for recording and listening. The result had to wait more than a month and it turned out to be negative. The company's management showed no interest in the material. Epstein was rejected with the wording: "Guitar bands are going out of style." A year later, having signed on another label, the group will lead the national hit parade.
Paul McCartney signs an autograph for a happy fan
[Global Success]
● In October 1962, the group's first single (“Love Me Do”) was released, and in March 1963, their debut album (“Please Please Me”), which led the national hit parade for six months and marked the beginning of the insane popularity of the musicians. While touring in America, The Beatles performed twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, bringing together a record number of viewers in the history of television - 73 million (40% of the US population at that time). This record has not yet been broken by anyone.
● The autograph of the famous "Beatle" Paul McCartney compared to 1997 "has risen in price" nine times and is estimated at $2370.
The Beatles during the filming of Help! in the Bahamas, 1965
[Divine Providence]
● John Lennon once said at the height of his fame that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. Outraged by this statement, radio station KLUE from a small Texas town held a public burning of records and other symbols of The Beatles, in which many of its listeners took part. The next day, the building of the radio station was struck by lightning, after which the equipment was disabled, and the announcer fainted.
The Beatles rehearsing while relaxing in Miami Beach, 1964
[The truth about the song Yesterday]
● When Paul McCartney was recording the song Yesterday, the professional musicians from the string quartet accompanying him called the composition "a seven-bar non-square construction" and said that music was not written that way. After the recording, the other members of the band questioned whether it should even be included on the album and insisted that the song not be released separately. As a result, she entered the British hit parade performed by singer Matt Monroe, who released his own version of the hit. In other countries, the song was released as a single and soared to the top of the charts almost everywhere.
Ringo Star in concert, 1964
[Ringo Star]
● The school desk where Ringo Starr once studied is today one of the objects of pilgrimage. You can even sit behind it for a while: however, fork out for five pounds. But once on the abilities of a sickly boy who studied at school for only two years, everyone put an end to it.
Paul McCartney talking to his future wife Linda Eastman, 1967
[Women]
● Women played a special role in the life of the band members. At one time, all four, being British, married American women. The appearance of Yoko Ono at the band's rehearsals caused protests from the rest of the Beatles. Because of this, the musicians felt uncomfortable, and the tension within the group increased. At the same time, John and Yoko were engaged in joint creativity. Yoko took part in the recording of some songs by The Beatles.
Photo from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967
[Drug influence]
● When The Beatles recorded the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, John Lennon attributed the origin of the song's title to his son Julian's christening of his drawing. However, many saw in this name a hint of the drug LSD, because it was such an abbreviation that was formed from its first letters, and the BBC completely banned the song from rotation. Paul McCartney later revealed that the influence of LSD on the song is pretty obvious.
The Beatles in London, 1968
[Royal Reception]
● During the performance of the Beatles in the royal variety show, the royal family joined their listeners. The audience, feeling the "highest" presence, behaved rather stiffly and even applauded with an eye on the royal box. Noticing this, John said after performing one of the songs: “People in the cheap seats, don't be shy, clap! And the rest of you, too, join in - shake your jewelry! The queen was not at all offended by the joker (here it is, a good sense of English humor!) And even gave Lennon an expensive ring.
John Lennon on the set of The Magical Mystery Journey
[Experimenting with creativity]
● During the recording of one of The Beatles' albums, Lennon sang part of the song Yellow Submarine into a microphone while wearing a condom. At first, John wanted to record underwater to create a presence in the submarine. But since that was impossible, he took a bottle of water and stuffed the microphone into it. And to protect the microphone from shorting, he took a condom and put it on the microphone. Otherwise, John might just explode because there are 240 volts going through the microphone. This was part of the lead vocal, but it was never used.
● It is believed that the Beatles were the first to use a kind of sound effect called signal winding or feedback. The characteristic sound of this effect can be heard at the beginning of a song called I Feel Fine, recorded in 1964.
Police struggle to contain crowd of fans at Buckingham Palace
Beatles fans in New York
[ Beatlemania]
● Many of the Beatles' jokes were taken seriously by their fans. One day, Paul told reporters that he loves chocolates very much, but he rarely eats them - George will confiscate everything sweet from him. After that, Beatlemania turned into chocolate mania: the Apple studio was filled with piles of chocolate, and many parcels came with a note: “This is not for George, but for Paul!”. Fans showered the musicians with sweets and "live" - during performances.
● Fans of the legendary four wanted to keep at least some “artifact” about them as a keepsake. This particularly amused McCartney, who liked to lean out of the hotel window and throw a half-smoked cigarette on the ground. Dozens of girls fought for the right to own a cigarette butt.
The last joint picture of The Beatles, 1969
[Group Breakup]
“We dreamed of changing something in this world ... but everything remained the same. They still sell guns to South Africa and blacks get killed in the street. People still live in poverty, and rats run over them. Only crowds of wealthy loafers walk around London in fashionable rags. I no longer believe in the Beatles myth. John Lennon
● Relations within The Beatles finally deteriorated in 1968. Lennon and Paul McCartney have accumulated a lot of claims to each other. Lennon, for example, did not like the fact that McCartney pulled the blanket over himself, and he was dissatisfied with Lennon's apathy and constant stay in the studio during Yoko Ono's recordings. In addition, their creative collaboration practically ceased, Lennon was increasingly inclined towards psychedelic (“Strawberry Fields Forever”), acid rock (“I am the Walrus”) and avant-garde (“Revolution 9”).
John Lennon autographing his killer Mark David Chapman, 1980
[Assassination of John Lennon]
● On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was assassinated by US citizen Mark David Chapman. At 22:50, when Lennon and Yoko Ono were returning from the studio, Chapman, seeing Lennon, shouted after him “Hey, Mr. Lennon!”, After which he shot him five times (Lennon was hit by four bullets). Then Chapman sat down on the pavement under the lamp and began to read the book by the American writer D. D. Salinger "The Catcher in the Rye." Lennon was taken to the hospital, where he died from severe blood loss. Death was pronounced at 23:15. Chapman did not attempt to flee the scene of the crime and did not resist arrest. He applied for parole 7 times (most recently in August 2012), but they were all denied.
The Beatles
● The Beatles had a significant impact on rock music and are recognized by experts as one of the most successful bands of the 20th century, both in a creative and commercial sense. Many famous rock musicians admit that they became such under the influence of the songs of this group. Despite the fact that the former glory of the musicians is long gone, fan concerts are regularly held all over the world.
● The Beatles have sold more than one billion records and more albums sold in the US than any other artist.
Almost 43 years ago the Beatles crossed a zebra street in north London. The famous photo shoot on Abbey Road began at 11:30 am on August 8, 1969 and lasted only 10 minutes.
To commemorate the Beatles' trip to the recording studio, photographer Ian McMillan ( Iain Macmillan) took only 6 frames. The rest of the photos were taken by Mel Evans and Linda McCartney...
Photographer Ian McMillan had ten minutes to take a picture: this section of the street was specially blocked by the police, since Abbey Road was already one of the busiest in London at that time. McMillan filmed the group from the stairs and took six shots, one of which made it onto the cover.
Ian received this sketch from Paul McCartney a few days before filming. The thumbnail shows where to shoot and what the photo should look like. Yen added his sketch in the top right corner to confirm the layout.
Let's follow the order in which Ian McMillan took the pictures:
Photo 1 - The Beatles begin their session across the street from Abbey Road Studios. Paul McCartney is still in sandals. The VW Beetle is present until the end of the session, but the police van is not yet visible.
Photo 2 - Paul continues to walk in his flip-flops, but by the next frame he has left them on the pavement.
Photo 3 - A queue of cars and a bus appears. Paul is already walking barefoot.
Photo 4 - Another bus is waiting for the Beatles to cross the road.
Photo 5 - A familiar, famous cover photo of them walking in step. A police van appeared. This photo has been edited for use on the cover. The original photo has not been published.
In 2011, the album cover was ranked 26th in the list of the best album covers of all time, according to readers of the online publication. Music Radar
This is the same photo as above, but with a slightly different tint. 2009 remastered version of the photo.
Photo 6. Last shot of the session. Another bus is visible in the distance.
During his lifetime, Macmillan said in an interview: "I took several pictures of The Beatles crossing the street in one direction. Then we let the cars pass and went the other way - I took a few more pictures. In the end, I chose the fifth shot from six. It was the only shot where the legs of all four were in an inverted "V" shape, which is what I was aiming for."
The car "Volkswagen Beetle" with the number LMW281F, standing near the crossing, belonged to a resident of one of the neighboring houses. After the release of the album, the plate with the number was repeatedly stolen. In 1986, the car was sold at Sotheby's to an American collector for £2,530.
White suit of The Beatles leader John Lennon was sold at the auction house Braswell Galleries in the US for 46 thousand dollars. It was in these clothes that the legendary musician was captured on the cover of the Abbey Road album.
The white suit, in which Lennon is photographed crossing a pedestrian zebra outside the Abbey Road recording studio in London, was custom-made in 1969 by Russian-born French designer Edmond (Ted) Lapidus.
A random passer-by onlooker (Paul Cole, a resident of Florida), who got into the camera lens while on vacation in London, became widely known. He later said that at that time the musicians seemed to him like crazy people.
Paul Cole himself noticed himself on the cover of the album only a year later, and he had to convince his relatives that it was he, and not anyone else.
In a 2004 interview with the Scripps newspaper, Mr. Cole told an amazing story...
In the 1960s, Paul Cole ran a small shop in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Worked a lot, rested little. In 1969, his wife persuaded him to take a vacation and rush to London for a week. Paul agreed.
While in London, his wife dragged him to numerous museums and exhibitions, which very quickly bored Paul. Refusing to enter another museum, he said to his wife: “Honey, we have already visited ten museums! If you want to enter the eleventh, then without me.” His wife granted his desire and left him to chill outside. Paul found shade as he turned onto Abbey Road, which was lined with trees on both sides.
And this is a dramatization - 'Abbey Road' from the perspective of Paul Cole
Twenty meters away from him, four guys kept crossing from one side of the street to the other. This process was filmed by a photographer who periodically ran out with a ladder to the middle of the street. "Crazy, those Englishmen!" Paul thought to himself. Being a man far from popular music, he absolutely did not recognize these guys George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr And John Lennon.
As you know, the photographer took several pictures for the cover 'Abbey Road' to select one of them. So Paul Cole is present in all the pictures.
Only a year later, in 1970, Paul noticed a record with the same photograph on the shelves of music stores. Paul bought it and brought it home to show his wife and kids. "Take a magnifying glass, kids, and find your father!" he grinned.
All these years, he silently shared the glory with the Liverpool Four, appearing with them on the covers of magazines, T-shirts, posters, mugs, badges, postage stamps and other products.
Paul Cole died in 2008 in Florida, a little before the age of 96. In 1969, without knowing it, he proved the efficiency of the phrase "Right Time, Right Place".
Since then, the cover of the new album has become a legend for two reasons - no cover like this one has become the object of so many imitations, and no cover like this one has generated so many conspiracy legends.
For crazy fans with inflamed imaginations, this was the ultimate proof of the delusional legend of the time - that Paul McCartney is really dead.
According to this legend, Paul died in a car accident and was replaced by a doppelgänger. The band, legend has it, felt guilty about this deception and placed hidden signs on the album cover for their fans.
Thus, even today, despite Sir Paul's pronounced health, they continue to insist that if you look closely at the images on the front and back cover, you will find symbols of death hidden there.
There is no doubt that this album meant only one death. It was not yet known to the public at that time that the Beatles were in the last stages of disintegration, and this was their last album.
Relations between the band members deteriorated so much that they abandoned the original title of the Everest album and the Himalayan photography, and instead filmed outside the studio - and this was the only thing they did by mutual agreement.
Die-hard fans, however, could read much more from the photographs.
1.FUNERAL
The procession of the Beatles, walking along the "zebra", means a funeral for Paul. John Lennon walks in front in a white suit and symbolizes a priest.
Ringo Star is a mourner dressed in black. George Harrison, in a scruffy shirt and jeans, represents the gravedigger. Paul is wearing an old suit and is the only one walking barefoot.
He later explained that he started filming in sandals, but later took them off as it was a very hot day. Adherents of the legend say that if this is true, then walking on hot asphalt is uncomfortable, and this once again confirms that Pol is a corpse.
2. CIGARETTE
Paul is left-handed, but here he is holding a cigarette in his right hand. Cigarettes are commonly referred to as "nails in the coffin." Thus, this is a sign that Paul's "coffin lid" is boarded up, and the man in the photo is his doppelgänger.
Paul is also out of step with the rest of the group. Everyone has a left foot in front, and Paul has a right foot, which again confirms that he is different from the others.
3. REGISTRATION NUMBER
The white Volkswagen Beetle in the background has registration number LMW 28IF. Conspiracy theorists say this means Paul would have been 28 IF he hadn't died.
Paul was actually 27 years old when "Abbey Road" was released, but fortunately for conspiracy theorists, Indian mystics calculate a person's age from conception, not birth, so in this case, Paul would indeed be 28 years old.
This is supported by the fact that the musicians were famous adherents of the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. LMW is also believed to stand for "Linda McCartney Weeps" - referring to Paul's wife, whom he married earlier this year.
4. spectators
In the background, a small group of white-clad people stand on one side of the street, and a lone person stands on the other side.
Does this mean that Paul is alone and separate from the others?
5. POLICE MINIBUS
There is a black police van parked on the right side of the street, a reference to the police remaining silent on "Paul's death".
According to legend, the band's manager Brian Epstein bought this silence, and the presence of a police "bean" in the photo is another "thank you".
6.LINE OF MACHINES
You can draw a line from the Volkswagen Beetle to the three cars in front of it. If it is passed through their right wheels, it will just touch Paul's head, and according to theorists, this means that Paul received a head injury in a car accident.
7. BLOOD SPOT
A stain can be seen on the Australian version of the album. It can be seen as a bloodstain on the road, it is located between Ringo and John, indirectly confirming the version of a car accident.
Linda McCartney and Mel Evans were present throughout the session and took many photographs. Many of them have not yet been published due to litigation. But some of them are available.
Before shooting, while waiting for the police, and during the rehearsal, several photos were taken:
Forty years ago, at 11:35 a.m., the Beatles crossed a quiet street in north London on a zebra.
The photo session for their new album "Abbey Road" took place a few meters from the recording studio of the same name and took about ten minutes - photographer Ian MacMillan took only six shots, for this he had to climb a stepladder.
Since then, the cover of the new album has become a legend for two reasons - no cover like this has become the object of so many imitations, and no cover like this has spawned so many conspiracy legends.
For crazed fans with inflamed imaginations, this was the ultimate proof of the delusional legend of the time - that Paul McCartney is really dead.
According to this legend, Paul died in a car accident and was replaced by a doppelgänger. The band, legend has it, felt guilty about this deception and placed hidden signs on the album cover for their fans.
Thus, even today, despite Sir Paul's pronounced health, they continue to insist that if you look closely at the images on the front and back cover, you will find symbols of death hidden there.
There is no doubt that this album meant only one death. It was not yet known to the public at that time that the Beatles were in the last stages of disintegration, and this was their last album.
Relations between the band members deteriorated so much that they abandoned the original title of the Everest album and the Himalayan photography, and instead filmed near the studio - and this was the only thing they did by mutual agreement.
Die-hard fans, however, could read much more from the photographs.
1.FUNERAL
The procession of the Beatles, walking along the "zebra", means a funeral for Paul. John Lennon walks in front in a white suit and symbolizes a priest. Ringo Star is a mourner dressed in black. George Harrison, in a scruffy shirt and jeans, represents the gravedigger. Paul is wearing an old suit and is the only one walking barefoot. He later explained that he started filming in sandals, but later took them off as it was a very hot day. Adherents of the legend say that if this is true, then walking on hot asphalt is uncomfortable, and this once again confirms that Pol is a corpse.
2. CIGARETTE
Paul is left-handed, but here he is holding a cigarette in his right hand. Cigarettes are commonly referred to as "nails in the coffin." Thus, this is a sign that Paul's "coffin lid" is boarded up, and the man in the photo is his doppelgänger.
Paul is also out of step with the rest of the group. Everyone has a left foot in front, and Paul has a right foot, which again confirms that he is different from the others.
3. REGISTRATION NUMBER
The white Volkswagen Beetle in the background has registration number LMW 28IF. Conspiracy theorists say this means Paul would have been 28 IF he hadn't died.
Paul was actually 27 years old when "Abbey Road" was released, but fortunately for conspiracy theorists, Indian mystics calculate a person's age from conception, not birth, so in this case, Paul would indeed be 28 years old.
This is supported by the fact that the musicians were famous adherents of the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. LMW is also believed to stand for "Linda McCartney Weeps" - referring to Paul's wife, whom he married earlier this year.
4. spectators
In the background, a small group of white-clad people stand on one side of the street, and a lone person stands on the other side.
Does this mean that Paul is alone and separate from the others?
5. POLICE MINIBUS
There is a black police van parked on the right side of the street, a reference to the police remaining silent on "Paul's death".
According to legend, the band's manager Brian Epstein bought this silence, and the presence of a police "bean" in the photo is another "thank you".
6.LINE OF MACHINES
You can draw a line from the Volkswagen Beetle to the three cars in front of it. If it is passed through their right wheels, it will just touch Paul's head, and according to theorists, this means that Paul received a head injury in a car accident.
7. BLOOD SPOT
A stain can be seen on the Australian version of the album. It can be seen as a bloodstain on the road, it is located between Ringo and John, indirectly confirming the version of a car accident.
8. SHUTTERED LETTER S
On the back of the cover there is a photo of the Abbey Road sign, and above is the inscription BEATLES. The crack passing through the letter S is clearly visible - it is believed that this indicates problems within the group.
To the left of the Beatles inscription is a group of eight dots. If you connect them together, you get the number 3.
Does this mean there are three Beatles left?
10. IMAGE OF DEATH
If the cover is held with the back facing you and rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise, the image of the Demon of Death can be clearly seen. Some people believe that this means that someone in the group has died.
11. GIRL
No one knows who the blue-clad girl on the back cover is. On the night that "the car crash happened", according to the followers of the legend, it was raining heavily, and Paul gave a lift to one fan named Rita. It must be the same girl, and she is either running away from the scene of the accident or running to call for help.
12. Paul's resting place
If the inscription on the wall is broken into separate sections, then you can get an encrypted message - “Be At Les Abbey”. In numerology, the next two letters - R and O are the 18th and 15th letters of the alphabet. Putting them together (33) and multiplying by the number of letters (2), we get the number 66 - the year in which Paul supposedly died.
The number 3 also corresponds to the letter C, so 33 corresponds to SS. CC means the short name of Cecilia, and adherents of the legend believe that Paul was buried at St Cecilia's Abbey in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
