A child star who initially started dancing with his sister on stage, it was with Ginger Rogers that Fred made his greatest mark, in a series of classic Golden Age movies including Top Hat and Swing Time. In contrast to Mae West (No.3), Fred Astaire was reportedly thrilled to be asked to appear on the Sgt Pepper album cover. The poems and short stories that he wrote across the 1820s and 1840s essentially invented the modern horror genre, and also helped lay the groundwork for sci-fi and detective stories as we know them today. His humor seeped into The Beatles’ own, while the vaudeville world he came from would also go on to influence songs the likes of “Your Mother Should Know.”Īnother progressive thinker who introduced new strains of psychology to the world, Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist whose Analytic Psychology school of thought pioneered the concept of individuation and self-realization in the early 1900s.īefore being namechecked in “I Am The Walrus,” Edgar Allan Poe appeared on the right-hand side of the top row of the Sgt. He died of a drug overdose in August 1966.Ī German composer who pioneered the use of electronic music in the 50s and 60s, Stockhausen remains a godfather of the avant-garde, whose boundary-pushing music influenced The Beatles’ own groundbreaking experiments in the studio, starting with their tape experiments of Revolver’s “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Paul McCartney (No.64) introduced Stockhausen’s work to the group, turning John Lennon (No.62) into a fan Lennon and Yoko Ono even sent the composer a Christmas card in 1969.Īn American writer, comedian, and actor, WC Fields was the epitome of the all-around entertainer, whose career spanned both the silent film era and the talkies. Pepper’s cover, he had been arrested for obscenity, further making him a countercultural hero not only for The Beatles, but also the Beatniks and Bob Dylan (No.15). Lenny Bruce revolutionized comedy in the 50s and 60s, ushering in a personalized style that influenced many later comedians. The film also featured a cover version of the “White Album” song “Honey Pie.” In 1978, Ringo Starr (No.63) returned the favor when he appeared in West’s final movie, 1978’s Sextette. However, after The Beatles personally wrote to her explaining that they were all fans, she agreed to let them use her image. She was, after all, one of the most famous bombshells from Hollywood’s Golden Age and felt that she would never be in a lonely hearts club. Mae West initially refused to allow her image to appear on the artwork. In August 1967, two months after the album’s release, The Beatles had their first meeting with the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi, at the Hilton Hotel on London’s Park Lane, where they were invited to study Transcendental Meditation in Bangor, North Wales.Ī hugely prolific occultist and author who formed his own religion, Thelema, Crowley’s central tenet was, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. His prominent position in the top left-hand corner reflects George Harrison’s (No.65) growing interest in Indian philosophy. The author of the 1894 book The Holy Science, which attempted “to show as clearly as possible that there is an essential unity in all religions,” Sri Yukteswar Giri was guru to both Sri Mahavatara Babaji (No.27) and Paramahansa Yogananda (No.33). Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover…Ĭlick here for an interactive version of the Sgt. To paraphrase the song, you might have known the band for all these years, so here we introduce to you, everyone else that featured on the Sgt. Those that made the final cut remain a fascinating cross-section of cultures, importance, and each individual Beatle’s own interests. Also notable by his absence is Elvis Presley, who, Paul McCartney later said, was “too important and too far above the rest to even mention.” Looking to avoid any serious controversy, Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler were deemed unsuitable for inclusion, while other choices, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Gorcey, were removed for different reasons. Those chosen from a collective list drawn up by John, Paul, George, Peter Blake, Jann Haworth, and London art dealer Robert Fraser.
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