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Recording, mixing: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

Although The Beatles had finished the music for the song ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ on 3 March 1967, it still wasn’t complete. During this session they added sound effects to give the impression of Sgt Pepper’s band putting on a concert.

The sound of the band warming up came from the 10 February orchestral overdub for ‘A Day In The Life’ – the session musicians had been recorded before the overdub began in case the sounds proved useful at a later date.

Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics for Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band also required the sound of an audience taking their seats, applauding and laughing. These came from EMI’s archive library of sound effects – the tapes in question were Volume 28: Audience Applause and Atmosphere, Royal Albert Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Volume 6: Applause and Laughter.

Towards the end of the session, which ran until 12.30am, two mono and eight stereo mixes of the song were made. These were numbered 2-3 and 1-8 respectively, and the last of each was used on the album.

Last updated: 26 June 2023
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