The Beatles' album Revolver was released 60 years ago, featuring hits like Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine. Paul McCartney, now 84, has received his first Mercury Prize nomination for his recent album The Boys of Dungeon Lane. To mark the anniversary, here are 15 facts about the record.
Album Naming and Cover Art
Before settling on Revolver, the band considered titles like Abracadabra, Beatles on Safari, and After Geography, a pun on the Rolling Stones' LP Aftermath. German artist Klaus Voormann drew the iconic cover.
Technical Innovation and Psychedelic Era
The record featured 14 tracks with extensive technical innovation and 300 hours of studio time, marking the start of the Beatles' psychedelic period.
The song Tomorrow Never Knows was inspired by John Lennon's LSD experiences and the book The Psychedelic Experience. The seagull sound was actually McCartney's laugh sped up and distorted.
Song Origins and Inspirations
She Said She Said came from an acid trip Lennon had with actor Peter Fonda, who provided the lyric “I know what it's like to be dead,” recalling accidentally shooting himself aged 11.
McCartney admitted Got to Get You into My Life was an “ode to pot,” while Doctor Robert may have been based on a US celebrity doctor who gave vitamin shots laced with speed.
Yellow Submarine and Recording Quirks
The name Yellow Submarine, which inspired the 1968 movie, came from a Greek dessert. Ringo Starr sang lead, with backing from Pattie Boyd and Marianne Faithfull.
For extra vocals, Lennon sang into a mic inside a condom in a carton of water for an underwater effect, risking electrocution.
Musical Milestones
Eleanor Rigby was the first Beatles song where they didn't play their instruments. The lonely woman was originally called Daisy Hawkins, with Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron and Rigby from a wine merchant.
Coincidentally, a real Eleanor Rigby, who died in 1939, is buried near where the Beatles grew up in Liverpool. I'm Only Sleeping features George Harrison in the first reversed guitar solo on a pop record.
Writing and Legacy
McCartney wrote Here, There and Everywhere by John Lennon's pool while waiting for him. The cover was designed by Manfred Mann's Klaus Voormann for £50.
Revolver sold over seven million copies and topped the UK charts for seven weeks, but the Beatles never played it live.
