Penny Lane
Penny Lane is a road in the south Liverpool suburb of Mossley Hill. The name also applies to the area surrounding its junction with Smithdown Road and Allerton Road, and to the roundabout at Smithdown Place that was the location for a major bus terminus. This roundabout was a frequent stopping place for John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison during their years as schoolchildren and students. Bus journeys via Penny Lane and the area itself subsequently became familiar elements in the early years of the Lennon, McCartney songwriting partnership. In 2009, McCartney reflected on these memories while discussing the song's origins.
Lennon's original lyrics for "In My Life" had included a reference to Penny Lane. Soon after the Beatles recorded "In My Life" in October 1965, McCartney mentioned to an interviewer that he wanted to write a song about Penny Lane. A year later, he was spurred to write the song once presented with Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever". McCartney also cited Dylan Thomas's nostalgic poem "Fern Hill" as an inspiration for "Penny Lane". Lennon co-wrote the lyrics with McCartney. He recalled in a 1970 interview: "The bank was , and was where the tram sheds were and people waiting and the inspector stood , the fire engines were down . It was reliving childhood." The barber shop referred to in the song belonged to Harry Bioletti, who is described in the lyrics as "a barber showing photographs / Of every head he's had the pleasure to know".
To get from the verse "In the pouring rain , very strange" McCartney uses an E chord as a pivot, which is a IV chord in the preceding B key and a V in the looming A key. Likewise to get back from the chorus of "There beneath the blue suburban skies I sit, and meanwhile back...", McCartney uses an F7 pivot chord, which is a VI in the old A key and a V in the new B key. The lyrics "very strange" and "meanwhile back" reflect these tonal shifts. Lyrically there are several ambiguous and surreal images. The song is seemingly narrated on a fine summer day yet at the same time it is raining and approaching winter. MacDonald stated: "Seemingly naturalistic, the lyric scene is actually kaleidoscopic. As well as raining and shining at the same time, it is simultaneously summer and winter." The fireman and fire engine referred to in the lyrics were based on memories of the fire station at Mather Avenue.
Production began in Studio 2 at EMI Studios on the 29th of December 1966 with piano as the main instrument. McCartney intended the song to have a "clean" sound akin to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. Engineer Geoff Emerick recalled McCartney playing Pet Sounds repeatedly during recording session breaks, adding that "it wasn't altogether unsurprising [when] he wanted 'a really clean American sound'" for "Penny Lane". Initially, McCartney recorded keyboard parts onto the individual tracks of the four-track tape: a basic piano rhythm on track one; a second piano, recorded through a
Vox guitar amplifier with added reverb, on track two; a prepared piano producing a "honky-tonk" sound on track three; and percussion effects and a harmonium playing high notes fed through the guitar amplifier on track four.
On the 4th of January 1967, the Beatles' first session of the new year, Lennon and Harrison overdubbed contributions on piano and lead guitar, respectively, and McCartney added a lead vocal, which he then replaced the following day. Further overdubs, on the 6th of January, included Ringo Starr's drums, McCartney's bass guitar and Lennon's rhythm guitar, as well as handclaps, congas, harmony vocals and more piano. Following another reduction mix, brass and woodwind instruments, including four flutes, were added on 9 and the 12th of January, from a score by producer George Martin, guided by McCartney's suggested melody lines. On the 10th of January, the Beatles overdubbed effects such as scat harmony singing and a handbell, the latter in recognition of the fireman and fire engine mentioned in the lyrics.
McCartney was dissatisfied with the initial attempts at the song's instrumental fill, and was inspired to use a piccolo trumpet after seeing trumpeter David Mason play the instrument during a BBC television broadcast of the second Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. On the 17th of January, Mason recorded the instrumental solo used for the final mix. Martin later wrote, "The result was unique, something which had never been done in rock music before." The solo is in a mock-Baroque style for which the piccolo trumpet (a small instrument built about one octave
higher than the standard instrument) is particularly suited, having a clean and clear sound which penetrates well through thicker midrange textures.
According to Emerick, Mason "nailed it" at some point during the recording; McCartney tried to get him to do another take but Martin insisted it was not necessary, sensing Mason's fatigue. He also played over the song's final chorus, replacing the oboe parts from that portion of the track. Mason later said he was impressed that Lennon, Harrison and Starr were present at the session, demonstrating a common interest in shaping the result, although he was taken aback by their new look of moustaches and psychedelic clothing. Mason was paid £27 and 10 shillings for the session and achieved international renown for his performance. In author Mark Hertsgaard's description, the trumpet solo is the recording's "pièce de résistance" and evokes a "sense of freedom, energy, and sheer happiness".
The promotional film for "Penny Lane" was, together with the clip for "Strawberry Fields Forever", one of the first examples of what became known as a music video. The films were directed by Peter Goldmann, a Swedish television director, and produced by Tony Bramwell for Epstein's company Subafilms. The clip for "Penny Lane" includes footage of Liverpool , such as the number 46 bus to Penny Lane, the shelter on the roundabout, and a fireman riding a white horse , but street scenes featuring the Beatles were instead filmed in and around Angel
Lane in Stratford, in the east of London.
This filming includes the band members riding horses and took place on the 5th of February. Another street scene features only Lennon, walking along King's Road, Chelsea among a crowd in a manner that author Robert Rodriguez terms "as if in a nostalgic reverie". More filming was done in Knole Park in Sevenoaks, where the clip for "Strawberry Fields Forever" had been filmed the week before. Shot on the 7th of February, this footage includes further horse-riding scenes, with the band members dressed in matching red tunics, and the closing scene, when they arrive at a table set up in the park, bearing a large candelabra. During the horse ride, they pass by a stage filled with their guitars and drum kit, the latter bearing the familiar Beatles logo.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" were released as a double A-side single, in a fashion identical to that of the Beatles' previous single, "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The release took place in the United States on the 13th of February 1967 and in the United Kingdom on the 17th of February. It was the first single by the Beatles to be sold with a picture sleeve in the UK, a practice rarely used there at that time. Expectations were high for the release, since it was the band's first new music
since they had decided to abandon touring.
In Britain, it was the first Beatles single since "Please Please Me" in 1963 to fail to reach number 1 on the Record Retailer chart. With "Penny Lane" as the side favoured by the chart, the single was held at number 2 behind Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me", even though the Beatles' record sold considerably more. This was due to chart protocol whereby only the sales of the better-selling side of a double A-side were eligible, and the record's overall sales were effectively halved. On the national chart compiled by Melody Maker, the combination was number 1 for three weeks. Its failure to top the Record Retailer chart provoked comments in the UK press that the Beatles' position of eminence was at an end.
In 2011, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the track at number 280 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2006, Mojo ranked the song at number 9 of "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs". The promotional clips for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" are recognised as pioneering works in the medium of music video. In 1985, they were the oldest selections included in the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)'s exhibition of the most influential music videos.
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Common questions
Where is Penny Lane located and what landmarks are associated with it?
Penny Lane is a road in the south Liverpool suburb of Mossley Hill. The area surrounding its junction with Smithdown Road and Allerton Road includes a roundabout at Smithdown Place that served as a major bus terminus.
When was the song Penny Lane recorded and released by the Beatles?
Production began on the 29th of December 1966 and continued through January 1967. The single was released in the United States on the 13th of February 1967 and in the United Kingdom on the 17th of February 1967.
Who played the piccolo trumpet solo on the recording of Penny Lane?
Trumpeter David Mason performed the instrumental solo which was recorded on the 17th of January 1967. McCartney chose this instrument after seeing Mason play during a BBC television broadcast of Bach's second Brandenburg Concerto.
Why did the Penny Lane single fail to reach number one on the Record Retailer chart?
The record failed to top the chart because only sales of the better-selling side of a double A-side were eligible for ranking purposes. This protocol effectively halved the record's overall sales, leaving it at number two behind Engelbert Humperdinck's Release Me.
What locations were used to film the promotional video for Penny Lane?
Street scenes featuring the band members were filmed in and around Angel Lane in Stratford and Knole Park in Sevenoaks. Footage of Liverpool such as the number 46 bus and the roundabout shelter was also included in the clip.