Fab Foundations # 16: “Pepper Core”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

Song: “A Day in the Life”
Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Release Date: May 1967

One big factor I have tuned into in this my personal ‘year of the Beatles’ is something rarely if ever discussed in any article or book that I’ve come across on the band ; that being that an element of the Beatles brilliance comes in layering. I relate this to the design of the Russian Matryoshka dolls: Broader musical compilations, such as albums, contain subsets of musical motifs such as a series of songs (or a particularly heavy song), which can also contain subsets, such as a given tune or verse. Last entry I mentioned the 2-song Matryoshka doll that is “I Will” and “Julia”, within the ‘doll’ that is side 2 of the White Album, within the ‘doll’ that is the entire Beatles discography. A few weeks earlier I hit on Abbey Road and all the layering that can be found there (see Fab Foundations # 12). In all these years writing about music and related personal memory, I have not thought of this notion of layering until now…even with Bob Dylan. It may be uniquely Beatle-esque.

The epitome of this notion of layering is “A Day in the Life”, which concludes Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Rolling Stone Magazine has rated this the best of all Beatles songs, which in my mind is justified, particularly after this week of special focus on it. I want to take Rolling Stone’s talking points a step further here, because I believe there are deeper reasons for this lofty position than the ones that very informative magazine has already explained (including key points that “A Day in the Life” is the signature statement of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership, along with the general sense of “death and dread” that the song conveys in such transcendent fashion).

My big-picture understanding of that 1967 period in the Beatles saga is that both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in search of a deeper and broader meaning to their music as they were closing in on what would end up the Sgt. Pepper album. This never fully materialized, at least to the degree it could have. I focused on this notion in Fab Foundations # 11, while coming up with my own conceptual narrative on what could have been. In that narrative I conjured up a rough sketch of a film of a fictional band forming during the heyday of the counterculture era in the mid to late 60s. I also wove every song on Sgt. Pepper into this plot (as well as “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “All You Need is Love” which were released as singles during the period).

The heart of my concept story is strongly correlated with “A Day in the Life” (which prominently stands out on the Sgt. Pepper album too). In my proposed film/story the leader of this counterculture band dies suddenly. As the news of this unfolds, I touch briefly on what was happening in the lives of each band member as they find out about the tragedy. In my imaginary movie, “A Day in the Life” is playing in the background during all of this. 

I now realize that I wrote this fictional story for more reasons than was clear to me last month. The fact of the matter is, I’ve never written a fictional story in all my years of blogging. It's not my style (I tend to see reality as far more amazing than fiction). And although it was fun to come up with the movie idea, I'd been thinking over the past month that there had to be more to it. Now I think I've nailed it, because by tackling “A Day in the Life” here, I've come to believe that John Lennon must have had a deeper concept in mind than what ended up being conveyed (perhaps the concept was fleeting). Of course, my take is just one of many possible narratives, but in thinking it through, I came to a better realization of the majesty of this song.

When I wrote that “Pepper Shaker” story a month or so ago, I was thinking primarily of Paul McCartney, who gets a bulk of the credit when it comes to how the very loose concept of Sgt Pepper came together. Here, I’d like to come at it from the Lennon prism by homing in on the cornerstone of the Sgt. Pepper album that is “A Day in the Life”: A gold nugget of a Matryoshka ‘what could have been’ (“A Day in the Life”) tucked inside a larger Matryoshka ‘what could have been’ (the album Sgt. Pepper).

If you have not done so already, it will help to go back to the broader rough sketch first before reading the remainder of this entry (see Fab Foundations # 11 > https://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2020/03/fab-foundations-11-pepper-shaker.html ).  To summarize, a young lady runs away from home with her boyfriend. They travel across the USA and end up in a commune run by a charismatic fellow (Sargent Pepper). The 3 discover a common interest in musical tastes and form a band. Soon 2 others join them.

The band makeup is:
Lead Guitarist: Lucy (in the sky with diamonds)
Lead Singer: Billy Shears
Drummer and band leader: Sargent Pepper
Keyboardist: Rita (the former meter maid)
Bass Guitar: Kris Kite (aka Mr. Kite)

Sgt Pepper and the “Lonely Hearts Club Band” get very popular. However, during a break in their work together - just after releasing their galvanizing hit song “All You Need is Love” - tragedy strikes when Sargent Pepper is killed in a car accident while visiting a close, highly influential (and altruistic) friend from the House of Lords, who lives in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Pepper’s death is a profound loss, because of the timing as well as everything he stood for, including his peaceful and charitable nature, which had a tremendous positive effect on his multitude of fans (think JFK, or even John Lennon himself when he was murdered in 1980).

Turns out the gardener at the cottage where Sargent Pepper is staying is a deranged fan (think Mark David Chapman), who rigs the vehicle Pepper has borrowed from his close friend, draining it of brake fluid and messing with the steering components. The accident is initially blamed on the notoriously bad road conditions in Blackburn (ultimately branded by the British newsprint for having 4000 potholes, which Lennon tapped into when he wrote the song). But the truth soon comes out, which makes Sargent Pepper’s death all the more tragic.

The ‘accident’, which includes a fire, is so horrific that early reports cannot identify the victim for lack of evidence. But because of the make and model of the car (traced to British Aristocracy), the press knows it’s someone important. This is what allows for buildup in the narrative that is “A Day in the Life”. It is only at the end of the song (and the sequence in my hypothetical film wherein the song plays out) when the full reality hits everyone. 

As mentioned, the band members are scattered about that day, and so each one gets the news in his/her own unique way (“A Day in the Life” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYeV7jLBXvA ). Everyone is somewhere in Britain, because the band is set to perform a big show at Albert Hall in 2 weeks. First up in the sequence are Lucy and Billy, who are vacationing on the Ilse of Wight. In the film, the two of them are having a seaside breakfast, and reading the frontpage news about the car accident. They initially find the story bemusing, because of all the oddball interviews the media has with the crowd who had gathered around the accident:

I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords

Next up Rita, who is in London watching a midday ghastly film about WW1 trench warfare:

I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book

As Rita leaves the theatre, she sees the same news story on the newsstands. Unlike Lucy and Billy however, Rita puts two and two together, realizing that Sargent Pepper is staying with a friend from the House of Lords in Blackburn, Lancashire. The horror of reality begins to slowly set in with Rita, as well as us the audience, who are watching the movie (the camera slowly zooming in on her face). Flashback to a montage of great moments in Sargent Pepper’s life, particularly with the band and the fans (“I’d love to turn you on”) as the orchestra builds up to the bridge.

Next it’s Mr. Kite’s turn. He’s also in London, in his case working; taking on his secondary duties with the band as an audio-visual wizard (see Fab Foundations # 11). Kite arises late in his rental suite after a long nite, oblivious to the news, and takes the bus to Albert Hall. By this time the car-crash details are coming out on the news, including who the victim is. A friend relays the terrible news all at once to Kite:

Woke up got out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Made my way upstairs and had a smoke
And somebody spoke and I went into a dream

As the orchestra builds up again, the anguish on Mr. Kite’s face is palpable (Lennon’s vocal “AHHH!” in the background. In one alternate take he actually says “Oh, Shit!”). The film bounces between band members in real time in their variety of settings as the full reality hits them all, ending with Rita collapsing on the London streets next to a meter (symbolizing what Sargent Pepper meant to changing her life).

During the last verse and the final, intense orchestral build up, the film cuts to the rigging of the car by the deranged fan, and the actual car crash:

I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
I’d love to turn you on

That last drawn-out E note on the three pianos (Paul, John and Ringo, hitting the key in unison) plays out as the car is engulfed in flames.

There you have it: My alternative-version Pepper subplot story. This combined with the broader story in FF # 11 is my novice attempt at a script. Anyone know a good movie producer? 

- Pete (from Pepperell)