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The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour: A 1967 Retrospective
How the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour came together after Brian Epstein's death, from the September 1967 shoot to the Boxing Day broadcast and its reputation now.
Culture and Counterculture
The Beatles film and songs of late 1967, from filming to broadcast and reception.
Start here · Essential guide
How the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour came together after Brian Epstein's death, from the September 1967 shoot to the Boxing Day broadcast and its reputation now.
A dated shooting diary of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour: the coach leaving London on 11 September 1967, Devon and Cornwall, West Malling and the Soho edit.
Why the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack exists in different forms: the UK double EP of 8 December 1967, the US Capitol LP of 27 November, and the later UK album.
How the Beatles made Magical Mystery Tour without a script: McCartney's circle sketch, improvised scenes, character actors and a coach crowded with extras.
The English mystery coach outing, seaside holiday humour and music hall roots behind the Beatles' Mystery Tour, and how they sit alongside psychedelic 1967.
A song-by-song guide to where each number appears in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film, plus the Bonzo Dog Band's strip club number, and what each scene shows.
How the Beatles directed Magical Mystery Tour themselves: the 16mm shoot, Roy Benson's editing, a loose documentary style and the contrast with A Hard Day's Night.
The fantasy set pieces of Magical Mystery Tour described: Aunt Jessie, the spaghetti scene, the ballroom staircase, the Walrus costumes and the hillside near Nice.
How Magical Mystery Tour was received: the BBC1 broadcast on 26 December 1967, hostile reviews, the large audience, the BBC2 colour repeat and McCartney's response.
The studio story behind the Mystery Tour songs: the September 1967 EMI sessions for I Am the Walrus, George Martin's orchestration, King Lear on the radio and Blue Jay Way.
Sales and chart success of the Mystery Tour records: the US album topping Billboard, the UK double EP peaking at number two, and the gap between sales and reviews.
The places on screen in Magical Mystery Tour: Devon and Cornwall roads, Newquay and its hotel, West Malling air station in Kent, filming in France, and what survives.
Magical Mystery Tour as the Beatles' first venture after Brian Epstein's death on 27 August 1967: the management gap, the Bangor weekend, the start of Apple and the year's sequence.
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