Original Version recorded April 1 1967
Ukulele version recorded August 5 2011
Erik Liberman – Vocal
David Barratt – Ukulele & everything else
Produced by David Barratt at The Abattoir Of Good Taste using TBCOU Perceived Reality Machine TM
Written by Paul McCartney
Credited to Lennon & McCartney
ABOUT THE SONG
The entire recording of the Sgt.Pepper album took 129 days of block-booked studio time at Abbey Road at a cost of $25,000 making it the most expensive album recorded to that date. In 2011, 129 days of block-booked time at that same studio would set you back around $450,000.
One of the last songs recorded was “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”. The idea for a reprise of Sgt. Pepper’s title track was suggested by The Beatles’ assistant Neil Aspinall, who thought the album should be bookended with words from the imaginary compère.
Neil was quoted’ ‘Why don’t you have Sgt. Pepper as the compère of the album? He comes on at the beginning of the show and introduces the band, and at the end he closes it. A bit later, Paul told John about it in the studio, and John came up to me and said, ‘Nobody likes a smart-arse, Neil’… That was when I knew that John liked it and that it would happen.”
Sgt. Pepper (Reprise) was the final backing track recorded for the album. All of Sgt. Pepper’s songs were recorded with Abbey Road’s four-track recording technology, the reprise was the only one not to be bounced down to free up extra tracks. It was the only time on the whole album where you can hear The Beatles performing as a band and the energy is high. Ringo’s drum break at the beginning has been sampled a million time and quite rightly. Great sound great groove. And surprise surprise there is a loud tambourine and maracas clattering around. I really wish the beatles had employed a pro-percussion player at some point.
The ukulele version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” performed by actor/time traveller Erik Liberman and was recorded using our advanced “TBCOU Perceived Reality Machine TM" which is built from quantum mechanic theories and fueled with just a little vodka.
The date is July 7th 1990 – Ringo’s 50th birthday party.
After George Martin rejected The Beatles in 1962 and Brian Epstein gave up music management to concentrate on his record shops, Ringo stopped drumming and got a job as a Master Of Ceremonies at a popular English holiday resort. Someone from The BBC saw him and gave him a job presenting a comedy show on local radio. By the late 60’s Ringo had appeared on several sit-coms and was a minor star in several movies produced in Britain.
Blake Edwards (director of The Pink Panther movies) cast him in his movie "10" with Bo Derek. Ringo’s easy going nature shone through on the screen and he instantly became a massive Hollywood star with several multi-million dollar success to his name. His career catapulted and he soon found himself producing movies. He partnered with a budding new director called Steven Spielberg for whom he produced several films.
His wise investment in real-estate in California in the 80’s soon meant that Ringo was now a member of the super-rich and he invested with his friend Warren Buffet in his firm Berkshire Hathaway.
In early 1990, while in England to receive his knighthood from the Queen, Ringo bumped into his old friend Paul from the beat group he used play with in Liverpool. Paul had carried on with music and had written a few songs that were minor hits in England in the 60’s. Paul eventually got a record contract in the 70’s and had spent many months recording his concept album "Sgt. Pepper". Unfortunately when it was released it was not acclaimed by either critics or the public. Ringo was always fond of Paul, and thought he was very talented, although chronically unlucky. Out of a sense of pity and in the hope that Paul might catch a break he gave him a First Class Ticket to fly from Liverpool to Los Angeles and asked him to perform at Ringo’s birthday party.
This is a recording of Paul’s final song that evening.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Erik Liberman is an award-winning actor and environmentalist living in New York.
He dedicates this song to his father who, at 17, snuck into the audience of The Ed Sullivan Show to catch the Beatles’ first US appearance.
www.erikliberman.org