1967
In June 1967 it seemed The
Beatles could do no wrong. They performed 'All You
Need is Love' to what was then the biggest television
audience ever. Critics described their album Sgt.
Pepper as a masterpiece.
But the ‘summer of love’
had a dark side
for The Beatles. Their manager, Brian
Epstein, increasingly he relied on
medication to relieve depression and insomnia. On August
27, 1967 died of an accidental prescription
overdose.
This shocking news came while
The Beatles were at a weekend in Wales. They were preparing
to study transcendental meditation with an Indian mystic,
the Maharshi Yogi.
Beginning of
the End
‘When Brian died,’
John later said, ‘I knew we were in trouble.’
Paul 'took over' leadership of the band but the others
didn't like it. 'He started talking about rehearsals,'
Lennon said later. 'We hadn't rehearsed for years.'
The first major post-Brian project was a television special
called Magical Mystery Tour. It was generally considered a
disappointment - the first major failure since their early
success.
Despite all these problems the band still made some of
their best-loved records in 1967. These included:
All you Need is
Love, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields
and
I am the
Walrus.
