Sgt. Pepper

An extensive documentary about the album and the Summer of Love, 1967

Rockument's History of the Beatles by Tony Bove

The album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is, of course, a classic. It was conceived in the winter/spring of 1966-1967, and released on the world in June 1967, just as the Summer of Love was beginning in the Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and in Swinging London.

Much has been written about it, but the following video clips tell the story in a very concise style with extraordinary interviews and film footage, including Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, the Diggers, Derek Taylor, all four Beatles, and a variety of sixties artists and orators. It ends with the live satellite video broadcast in 1967 of the Beatles performing "All You Need is Love" -- England's contribution to the first ever broadcast seen and heard around the world.

The following are excerpts from the documentary It Was 20 Years Ago Today -- directed and narrated by John Sheppard, researched by Colin Bell (with Derek Taylor), and produced by Rod Caird, Simon Albury and John Sheppard for Granada Television in 1987. Excerpts from this documentary were licensed for use in Rockument's CD-ROM title Haight-Ashbury in the Sixties.

For more videos, see Rockument's Beatles video playlist on YouTube.

Video Excerpt 1: Introduction, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper, George Martin, and Peter Blake (Cover Artist):

Video Excerpt 2: Sgt. Pepper cover and Happenings in Europe, the Sunset Strip in L.A., Buffalo Springfield, the International Times in London:

Video Excerpt 3: Happenings in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, and the Human Be-In:

Video Excerpt 4: The effects of LSD, the Jefferson Airplane perform "White Rabbit" and the Beatles talk about psychedelic experiences:

Video Excerpt 5: The Diggers in the Haight-Ashbury, and the Monterey Pop Festival preparations:

Video Excerpt 6: The Monterey Pop Festival, Ravi Shankar, the Beatles journey to India, and the poem "Lies about Vietnam":

Video Excerpt 7: Vietnam war resistance, Allen Cohen and the San Francisco Oracle, the Haight-Ashbury, the Grateful Dead, and the Death of Hippie event:

Video Excerpt 8: The March on the Pentagon, Abbie Hoffman, the Rolling Stones Bust, and the Beatles' public stance on drugs:

Video Excerpt 9: The Jagger-Richards bust, Mick Jagger's press interview and debate with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and closing remarks from Paul McCartney, Chet Helms, Peter Coyote, and George Harrison:

Video Excerpt 10: The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" live satellite broadcast (heard 'round the world) and visual collage for "A Day in the Life":