One of The Beatles’ Greatest Albums Became One of the Worst Movies

The Big Picture

• The Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
  film was famously worse than the album it was based on.
• A stage show based on the album ended after 66 performances, quickly leading to a disastrous movie.
• The film adaptation of
  Sgt. Pepper’s
  was a critical and commercial failure, nearly derailing careers.

While some may consider Abbey Road or Revolver as the best of The Beatles, many admit to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band being not only the Beatles’ best, but one of the greatest albums of all time. The record’s achievements include a 17-year run at the top of Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time list, from the inception of the list to 2020. And most, provided one even knew it existed, would agree that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is among the worst films ever brought to fruition. Two different mediums, yes, but still a wide disparity, nonetheless. Don’t blame the Beatles – they weren’t even involved, and that is just one of the factors that saw Sgt. Pepper stripped of his rank.

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” Spawns a Stage Show

Sgt. Pepper, the album, was groundbreaking as a stunning piece of studio wizardry mixed with undeniable creative talent, an iconic album cover, and complete with a whopping 700 hours devoted by the band to bring the ambitious project to life. It paid off in spades, spending weeks atop the charts, becoming the first rock album to score the “Album of the Year” Grammy, while its rerelease in 2017 saw it top the U.K. charts once again. The groundbreaking album not only had a major impact on the music industry going forward, but also on the mindsets of creatives globally. Those minds included Robert Stigwood and Tom O’Horgan, who found in the album the inspiration for a stage show.

That stage show, produced by Stigwood and directed by O’Horgan would become Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road: A Rock Spectacle, which debuted Off-Broadway on Nov. 17, 1974. Apart from allowing the music from Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road to be used, the Beatles were not involved, although John Lennon did attend several rehearsals. O’Horgan explained, per Ultimate Classic Rock, that they had made a script from the lyrics of the songs, “trying to use the music differently.” With characters like the Maxwell’s Silver Hammermen motorcycle gang, a heroine named Strawberry Fields, set pieces like the 30-foot “Polythene Pam” Statue of Liberty resembling Lucille Ball, and busts of Mick Jagger and David Cassidy, they indisputably nailed “different” angle.

The Stage Show’s Demise Didn’t Stop the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Movie

Despite an enthusiastic audience on opening night, the show was brutally savaged by critics, and after only 66 performances the show closed in January of 1975. But according to screenwriter Henry Edwardsin a 1978 New York Times article, the production was still selling tickets at the end of its run, pushing Stigwood to rethink its potential for film. “If there’s one rule that stands above all others in Hollywood,” Edwards says, “it’s that if at first you don’t succeed, don’t, under any circumstances, try again.” He and Stigwood, using the stage show as a launching pad, decided that the film would need to separate itself from Beatles movies such as A Hard Day’s Night and Yellow Submarine and become its own thing, which may have been the film’s first big mistake. They eventually settled on the concept of an unspoiled, innocent small town coined “Heartland,” threatened by villains from the big, bad city.

The vision for Sgt. Pepper was grand, but compromises had to be made to fit Stigwood’s budget of $12 million, which was figured could be made possible by “finding creative ways to do it for less.” Now $12 million, back in 1978, went far, but not when you take into account the cost of the Beatles’ title, their music, and the costs of bringing in the world’s most popular rock stars to appear in the film, including the Bee Gees, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tina Turner, along with non-music talents like Steve Martin, Carol Channing, and George Burns, who would appear in the film as the mayor of Heartland, and the film’s narrator, Mr. Kite.

The Bee Gees at the time were huge, thanks to the success of Saturday Night Fever, which Stigwood coincidentally produced. By also producing Grease, Stigwood gained ample credibility, which worked in their favor in getting a multitude of musicians on board. The big get, however, was Peter Frampton, whose iconic album Frampton Comes Alive! had just set the record for the best-selling album in chart history at the time. However, Frampton’s involvement came due to some skullduggery on Stigwood’s part, with Frampton recalling that when first talking with Stigwood, he was told of Paul McCartney’s involvement in the project. This cemented Frampton’s decision and he was “in,” only to later discover when talking to McCartney backstage at an event, he had no idea what Frampton was talking about. By then, he was in too deep, and to step out would have cost Frampton millions.

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ Is… Interesting

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band begins with Mr. Kite recounting the story of Heartland’s celebrated titular marching band who brought happiness through its music, even leading to the end of both World Wars. After Sgt. Pepper’s passing, the band’s magical musical instruments were left to the town. Pepper’s grandson, Billy Shears (Peter Frampton), and the Henderson brothers (the Bee Gees) form a new Lonely Hearts Club Band, which delights the residents of Heartland. They are offered a record deal by B.D. Hoffler (Donald Pleasence), who invites them to Hollywood. They accept the bargain, leaving behind Heartland along with Shears’ girlfriend, Strawberry Fields (Sandy Farina). The band is soon drawn into the vices of Hollywood and begin to find enormous success. But back home, Mr. Mustard (Frankie Howerd) and his crew steal the magical instruments, which sends Heartland into pandemonium.

Strawberry flees to Hollywood to alert the band and together they find two of the stolen instruments, taking them back from Dr. Maxwell Edison (Steve Martin) and cult leader Father Sun (Alice Cooper). They organize a benefit concert to save the town, but while watching Earth, Wind & Fire perform “Got to Get You Into My Life,” Mustard returns to steal back the instruments along with Strawberry. Mustard goes to the Future Villain Band’s (Aerosmith) headquarters, a hard-rock group set out to “poison young minds, pollute the environment, and subvert the democratic process.” Billy and the Hendersons arrive and engage the FVB in combat, coming out on top, but losing Strawberry during the battle. Back home in Heartland, the instruments are returned and a funeral is held for Strawberry. Billy, distraught after his loss, looks to take his own life but is rescued by the Sgt. Pepper weather vane (Billy Preston) that has come to life. He also brings Strawberry back to life and transforms the band’s mourning suits into shiny new uniforms. In the film’s closing moments, the cast appears with a number of celebrities in a nod to the album’s cover.

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ Tanks, Taking Stars With It

Critics were no kinder to the film, which currently holds an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a minor success at the box office, bringing in just over $20 million against an $18 million budget, but was unable to escape the bad press. The soundtrack of covers performed by the cast, which included Steve Martin’s rendition of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and Alice Cooper’s “Because” fared little better, with Rolling Stone‘s Dave Marsh calling it an “utter travesty,” concluding with, “Two million people bought this album, which proves that P.T. Barnum was right and that euthanasia may have untapped possibilities.”

Marsh did conclude that Aerosmith’s “Come Together” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Got to Get You Into My Life” were the only competent renditions, and he was right, with the two covers the sole entries on the soundtrack to find success. “Come Together” reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top 40 for seven weeks, which Aerosmith wouldn’t accomplish again until the 1987 release of “Dude Looks Like a Lady.” EWF’s cover claimed nine weeks in the Top 40 and a Grammy to top it off. However, the film did take casualties, most notably Peter Frampton himself, whose career was derailed for decades due to backlash after the film. It was bad enough to the point Frampton would refuse to even discuss the film in interviews for years (per Yahoo Entertainment). When the Bee Gees, knocked off their upward trajectory started by Saturday Night Fever, regained control of their catalog, they tellingly did not include the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack. For several of the film’s stars, their careers would never recover. “With a Little Help From My Friends?” Hardly.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is available to rent in the U.S. on Prime Video.

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