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Magical Mystery Tour itinerary

The 2-hour Magical Mystery Tour starts at the Albert Dock and finishes at Mathew Street, home of The Cavern Club.

Meet your guide at the Magical Mystery Tour Ticket Office, Anchor Courtyard, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AS

Please arrive onto the Albert Dock to check in 30 minutes before your tour departure time . Coach boarding will begin 10 minutes before departure time. Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds for missed tours nor can we move passengers to a later tour time without prior notice.

The ticket office is open 7 days a week from 9:30am to 4pm and sells a great range of souvenirs including tour guide maps, T-shirts, keyrings and postcards.  Tel: 0151 703 9100.

The Magical Mystery Tour finishes at  Mathew Street, Liverpool L2 6RE .

Liverpool ONE Car Park, Strand Street, Liverpool L1 8LT is a few minutes walk from the start and finish points.

The tour lasts 2 hours and includes the following locations with stops for photos on the way:

• Childhood home of Ringo Starr
• George Harrison’s Birthplace (passengers get off the bus here)
• Penny Lane (passengers get off the bus here)
• St Peter’s Church Hall (where John and Paul met for the first time)
• Strawberry Field (passengers get off the bus here)
• John Lennon’s childhood home
• Paul McCartney’s childhood home (passengers get off the bus here)
• Former schools and colleges of John, Paul, George and Ringo including the Art College and the Liverpool Institute (now LIPA)
• The world famous Cavern Club, birthplace of the Beatles,

The Magical Mystery Tour is the only Beatles tour that finishes at Mathew Street, home of The Cavern and steeped in Beatles heritage.  Magical Mystery Tour customers can enjoy free entry** into The Cavern Club on the day of their tour.

**Free entry excluded on annual International Beatleweek Festival dates (21st – 27th August 2024). Admission can be purchased in advance for the festival at www.internationalbeatleweek.com (subject to availability)

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Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles charter a special bus for a surreal mystery tour. The Beatles charter a special bus for a surreal mystery tour. The Beatles charter a special bus for a surreal mystery tour.

• George Harrison
• John Lennon
• Paul McCartney
• 113 User reviews
• 50 Critic reviews
• 50 Metascore

• (uncredited)

• (as Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band)

• Photographer
• Mr. Bloodvessel
• Accordionist
• Little Girl
• (as Nichola)
• Ringo's Aunt
• (as Jessie Robbins)
• Jolly Jimmy

• Army Sergeant
• Hostess Wendy Winters
• (as Mandy Weet)

• Passenger on the Bus

• Man with Hat on the Roadside
• Mal Evans (uncredited)
• George Harrison (uncredited)
• John Lennon (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia John Lennon told Paul McCartney about a dream he had where he used a shovel to serve spaghetti to a woman. Paul suggested they film that, and John agreed.
• Goofs Some shots of the bus driving along country lanes were obviously shot at a later date, when the bus was empty. In The Beatles "Anthology" book, Neil Aspinall describes taking the bus back out on the road after filming had finished, to shoot some external links which had been forgotten.

Mrs. Starkey, Ringo's Auntie : Now shut up!

Richard Starkey : Shut up- to me? I've had enough of it! I can't stand it any more! I'm gettin' off! Off!

Mrs. Starkey, Ringo's Auntie : Don't get historical!

• Crazy credits Made in England by The Beatles
• Alternate versions When the movie was first shown by the BBC in 1967, the beach scene involving Jessie Robins and Ivor Cutler , lasting nearly two minutes, was cut for unknown reasons. Yet when it was re-shown in the 70s, the scene was included.
• Connections Edited into The Beatles: I Am the Walrus (1967)
• Soundtracks Magical Mystery Tour (uncredited) Performed by The Beatles Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney Published by Capitol/EMI Records

Technical specs

• Runtime 55 minutes

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Magical Mystery Tours specializes in customized mystery trips. Travelers set the parameters, we put together a trip based on those specifications, and then travelers discover their destination upon arriving at the airport!

First, you complete our mystery travel survey and provide your trip specifications. Then we get to work putting together a getaway that’s individually designed and customized for you. A week before your trip, we email you a weather forecast, packing list, and flight departure time.

Shortly afterward, we mail your reveal packet containing a destination overview, why we chose it for you, all your trip booking information, and guidance on dining and activity options. You’ll take this sealed red envelope to the airport to open and discover where you’re headed!

Resist the temptation to rip it open early…this is all part of the mystery trip experience!

This vacation style means you don’t have to—can’t, even—spend hours poring over destination options, flight schedules, hotel reviews, lists of things to do, restaurant reviews, and so on. We handle all of the details, drawing upon our considerable travel knowledge and experience.

You simply get to revel in the anticipation and excitement and then show up and enjoy this unique travel experience, with the peace of mind that we have planned your trip just for you, based on the parameters you’ve provided. It’s stress-free and fun!

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Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles

Songfacts®:

• A "Magical Mystery Tour" was a bus trip to an unknown destination. They were popular in England at the time and inspired the song.
• Five months after recording "Magical Mystery Tour," The Beatles started making a TV special with the song as the title track. The special aired in the UK in 1967, but didn't appear in the US until 1976 when it was released in theaters, becoming the fourth Beatles movie. The film, which was an early precursor of today's reality TV shows, didn't go over well with critics or fans. >> Suggestion credit : Bertrand - Paris, France
• When The Beatles started recording this, they only had the title, a little bit of music, and the first line. Paul McCartney wrote the verses, John Lennon the refrain.
• The carnival barker at the beginning is Paul McCartney.
• In the 1978 movie The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash , directed by former Monty Python member Eric Idle, this song is parodied with the title "Tragical History Tour." >> Suggestion credit : Ethan - Franklin, TN
• Charles Manson used to refer to life as "A Magical Mystery Tour" after hearing this song. He later warped other Beatles songs ("Helter Skelter," "Piggies," "Blackbird") to explain a race war he called Helter Skelter. He used to say that the Beatles were telling it like it is. >> Suggestion credit : Breanna - Henderson, NV
• "Magical Mystery Tour" irks Indiana Jones in the 2023 movie Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny . It plays in a scene set in 1969 when an older Indiana (played by Harrison Ford) is awakened by his loud (an much younger) neighbors who are blasting the song. Beatles songs in their original version are very hard to license; Ford claims the movie studio shelled out $1 million for the rights. The official trailer for the film opens with this scene, but with a different song: " Sympathy For The Devil " by The Rolling Stones.
• More songs from The Beatles
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• Lyrics to Magical Mystery Tour
• The Beatles Artistfacts

Comments: 54

• Frank from Washington Dc Who/what are the spoken words at the end? Are they from a play or movie?
• Jennifur Sun from Ramona Love Paul's bass and Ringo's drumming.
• Brian from Boston, Ma Justin from Luray VA.Well said I agree 100%.I don't understand why people think that if a song is about drugs it somehow diminishes its' value.Of course this song is about exactly what you said it was.I do think too many people "try" to find a drug meaning in every song.Some songs however are obvious this being one of them.I think drugs were a part of the creative process for the Beatles.No I am not saying that anyone that takes drugs can write such songs but like it or not drugs were an influence on the Beatles.Take Lucy in the sky for instance.I haappen to think it is about LSd but even if the song had an entirely different title I would still think it was about drugs.Because all one has to do is listen to the imagry of wich Lennon speaks and the general feel of the song.Are you going to tell me that had Lennon never taken lsd that the song would have the same sound and feel?It is after all a psychedelic song.What is a Psychedelic song but a song that is influenced by the use of psychedelics right? There have been many songs penned by songwriters under the influence of drugs,be it marijuana LSD heroin or coke.These songs are not all "about" drugs but we can not underestimate the influence that they have in the creative arts.
• George from Belleville, Nj The Beatles were always experimenting and growing as songwriters and musicians.This is another cool classic pop rock song with a psycedelic sound to it.The trumpets really added atmosphere to the structure of the song,a haunting piece of music.Listening to it so many years later,it still holds up well and stands the test of time,like all their songs,that's why they were the best.
• Greg from Esex, United Kingdom I heard thar the idea/ concept for the film was pauls and after it flopped john was in kindda, i told you so mode.Never the less if you've experimented with acid and watched the film on acid like it was intended you'd understand exactly what its about.You take the trip,you take the ride bring on the confusion and the unfathomable mind.The point when their getting sucked in by the gibberish talking sergent is a classic lsd moment where their getting their heads done in until one of them is like, lets get out of here.Also as yellow submarine their other psychedelic movie the film pulls you deep into it then at the end kicks you out the other side on a magical beatles high .THE BEATLES ARE AMAZING wether its their songs about love ,life or pychedelia its perfection every time.
• Nick from Seattle, Albania ok this movies is on ACID! its so odd...wtf. great drumms in this song, props 2 Ringo
• Chomper from Franjkin County, Pa The album came out just after Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band in 1967 ( Sgt. Pepper's - released June 1 , 1967 ; Magical Mystery Tour - released December , 1967 ). it was produced by George Martin , and was recorded on parlophone SMMT 1/2 on Capital Records. The songs on the album are followed : Side 1 - Magical Mystery Tour / The Fool On The Hill / Flying / Blue Jay Way / Your Mother Should Know / I Am The Walrus . Side 2 - Hello Goodbye / Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane / Baby You're A Rich Man / All You Need Is Love.
• Chloe from St. Louis, Mo why oh why must every single freaking song be about DRUGS with you people?! seriously! could it ever have crossed your MINDS that perhaps they were just incredibly brilliant songwriters? dont mistake depth for lsd! sure, they did do drugs, but come on, it was the 60s, thats a bit of a given. doesnt mean they wrote about it!
• Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, Ca love that beautifully haunting ending that sounds so magical - just Paul's voice, wind chimes? and his little one note piano picking riff...wonderful! ty Paul!
• Olivia from Chicago, Il even it is based on drugs i can honestly say with my entire anti-drug heart that i dont care. when it comes to the beatles i will always be able to forgive them
• Liuzhou from Liuzhou, China "The fat woman was Ringo's real-life auntie." No she wasn't. She was Jessie Robins, British character actress.
• Carmelo from Newtown, Pa Here's another hint for you all: Get your ear phones out: "Blue Jay Way" "we'll be over soon they said" (backround) "I love you" "now they've lost themselves instead" (background) "I need you" "Well it only goes to show" (backgound) "need plenty in this war" "and I told them where to go" (background} "plenty"
• Chance from Kansas City, Mo I agree Talitha....it gets very annoying that you illknowledged know-it-alls out their always assume that a song is about drugs when the song might have ONE line that may be a little sketchy...
• Talitha from Austin, Tx just becasue they were doing drugs DOES NOT mean that their songs are about drugs! seriously! just becasue you drink milk doesnt mean that you are going to write/sing a song about milk!!
• Ken from Louisville, Ky Both George and Ringo says their favorite part of the movie was the scene where John plays a waiter who shovels spaghetti on a fat woman's plate. The fat woman was Ringo's real-life auntie. John said the scene was based on a dream he had.
• Adam from Los Angeles, Ca Yeah Craig... Just another Pathetic song by this pop band... the revolutionized music... sold millions and made millions... changed culture... just another pop band....
• Peter Griffin from Quahog, Ri What the hell is that clinking noise that you can hear throughout the whole song? It sounds like a cowbell, but I'm not sure! Any thoughts?
• Andrew from London, England we loved this as children. We saw the TV film and thought it was strange but wonderful. I have never ever seen it since and only just discovered how awful others thought it... I recall Viv Stanshall was in it too.
• Bianca Sanchez from Alburquerque, Nm Craig, THIS IS A GOOD SONG!
• Bianca Sanchez from Alburquerque, Nm Thank you Ian for saying that, For some reason every one thinks Beatle Songs are about Drugs. Why? Cos they were useing drugs dosent mean they sung bout them. Gosh People
• Simon from Chattanooga , Tn this is a great song. i love "fool on the hill" and "hello goodbye" as well. the beatles are incredible.
• Pougff from Manchester, Ms I agree with you Ian from Lethbridge, Canada.
• Justin from Luray, Va I don't want to piss people off, but this song is about drugs. It's not overanalyzing the song. Two facts: the Beatles are the greatest band of all time and they did lots of drugs (not to mention they had lots of unprotected sex). Magical Mystery Tour the movie and album are about traveling around and doing drugs, specifically LSD in the same manner as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. You can perhaps argue that the song doesn't mean the acid trip itself, but the other interpretation would be an invitation to get onto a bus w/ them...and do lots drugs. Either way, it's about drugs. I don't endorse drug use and I believe that the Beatles would have been great without drugs, but this album's themes are heavily influenced by drugs. Can anyone offer a better interpretation?
• Jack from Mesa, Az I think it's brilliant how they slow down the chorus as the song progresses. And "roll up" has got to be about rolling a joint.
• Dan from Indianapolis, In I love this song! A great title track for a great album. The melody, the mood, the rhythms . . . there's an especially awesome moment at about 2:14-2:15 where Ringo does something really awesome with his drums, I don't know how to describe it, but it GETS me every time!
• Phil from Holland, Pa Magical Mystery Tour could be about two things. (1) The song may be about an acid trip. Since "the trip of a lifetime" is a line in the song, this seems likely. Also, the "magical mystery tour is dying to take you away" line could mean that you really want to take the drug and it seems like it wants to take you. (2) Everyone always says the songs are about drugs, but they were mostly just made up to be fun or because something in real life sparked an idea for a song. This could be what the song is about rather than a drug-related metaphor. You can interpret it any way. The song could be about a simple tour bus. You can decide!
• Lucy from Liverpool, China It's a drug album. This was during their "acid years" and it doesn't take much to tell which drugs dominated which albums.
• Bram from Zoetermeer, Netherlands oh and btw, not everyone that uses drugs can has got the ability of writing songs, so I think drugs is never an argument..
• Bram from Zoetermeer, Netherlands This good song comes from Paul's original idea but it was written together. Paul came along with the verses and John with the chorus.
• Zoloft from Milton, Wv In this song, the Beatles urge us to roll up a fat doobie and join them on a mystery trip. But this is no laid back, mellow trip. Musically, this one of the Beatles best rockers.
• Tyler from Petaluma, Ca MMT is a very under rated song. I love the trumpets in the background and the fast paced style. I remember as a little kid my dad would always play the LP and I would love this song, I would get bored by "Fool on the Hill" and forget the rest of the album, but I remember specifically I loved this song as a kid.
• Pascal from Dallas, Tx Maybe everyone is getting confused because the beatles wrotes these songs with metaphors that could be read alot of different ways and still be valid for a person listening to it. Imagine no lines. Imagine as John Said.. They wanted people to think.. Who cares what it was about.. Listen to it... Enjoy it... Think... Who cares who wrote it... if we Imagine.. as persay for lack of better terms,... We are all one human tribe? I dont really care ...Dont worry Be Happy.. LA LA LA Peace~~
• Ashley from Moncton, Canada I think it's now come to the point where excessively proclaiming that every song is about drugs has turned into excessively proclaiming that every song isn't about drugs. Either way I don't really care; I don't think this song is about drugs. Most Beatles songs, I'm guessing, are just made for the fun of it. They actually followed through with all their ideas, and stuff like this came out.
• Ian from Lethbridge, Canada This is NOT ABOUT DRUGS!!!!!
• Ian from Lethbridge, Canada Why is it that every single Beatles song seems to be about drugs?!?! People, there is such a thing as over-analyzing a song.
• Jt from Tullahoma, Tn This song isn't about drugs! It does contribute to the Paul is Dead rumors however. At 48 seconds into the song, you'll here a vehicle drive by before hearing brakes, and then a crash. Listen closely on the right speaker
• Steve from Midland, Mi Fred and Nick, I also agree!! Every song is not about drugs peope!!!!!!
• Chitra from Bangalore, India yeah this entire album seems to be very durggy...especially the song 'flying'..but i always thought 'lucy in the sky 'was a more blatant drug song...magical mystery tour hardly compares in that sense
• Ian from Charlottetown, Canada Roll up! Roll up!(interj) :(used as an invitation to people in the streets to come and see a show, circus or one's goods or articles that are being sold.)_Come in!,--- to see the lions.
• Ed from Sacramento/elk Grove, Ca Naw,,,,,, roll it up , roll it up was said as the bus moved to the countryside in the UK where there are my cows..
• Fred from New York, Ny I know exactly what you mean, Nick. The Beatles did NOT write EVERY song about drugs. Their music was influenced by drugs, but that's completely different.
• Robb from Hamburg, Ny Paul is someone who would take complete credit for Srgt. Pepper, but would say that he and Lennon collaborated on this including the movie because it was seen as mabey their first "flop". I personally love the album. It is so strange but in a good way
• Niki from Chicago, Il i think the movie is weird..but very funny
• Sean from Newmarket, Canada roll up happens to mean step right up or something to the same effect, so he's really just talking like a carny, no hidden meanings
• Nick from Solvang, Ca AHHH! Why does somebody have to say "It's about drugs" for every song!? It bugs me.
• Jay from New York, Ny Could "Roll up!" be a reference to the Magical Mystery Tour Bus? Why does everyone think that everything is about drugs? Sometimes a bus (even a psychadelic one) is just a bus.
• Ken from Louisville, Ky In England, the orginal songs from this movie were released as an "Extended Play" or "EP" single (having four songs instead of two), while in the U.S., the orginal songs were packaged with songs the Beatles released as singles but not on previous albums (such as "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Feilds Forever") and made into a LP. This was the last time Britsh and American Beatle records differed while the group was still together.
• Jordan from Ontario, Canada If there was ONLY one song the Beatles did about drugs, it is definitely this one. Fun to listen to, nevertheless.
• Scott Baldwin from Edmonton, Canada Im gonna get the album in a couple days and after that,I have all the albums!awesome...
• Scott Baldwin from Edmonton, Canada Yes,the buss goes to a light show in liver pool and they carry loads and crates of beer so they get pissed.("Pissed" in the english sense meaning drunk.)
• Martin from London, England Don't think of "Magical Mysery Tour" as a movie. Think of it as an extended video for 6 fab tracks. In that context, it's great. And it was the only place to see the Fabs doing "I Am The Walrus". So prolific were the group, work on this track (and therefore the whole MMT project) started just four days after they finished mixing the "Sgt. Pepper" album. You don't get that sort of output from today's prima donnas.
• Paulo from New York, Ny The album is great but the movie royally sucks.
• Stykman from Little River, Sc PAUL circa-1994: "'Magical Mystery Tour' was co-written by John and I, very much in our fairground period. One of our great inspirations was always the barker: 'Roll up! Roll up!' The promise of something-- the newspaper ad that says 'guaranteed not to crack,' the 'high class' butcher, 'satisfaction guaranteed' from Sgt. Pepper... You'll find that pervades alot of my songs. If you look at all the Lennon/McCartney things, it's a thing we do alot."
• Eric Sanders from Birmingham, Al "Roll up!, Roll up!" is a reference to marijuana use. The song is essentially "an invitation" to get high.

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Magical mystery tour.

Release date: 27 November 1967

"It was like we were in another phase of our career you know we'd done all the live stuff and that was marvellous, now we were into being more artists. We got more freedom to be artists." PAUL

"If you think it was good, keep it, if you don't, scrap it." JOHN

"You have success with something that might have seemed like a far out idea, people had said wow this is great and so when we'd come back again George would be really quite keen to try, what other ideas have you got?" GEORGE

"And now we are going to play a track from Magical Mystery Tour which is one of my favourite albums because it was so weird I Am The Walrus, one of my favourite tracks because I did it of course but also cos it's one of those that has enough little bitties going to keep you interested even a hundred years later." JOHN

"The Beatles songs had started to sound more individual from Revolver onwards or even before then." GEORGE MARTIN

The Beatles devised, wrote and directed a television film called Magical Mystery Tour which was broadcast on BBC Television at Christmas, 1967

Even before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, had hit the shops, the idea of the programme had been born and work had commenced on the title track.

It was decided that the soundtrack for the programme would be released on two seven inch discs which would be packaged with a booklet in a gatefold sleeve. The booklet contained stills from the show along with a comic strip telling the story. A lyric sheet was also stapled into the centrespread of the booklet. The EP was a runaway success and reached no. 2 in the UK singles chart, held off the top spot by their own single... "Hello, Goodbye".

In the US, the double-EP format was not considered viable so instead, Capitol Records created an album by placing the six songs from the EP on side one of an album and drawing side two from the titles that had appeared on singles in 1967. These titles were "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "All You Need Is Love" - their anthem that had been broadcast around the world via Satellite in June. "Baby, You're A Rich Man" and their current single, "Hello, Goodbye". The US release made # 1 in early January 1968 and stayed there for eight weeks. Its initial chart run lasted 59 weeks.

1967 had certainly been a year of great achievement but it was also tinged with sadness. Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager since 1961 passed away on 27th August, 1967 at the age of 32.

The US configuration for Magical Mystery Tour was later adopted by many other countries (including the UK in 1976). When the Beatles catalogue was first issued on Compact Disc in 1987, Magical Mystery Tour joined the core list of titles.

If they aren't already planning so, the Beatles should start planning their next full-length film immediately. After watching a rough cut of their 'Magical Mystery Tour', which BBC viewers can see on Boxing Day. I am convinced they are extremely capable of writing and directing a major movie for release on one of the major cinema circuits. The film sequences for the musical numbers are extremely clever. For 'Blue Jay Way' George is seen sitting cross-legged in a sweating mist which materialises into a variety of shapes and patterns. It's a pity that most TV viewers will be able to see it only in black and white. 'I Am The Walrus' has four of them togged up in animal costumes switching at times to them bobbing across the screen as egg-men. A special word of praise for Ringo, who more than the others comes over very, very funnily. But praise to all of them for making a most entertaining film. I only wish they would now put out a sequel made up from the parts they left on the cutting-room floor. NME July 20, 1967

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Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

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The Beatles, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ – Film Review

Going into the last quarter of 1967, the Beatles couldn’t get any bigger. Their masterwork, ‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ,’ pretty much changed the way pop music was made, sounded and consumed. They had transcended the rock ‘n’ roll ghetto, entering the final phase of a career that glided past pop music’s boundaries and into a wide-open realm of exploration and experimentation.

They were on top of the world, and nobody wanted, or could, tell them no. Which is how and why their third movie, ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ came to be over two weeks in September of 1967. Conceived as a daylong travelogue, in which the Fab Four accompany a busload of family and friends to the sea, the 53-minute film was a kaleidoscopic-colored, and mostly improvised, trip into the overeager egos of the Beatles.

Each member gets his spotlight: John Lennon romping on the hillside during a musical interlude featuring ‘I Am the Walrus’; Paul McCartney (the driving force behind the project) ruminating on ‘The Fool on the Hill; George Harrison tripping out to ‘Blue Jay Way’; and Ringo Starr bickering with his aunt (played by an actress) for the duration of the tour.

But most of the movie is filled out by that tedious bus ride. Just to show you how desperate the filmmakers were for material, somebody plays an accordion and everyone else sings along. There's also bizarre sketches featuring the quartet dressed as magicians and a dreamlike love-story vignette that doesn’t include any of the Beatles.

‘Magical Mystery Tour’ originally aired on British television on Dec. 26, 1967, and bombed, proving that the Beatles were fallible after all. It’s easy to see why: The movie is a mess – incoherent, unfunny and an example of ego and authority running rampant and unchecked. It only comes to life during the musical numbers, especially the great ‘I Am the Walrus’ sequence, a music video before there was such a thing.

The restored DVD and Blu-ray includes a stellar soundtrack remix, ensuring that the movie’s watchable moments sound terrific. Extras include interviews with McCartney, Starr and some of the cast and crew, as well as commentary by McCartney, who readily admits that ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ isn’t one of the Beatles’ best moments. We couldn’t agree more.

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Magical Mystery Tour

Released as a six-song double EP in the United Kingdom and an 11-song album in the US and elsewhere, Magical Mystery Tour was the soundtrack to the television film of the same name, which was first broadcast by the BBC on 26 December 1967 .

In the wake of the death of Brian Epstein on 27 August 1967 , The Beatles found themselves suddenly without direction. Whereas since 1962 they had been carefully guided by their manager, at the peak of their career they were unused to making their own business decisions or having absolute autonomy over their future.

On 1 September 1967 , five days after Epstein’s body was discovered in his London home, The Beatles met at Paul McCartney ’s house at 7 Cavendish Avenue in St John’s Wood, London. The previous day an announcement had been issued stating that the band would continue to be managed by NEMS Enterprises – now under the guidance of Epstein’s brother Clive – until further notice.

During the 1 September meeting The Beatles agreed to continue with Magical Mystery Tour , a project begun in April shortly after the completion of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . Crucially, this was a time when McCartney began steering many of the group’s decisions, encouraging them to continue during a period in which they might easily have collapsed amid a lack of direction.

I was still under a false impression. I still felt every now and then that Brian would come in and say, ‘It’s time to record,’ or, ‘Time to do this.’ And Paul started doing that: ‘Now we’re going to make a movie. Now we’re going to make a record.’ And he assumed that if he didn’t call us, nobody would ever make a record. Paul would say, well, now he felt like it – and suddenly I’d have to whip out twenty songs. He’d come in with about twenty good songs and say, ‘We’re recording.’ And I suddenly had to write a fucking stack of songs.

McCartney’s concept for Magical Mystery Tour was to produce a television special about a group of ordinary people taking a mystery trip on a coach. The film would take in various locations in England and France, and would be mostly improvised and take advantage of the encounters they had on the road.

Magical Mystery Tour was Paul’s idea. It was a good way to work. Paul had a great piece of paper – just a blank piece of white paper with a circle on it. The plan was: ‘We start here – and we’ve got to do something here…’ We filled it in as we went along. We rented a bus and off we went. There was some planning: John would always want a midget or two around, and we had to get an aircraft hangar to put the set in. We’d do the music, of course. They were the finest videos, and it was a lot of fun. To get the actors we looked through the actors’ directory, Spotlight: ‘Oh, we need someone like this, and someone like that.’ We needed a large lady to play my auntie. So we found a large lady.

Latest Comments

Absolutely underrated in so many ways.

Problem is… it’s not really an album. Just a collection of songs already recorded

But isn’t that what the definition of an album is? A collection of songs already recorded?

Kind of hard to make an album if none of the songs have been recorded already.

The idea is that if you for example compare it to Sgt. Peppers, there is no feeling of a “string” guiding you through the album. MMT seems very convoluted to me. Side 1 & 2 seem to me like they are from different albums and mindsets. In almost every album theres a definite feel of “This is their idea of music at this point”. This doesn’t happen for me in Magical Mystery Tour.

best beatle album a collection of hits Such a master piece, along with revolver, rubber soul, sgt pepper, and white album

and help. and a hard days night and well all beatle music.

The only Capitol release that improved upon a British release. (Or even equalled it, for that matter, since the UK “Pepper” was ever-so slightly better than the US version, which excluded the inner-groove gibberish and for-dogs-only tone.)

Yep, I agree that Capitol finally did the Beatles right by adding all those wonderful 1967 singles. For once they didn’t butcher the EP, (like all the previous LP’s) they just added to it. But I also really love the EP for what it is. Never saw it growing up in Canada until I finally got my own UK EP import.

How can you not love MMT? It gives me a warm, magical, mysterious feeling just thinking about it. The only downer is Blue Jay Way which is tough to get all the way through. They should have put “It’s All Too Much” on this instead of Yellow Submarine. Then it would be spotless!

Yellow Submarine isn’t on Magical Mystery Tour. Did you mean Blue Jay Way?

I think he means they shoud have put the song It’s All Too Much on the album MMT istead of the album Yellow Submarine.

I agree with you about MMT being a supreme beatles album , but i dont agree about blue jay way … when you consider how hari wrote it , he was took out to a friends house in (america i think) by whoever and the friend was not at home so george waited at the house entrance while (whoever) went to look for the friend or a phone …. it was getting towards dusk a little dark and george being on his own in the unfamiliar surroundings of a foreign country got a little scared and the lane/road was called Blue Jay Way and the song was born…. you might say written with the help of fear !!!

Blue Jay Way was not meant to be a Top 40 hit. It was first & foremost a vehicle to tell us the story of Paul’s death, and its video was likewise a vehicle to show you quick flashes of his corpse, his damaged face after the accident, and even his displaced jawbone flying around. These grisly images are presented against a busy background of people dancing & darting across the scene, so you must freeze frames to see them. But they are all there to tell the story as The Beatles intended.

Pure bullocks. George told the story many times as to what this song is about. You simply haven’t a clue I’m afraid.

Just another fool on the hill.

Is it the EP you’re referring to? Blue Jay Way although lengthy is a significant Harrison piece, instrumentation-wise, which I find quite soothing when listened to. You don’t have a complete MMT experience without this song.

Blue Jay Way may be the only song on all of The Beatles albums that I skip every single time.

I love all the Beatle albums, but between this one and Beatles for sale, they are my least favorite.I find it suprising that John Lennon said it was his favorite.I heard that in the Anthology DVD and I assumed it was from an interview at the time of MMT’s release but on here it says from a Rolling Stone 1974 interview.I am the Walrus is definetly one of Lennons best works, but the album as a whole just doesnt stand up there for me.It’s still a great record, just not one of their better ones in my opinion.

In the states, MMT was a Christmas release, 6 months after Sgt. P. It was seen as the next Beatles album, when in fact it was an extension of Sgt. P. That the White Album was in fact the next Beatles album has been lost on the American public’s consciousness.

One has to wonder what might have happened if they didn’t feel the need or succumb to the pressure to churn out album after album in the wake of Brian’s death. The massive White Album, then 5 months later convening for Get BAck/Let It Be… then Abbey Road right after. Bands today could never maintain the pace of recording/movies/business pressures as did the Beatles. Perhaps, if… they might have… oh well. There are a lot of “perhaps’ ” in the history of the Beatles.

Yeah, it’s UNCANNY (and terribly stupid on their part) that less than ONE MONTH AND A HALF after releasing the White Album, these crazy workaholics should convene again for the drudgery of more recording AND filming. Even without the alleged “tensions” attending the recording of The Beatles, any four human beings should have been exhausted after such strenuous work. Why not wait at least until spring/early summer to resume work, have a good rest of writing/rehearsing/recording (and putting up with each other!), and then “get back” with renewed energy? I’m sure The Beatles wouldn’t have split up if they had respected themselves a little bit more. They seemed to have gotten caught up into a masochistic groove: what sense does it make to play LIVE in the middle of the winter on a windswept rooftop in London!!!? That, despite all the odds, that performance should have been SO good is yet another proof of how great The Beatles were, but they simply seem to have stretched human nature too far…. What a waste!

The band had a very work a day attitude to what they did. Essentially they saw being recording artists the same way as being a Teacher,Nurse,Engineer, Postman or any other job. You went to work everyday and had some days off for weekends or holidays. Paul particularly had this attitude. Although their hours of work were unusual they were more like shift workers working a backshift.

It continued after they split up as well. After recording TWO Albums in 1969, they immediately dived into solo singles and albums.

Ringo releasing 2 albums in 1970, Paul 1 in 1970 and 2 in 1971, George a triple album in 1970, John releasing albums in 1970 and 1971.

The Beatles got it right. They split up while they were a YOUNG band & will always be remembered as such……Unlike the rolling stones.

It is very simple why they did so much work in November 1966 to August 1969 in the studio. They were not touring and could spend the time recording as much material as they could release.

I live in the US and close to 40 years ago read that the White Album was meant as a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper’s, with the stark cover and relative simplicity of the songs countering the extravagance and complexity of Pepper.

well, bear in mind that side 2 was mostly songs that had gotten lots of radio play during the year before, so even in the U.S. it was clear to me, as an 11 year old, that it included a lot of re-packaged material. Compared to my experience of the White Album which was like getting this amazing toy chest, every single song was unfamiliar, the whole thing had a vibe, and what a treat to discover them all from scratch. And there was an obvious difference between the fun but ultimately kind of commercial comic book in MMT and the much more interesting packaging of the White Album and Sgt Pepper. Kind of the same thing with Let It Be…when I got THAT for Christmas it was exciting to have a new bit of Beatles product and i gleaned pleasure from various tracks. But every single thing about it signaled that it wasn’t a major work in the canon. Starting with the banal packaging.

I concur wholeheartedly. The albums’ and singles’ releasing frequency was imo also a bad business decision altogether on part of the parts involved. It sort of unnecessarily saturated the Fab4 market, with the exception of the hardcore fans worldwide.

Not at all. Their creativity had multiplied and they wanted to keep the box open as they weren’t planning any tours; MMT was to be broadcast in MondoVison, exploring a new format it turned out to be more than an interlude, quite magically. Meanwhile the affiliated record companies had been releasing as much as possible already, clearly Apple was created to keep them letting it get so out of control, as well as an outlet for whatever the Beatles would fancy.

This album has its similarities to the white album not pepper think about it The Fool On The Hill and Mother Natures Son or Flying and Wild Honey Pie, Strawberry Fields Forever and Glass Onion, Baby Your A Rich Man and Happiness Is A Warm Gun!!

strawberry fields forever was originally wrote for pepper penny lane also but the big wigs moneymen who all but owned the Beatles were impatient pepper took so long to make that they demanded a release so EMI released SFF/PL so it does have similarities to pepper. the information can be found in the “complete abbey road recordings” which was put out by EMI/HAMLIN.

I saw ‘MMT’, the color version, in a small ‘art’ theatre in my city in early 1968…I was quite intrigued as it had a dreamlike and slightly ‘down’ air about it, quite different from ‘HDN’ & ‘Help’.

I can only imagine what the UK Boxing Day audience who saw the black & white version thought.

Very ‘surrealistic’ and way ahead of later MTV rubbish.

MMT was not distributed in North America until late 1968-early 1969 in small theatres with Eric Anderson doing a short concert as well as introducing the movie.

The MMT movie best moment is definettly Jonh serving sppaghetti to the big lady! That’s so genius!. I like the album very very much! Except for “Hello Goodbye”(I hate it, but fits the purposes of the movie/album I guess), all the songs are great and fit within The Beatles best work!

Outstanding album; really better than other higher-profile albums like SPLHCB.

This has to be said: MMT is NOT a Beatles album. It is an American COMPILATION of Beatles music. Nothing to do with them apart from that. Since its entry to the “official canon” the attitude seems to have grown that it should be considered as if one of the UK albums that they put so much thought and effort into. Comparing it to those albums is just wrong. I love the album. It is one the great COMPILATION albums – but to see how the group wanted the music on it presented at the time, look to the UK double-ep (which is a fantastic package) and the relevant singles. However much I love it as an album, one of my big disappointments is that it made the original CD reissue series in the ’80s. That gave the impression there were 13 albums instead of 12. What would Mark have done? I would have had “Past Masters” live up to its job description – to collect ALL recordings not featured on the 12 albums they recorded and released as they envisioned them. You could then have a “Past Masters” that made sense, instead of having a big 1967-shaped hole at its centre. And if anyone’s wondering, it would easily fit. “Past Masters” is about 94 minutes, MMT 36, giving a “Past Masters” that would be around 130 minutes. Volume/Disc 1: 1962-66, Volume/Disc 2: 1967-70 (think I’ve heard that split somewhere before). A later release of MMT could have been done later, as has happened with other Capitol albums. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t dislike the album or anything, I just dislike it’s elevated status alongside the 12 albums they did record. I dread the day when I come across a comment telling me that The Beatles never recorded a better album than “1”!

It’s a nice idea. However, having MMT incorporated into Past Masters may have meant we didn’t get the MMT artwork – the booklet is really worth having. Personally I’m glad they kept it as a standalone release, but it’s all personal preference. I do think there’s quite a big hole in PM because MMT hoovered up all the amazing 1967 singles.

True it’s technically not a Beatles album although I believe Parlophone did decide to start pressing copies of it in the U.K. at some point like it was a Beatles album. It’s a great companion album to Sgt. Pepper since those two albums basically give you 99% of their 67 output.

I totally agree, it was an EP and should have gone down in history as an EP. When they released the new 2014 mono LP set, they should included the EP and put the remaining singles Past Masters.

No I think they got it right releasing it as an album when it came time to standardise the albums throughout the world as there was packaging especially for it, and for once Capitol got it right in putting all the 1967 singles on the second side, It would have left Past/Mono Masters as lop sided from 1965 onwards with the 11 songs that are on the album.

However i do agree that they could release Magical Mystery Tour as a stand alone Double EP in both stereo and mono, and maybe release it as a twelve inch singles as well in stereo and mono. So you could have four options in which to buy it.

It’s an album. It exists today as an album because that’s what it is. So, in other words: The Beatles were wrong and Capitol was right. They knew it was an album, and it is!

Another detail to clarify who wore which animal suit…look for the wristwatch.

I got this album in June 1980. It is great that the songs on the British EP and the1967 singles and Bsides could be included on one album. It compliments Sgt Pepper in that regard. I Am The Walrus is one of my favorite songs of all time and a great example of John Lennons offbeat genius. And for that matter The Fool On The Hill is one of McCartneys finest. And then you have other masterpieces like All You Need Is Love, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever on side two. Thats not to forget Baby Youre A Rich Man.

Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane belong on Sgt Pepper, but as usual EMI couldn’t wait and needed a single before Pepper was finished. and the Beatles didn’t put their singles on albums to that point.The iconic album would have been truly awesome with.their best two songs of 1967

Agreed, what I have done is make my own albums, So Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane are on my version of Pepper, likewise I added Rain to Revolver and removed Yellow Submarine.

I’ve done the same. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine get spliced together as the great psychedelic afterbirth that follows Sergeant P. My version runs: Magical Mystery Tour, Baby You’re a Rich Man, Only a Northern Song, Hello Goodbye, All You Need Is Love, Flying, Your Mother Should Know, The Inner Light, Hey Bulldog, Blue Jay Way, All Together Now, I Am the Walrus, The Fool on the Hill and It’s All Too Much. I was inspired by the great article “Playing God” by Todd Burns and have similarly chopped and changed all the albums to include singles from each period. I’ve only just noticed that You Know My Name (LUTN) is missing. That might go last. I’m interested in hearing about other versions or improvements!

Havent seen the mmt movie, but excluding hello goodbye, & blue jay way its great back to back

I have the original 1967 MMT EMI in mint condition, can some one tell me the value of this record? Thanks!

Check around a little bit but I have seen a quote of up to $750 on moneymusic.com

If we allow that MMT is indeed a Beatles album, then it clearly is in their very top-most in the canon. It has at least 5 of what would be considered universally accepted of the top 25 Beatles songs of all time. SFF, AYNIL, IATW, PL, and FOTH

The first Beatle album I ever owned at the age of 13 and for that it will also have a nostalgic place in my heart.

It is fabulous. Just brilliant. Frankly, it should be seen for what it is, very serious music. Because “Strawberry Fields Forever” is so good, I really think that this is the best album of all, well, I suppose, along with “Sgt. Pepper”. “I Am the Walrus” and “Fool on the Hill’ are so good that I find myself playing this more than any other of their albums. Yes, I prefer the old vinyl one though I also have the CD and I believe the EP somewhere as well. If it is serious music you want, and not necessarily pop entertainment, then this one really stands out. Forget about the costumes, the movie, the inside information, and just focus on the 11 songs. I have no problem with any of the songs that people who have commented on dislike. It’s all great. The album version stated here to not be released was everywhere in the U. K., yes, everywhere as soon as 1968 and all through the 70’s. Import? That’s silly, since it’s their album. The cover maybe, perhaps, but certainly not the music. It’s a bit like saying an American printing of a Shakespeare play is American when the play isn’t. As for the reason I find this to be their best, well it certainly has nothing to do with the film. I’ve never seen it and that’s all right. It’s all about the brilliant music herein. Cheers!

Yeah but my question is, where are the costumes and masks today? Were they donated or does the current Beatle members have it?

A lot of you guys doesn’t have a clue about MMT. The US album was fully supported by The Beatles. Before 1967 they couldn’t do anything about Capitol’s releases, but by renewing their contract with EMI, one of their demands was that they could control releases overseas. If the Beatles had put their foot down before Capitol, the US album would not have happend. They did not.

The whole movie was a rent party. The bus, the sets, actors, costumes; all rented.Only the music was bought and paid for…by the fans. And we (Americans) didn’t even get to see the movie.

Nigel – the movie did play here in the states but probably in sporadic and random theaters. I saw it somewhere in Connecticut in the 70’s.

I was totally nuts about “I Am The Walrus” when it came out and it’s still a favorite. But beyond that I feel that the other songs from the movie (Side “A” of the US album) are collectively about the weakest material the Beatles ever put out. It feels to me as though they wanted to keep the innovation and magic of Sergeant Pepper going but were just trying too hard. Also I wonder if Brian Epstein’s death and resulting lack of “grown up” direction didn’t contribute to the muddle.

Instead of “Magical Mystery Tour” I refer to this album as “Whoa! Way Too Much Acid!”.

Did anyone know that in magical mystery tour Paul is wherein a flashers coat during the song fool on the hill and you can actually see for a fleeting moment his junk.

This was thought to be as one could not tell due to the quality of the VHS tapes .Now its on Blu ray and DVDone can tell that this information is wrong.

Really like the sound of this album. Sounds a bit like Pepper in style, without all the psychedelic organs that makes Pepper sound a bit dated. Only song I’m not a huge fan of is “Blue Jay Way” which to me, drones on a bit too long.

this, in my opinion, is the only US release that was better than the UK version! Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane and I am the Walrus all on the same album!

For most of us Americans under 60, this is an album. It starts with MMT and ends with All You Need is Love. I discovered this album as an 11 year old and didnt learn until my mid 20’s that I had the compiled American release. I decided to keep my original thoughts to it. Its the MMT album! They all evoke a 1967 feel to it; psychadelia (dark & positive), wit, nostalgia, & love. It feels like a concept album (all 11 songs). Lets not put this in the same category as the Hey Jude compilation Album that includes songs from years past. Whenever i have been asked if Pepper was the best Beatles album, i often jokingly respond that its not even the best album of ’67. I love MMT.

But the point i want to remind people of are the small magical pieces between songs. They are enjoyable little treats. You could make the point that this pattern continues on side 2 with the short snippets after Hello Goodbye & Strawberry Fields Forever. That is another reason why the two sides hold nicely together.

I’m in my 70s now and I guess that’s why it’s not an album to me, just mainly a collection of songs. The fact is that by the fall of 1967 we had heard the non-film songs lots on the radio and they were completely familiar when MMT was released. The film songs (except “I Am The Walrus”) did not seem in the same league musically with the singles and therefore the whole effort seemed like a weird mashing together of unrelated elements, very much the opposite of the Beatles’ normal way of doing things. Of course I bought the album though! But when I had first heard that the Beatles would follow up Sgt. Pepper with something called “Magical Mystery Tour,” just the name conjured images of an even deeper dive into psychedelia and therefore MMT was rather a flat disappointment in that regard.

The reason John said, “The Walrus was Paul” was not because Paul was in the Walrus costume. It was because he had a mo-ped accident and grew a moustache to hide the scar. The others said he looked like a walrus, but also grew moustaches in solidarity.

No one has mentioned that US Capitol, in making MMT a full album, copied UK Parlophone’s method for their earlier soundtrack LP’s, with all the movie songs on Side 1 and all the non-movie songs from the same time-frame on Side 2.

That is interesting, but seeing as side one was the same as the British release, this could be a coincidence? But there’s equal chance it was deliberate.

In my opinion, “Magical Mystery Tour” was The Beatles at the zenith of their psychedelic phase and some of the sessions happened to coincide with the Summer of Love. John and George went into their keyboardist mode during the sessions for MMT and both of them began to write keyboard-led songs during this period, so it clearly gave them a fantastic opportunity to develop their own keyboard techniques – George went into the organ and John clearly developed a fondness for pianos, mellotrons and organs – but neither fully abandoned playing their guitars altogether. Conversely, Paul’s bass never took a back seat to guitars or keyboards, since he was easily able to overdub it whenever he needed to or if he wished to rerecord them for the final mixes. Here’s a bit of trivia: in the video for “All You Need is Love”, the mystery drummer using brushes on Ringo’s hi-hats is Keith Moon. During the psychedelic period, John, Paul and George repainted their Gibson J-160E, Rickenbacker bass and Fender Stratocaster (nicknamed Rocky) respectively in psychedelic finish and Ringo used a red front head on the bass drum of his Ludwig drum kit. So yes, it is very interesting to know what instruments were used during these creative recording sessions.

What’s not to love about this LP. The only Capitol LP that outperforms the EP.

Great write up Joe. Always enjoy your site. Truly the best Beatles Forum out there!

That’s true for a number of reasons: a) Capitol compromised by merely expanding the EP into album format by including all six tracks from the EP on side one and filling out side 2 with their singles from 1967 (“Hello Goodbye”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Penny Lane”, “Baby You’re a Rich Man” and “All You Need is Love”) on side two, so this was clearly some compensation over the omission of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” from “Sgt. Pepper”. b) The album was a popular import into the UK and it eventually got a British release in 1976. c) It was the officially adopted CD version in 1987 and 2009 plus it got remastered for vinyl in 2012.

I have always considered the “Magical Mystery Tour” LP a special case and the exception to the rule among the pre-Sgt. Pepper Capitol releases that The Beatles clearly disliked.

Perhaps the running order for the album version of “Magical Mystery Tour” had some influence on Simon and Garfunkel finalizing the running order for their 1968 album “Bookends”, as side one on that album was a song cycle (not a concept album, per se) and side 2 had the duo’s 1966-1967 singles and songs written by Paul Simon for the film “The Graduate”, most notably “Mrs. Robinson”.

Hairsplitting aside as to it’s official album status -this is my favorite Beatles album. There’s at least 5 masterpieces on it. It has the band at their psychedelic peak . Blue Jay Way is the only weak track but that’s made up for by the increasing fondness I have for Baby You’re a Rich Man. 5/5

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