The iconic hand-painted bass drum was accompanied by a hand-written letter from Sir Peter Blake, signed, stating This is to confirm that ... I have examined the painted drumskin that appears on the L.P. record 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club' by The Beatles, and that is the same drumskin, and is the genuine, original one painted by Joe Ephgrave.

Lennon, McCartney, Starr and Evans shared three different pianos, with Martin on a harmonium, and all played an E-major chord simultaneously to end A Day in the Life. The chord was made to ring out for over forty seconds by increasing the recording sound level as the vibration faded out.

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason recalls taking a break from the recording of Piper At The Gates Of Dawn to watch the Beatles laying down "Lovely Rita". He would later admit, "They were God-like figures to us."

Julian Lennon is devoted to philanthropic endeavours, most notably the White Feather Foundation and the Whale Dreamers Organization, two organisations that promote the co-existence of all species and the health and well-being of the Earth.

Ringo Starr has been brought to tears by the memory of his final conversation with Harrison who, dying in a Swiss hospital bed, still managed a bleak joke. Starr had to leave because his daughter was undergoing emergency brain surgery in Los Angeles. "George said: 'Do you want me to come with you?' They were the last words I heard him say."

All tracks on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band were written by Lennon-McCartney, except "Within You Without You" by George Harrison. ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was from the White Album.)

Lennon's lyrics were inspired by contemporary newspaper articles, including a report on the death of Tara Browne, a young London socialite and heir to the Guinness fortune.

"Julia" was written for John's mother, Julia Lennon (1914-1958), who was killed by a car driven by a drunk off-duty police officer when John was 17 years old.

The Dirty Mac were a one-time English supergroup consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell that Lennon put together for the Rolling Stones' TV special titled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Recorded on 11 December 1968, this show marked the first time since the formation of the Beatles that Lennon, who was still in the group, had performed in public without them. He introduced the other members of the Dirty Mac by their proper names but introduced himself as "Winston Leg-Thigh".

"Michelle" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1967 and has since become one of the best known and often recorded of all Beatles songs.