LIVERPOOL, England — It was 50 years ago, almost to the day, that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.
The band is long gone, but the music of The Beatles still reverberates — and nowhere more loudly than in Liverpool, where the 50th birthday of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is the spark for a citywide festival.
The album, released in the U.S. on June 2, 1967 — just after its British debut — was a psychedelic landmark whose influences ranged from rock to raga to English music hall. For many critics and fans, it’s the Fab Four’s finest achievement.
Half a century on, Liverpool has asked 13 artists to respond to the album’s 13 tracks, for a “Sgt. Pepper at 50 ” festival that runs through June 16. The artists come from Britain, the U.S., France, India and Australia, and their works range over theater, dance, public art, puppetry, film, fireworks and music.
The festival is endorsed by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who have both sent messages of support.
“Sgt. Pepper” was partly the product of The Beatles’ frustration with fame. Exhausted by touring, they played their last live concert in August 1966 and devoted their energies and creativity to the studio. Working with producer George Martin at London’s Abbey Road Studios, they made a multilayered, technologically innovative album that was never intended to be played live.
To say Liverpool is proud of The Beatles is an understatement. Today there are Magical Mystery bus tours, a Beatles museum and even a Beatles-themed hotel.