Chapter 8: Look Through Any Window (January - August 1968)

January 1968

The remainder of 1967 had been very quiet for the Beatles. After a small but significant university tour following the success of Merseyside, plus a performance with Pink Floyd before the album, the group was feeling burned out. By this time, there were plans for an animated movie based off the Beatles' classic "Yellow Submarine" from Abracadabra.

The Beatles, 1968.

Around this time, the Beatles were informed by Brian Epstein that they had two million pounds (roughly 34 million in today's money) that they had the choice of either investing in a business or would give up to the Inland Revenue since business taxes were lower than individual tax bills. Epstein was alarmed about the prospect and quickly held a meeting with his four clients and close friends. Details of the meeting are vague, but the long and short is that it was decided to put the two million pounds towards a new business founded by the Beatles.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "We're starting a brand new form of business. So, what is the first thing that a child is taught when he begins to grow up? A is for Apple." (to Derek Taylor, 1968)

GEORGE HARRISON: "Paul had a lot of ideas at the time; he felt Apple could go beyond the music and also focus on clothing and whatnot, but Brian refused. 'We can't afford any of that,' he said. For now, we sort of had to start small before going all out." (1998)[1]

Apple Corporation was going to be jointly managed by Brian Epstein and Derek Taylor, leaving the Beatles free to do recording.[2] They were still contracted to EMI's Parlophone and Capitol Records in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively, so any Beatles recordings released under Apple would be owned by EMI until January 1976.

The logo for Apple Records, represented by a Granny Smith; it has never been changed since its formation in 1968, excluding special occasions.

Throughout 1968, Apple was being prepared for the public, along with dealings to merge with NEMS Enterprises (North End Music Stores), Epstein's record company, and Northern Songs Ltd., run by Dick James, which had ownership over the Lennon/McCartney catalog; James chose to hold off until Apple was fully sorted out, but he signed an agreement to not sell to another company in the meantime.[3] Apple first opened office at 95 Wigmore Street in London on the fourth floor for a one-year lease. Soon they would transfer full time to 3 Savile Row in July.

As the month drew to a close, the Beatles were filmed for an on-screen appearance for the ending of Yellow Submarine at Twickenham Film Studios. This sequence reflected on their witticisms during the early press conferences, group interviews and fan club recordings. John Lennon would also get an interview appearance on The Kenny Everett Show for radio, and Ringo Starr would rehearse for an appearance on Cilla Black's Cilla on the BBC.

3-11 February 1968

John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney in the recording studio, 1968.

During these nine days, four new compositions were being recorded for a single release in March. They were Lennon's "Across the Universe" and "Hey Bulldog" (the latter of which was also being recorded with Yellow Submarine in mind), McCartney's "Lady Madonna", and Harrison's "The Inner Light". The Harrison song had been started the month previous and was completed during the sessions. It was initially considered for a B-side, but Lennon insisted that Harrison hold it back.

JOHN LENNON: "This is written art there, George. It's too good be relegated to a mere B-side. Why don't we save this for a later album?" (to George Harrison, 1968)

"Lady Madonna" was chosen to be the lead A-side for March, with "Across the Universe" as the B-side.[4]

13 February 1968
The weather in Blighty was horrible, to say the least. No one liked going outside during this time, and even if you were inside, you couldn't go a few hours without catching a runny nose. When the Beatles gathered together, it was George who suggested, whilst fiddling with his sitar, to head to India. John was in favor of the idea, especially as he and George were both into transcendental meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's meditation technique.

15 February - 12 April 1968

The Beatles with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, 1968.

John and George were the first Beatles to arrive at India, along with their respective wives Cynthia and Pattie, as well as the latter's sister Jenny Boyd. They were greeted by the band's long-time roadie Mal Evans upon arrival in Delhi. The next day, they were in Rishikesh to begin studying meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

JOHN LENNON: "George and I were feeling closer than we'd ever been during that time in India. I could sense that he was growing as a song writer if 'Inner Light' was anything to go by, but he'd needed an outlet for his ever-increasing output. The big obstacle was Paul." (1976)

A few days after John and George, Paul and Ringo had made their way to Rishikesh along with the former's fiance Jane Asher and the latter's life Maureen. It was barely a few hours after arriving at their hotel before Starr was taken to the hospital because of an allergic reaction to some of the Indian cuisine. Less than two weeks after the incident, the Starrs went back home again to England, with Ringo having consumed no more than Heinz baked beans and eggs. In addition, they hated being separated from their children, and Maureen was afraid of flies, which were difficult to avoid in Rishikesh.

But despite the absence of Ringo, his other bandmates were firing on all cylinders with their songwriting. Well, John and George were, at least.[5]

PAUL McCARTNEY: "John and George were running the show by this point. I wrote up what I could, but I was struggling with coming up with good material. It felt as if my brain had a blocked nose or whatever. In retrospect, India should've been detox for me." (1989)

JOHN LENNON: "Georgie was easily writing rings around Paul by then. No question about it." (1982)

GEORGE HARRISON: "To be fair to Paul, he did at least come up with some good ones like 'U.S.S.R.' and 'Blackbird'. I think he could've turned to me and John for ideas. We could've become Lennon/McCartney/Harrison as a result. If only Paul had known what I was capable of back then..." (1993)

George Harrison in Rishikesh, 1968.

Whilst the Beatles were in India, the "Lady Madonna" single was released with "Across the Universe" as its B-side; the former became their 20th number one single, and despite the latter's B-side status, it had become popular with fans and critics alike. Less than a fortnight after the single was released, Paul and Jane, along with long-time Beatles associate Neil Aspinall, had left Rishikesh and returned to England. Less than three weeks after Paul's departure, John and George left with their spouses as well, having become disillusioned with the Maharishi after an alleged sexual advance towards actress Mia Farrow, soon to be Frank Sinatra's ex-wife. It was that incident that inspired Lennon's "Sexy Sadie".

With all four Beatles back in England, it was time to get serious about their business.

May 11-14, 1968
If Apple Records was going to be a success, they were going to have to find some up and coming acts. Among the first were Fleetwood Mac, a London-based group founded by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. Fleetwood was Harrison's brother-in-law through Pattie's sister Jenny, and when Harrison asked him if he'd like to be part of a label founded by the Beatles, Mick was in favor of the idea, but he agreed not to sign the band onto another label in the meantime whilst Apple was being set up.[6]

In the Big Apple, Lennon and McCartney talked extensively about Apple.

On the last day, the 14th, they made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.[7]

24 May 1968
Following the press tour in New York, The Beatles went down to Harrison's place in Esher to record some demo tracks for the official follow-up to Merseyside. Almost thirty songs were recorded during these sessions, and there were a few holdovers from 1967 by McCartney and Harrison. Although a double album was considered, maybe a triple, Lennon suggested that they record a rock opera with some of the tracks, and anything leftover would be put out on a self-titled album.

RINGO STARR: "John had suggested that we do our own take on Alice in Wonderland, his favorite childhood book by Lewis Carroll. The lads had to rewrite a lot of their songs and even compose new ones to make this concept work." (2009)

It quickly became clear that the proposed Alice in Wonderland rock opera was going to be big. 24 songs were proposed for inclusion on the album, and the majority of them were based off the tracks either written in India or were recorded but not included on an album or a single. For example, "The Fool on the Hill" would become "The Frog of the House", a theme associated with a character in the novel. "The Inner Light" was transformed into "Paint the Roses Red", where the Queen of Hearts' card soldiers repaint some roses after they were painted white by mistake.[8]

June - July 1968

Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby, 1968. These three men would be one of the most successful supergroups of the 20th century after being signed up to Apple Records.

It was a very busy time for the Beatles, what with recording for two projects simultaneously as well as interviews concerning Apple and signing in new acts including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Jackie Lomax, Fleetwood Mac, Badfinger (previously the Iveys), Cream, and the newly formed supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, featuring David Crosby of the Byrds, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfrield, and Graham Nash of the Hollies. Lennon was initially dismissive of the supergroup, but Harrison had them signed up for Apple, and the rest would become history.[9]

STEPHEN STILLS: "We almost didn't make it onto Apple [Records]; something tells me that John [Lennon] wanted nothing to do with us, but Paul [McCartney] and George [Harrison] seemed to talk a bit of sense into him, and so we were signed up." (1977)

ERIC CLAPTON: "Polydor was initially going to pick us up when we did Wheels of Fire, but Apple snagged us at the last moment. Who knows what could've happened if we'd had stuck with Polydor?" (2001)

RINGO STARR: "The summer of '68 was big for us; we had founded the headquarters of Apple on Savile Row. George was off with Ravi Shankar filming Raga, and later producing for Jackie Lomax. Paul was flying all over and producing for Mary Hopkin. John was spending time with Yoko. But me? I was sort of at home with my family. *laughs*" (1983)

But one of the most significant moments was the premiere of the animated film Yellow Submarine on 17 July 1968. Although George and Ringo had turned up with their respective spouses, John was with Japanese-American multimedia artist Yoko Ono instead of Cynthia. Only Paul turned up alone for the premiere.

The poster for the Yellow Submarine film.

The movie was met with positive reviews from fans and critics alike, having been released in the middle of the psychedelic pop culture of the 1960s. Although reluctant at first following their disappointment with Help!, the Beatles ended up voicing their animated selves in the final film to fulfill their contract with United Artists.[10] Alongside the Beatles were the voices of Paul Angelis as the Chief Blue Meanie, Dick Emery as Max, Lord Mayor and Jeremy Hilary Boob, and Lance Percival as Old Fred.

Whilst the Beatles voiced their animated selves, their Pepperland selves were voiced by John Clive (John), Geoffrey Hughes (Paul), and Paul Angelis (George and Ringo).[11] Each Beatle debated that their respective voice actors got their voice wrong and the other three were accurate, but all of them admitted to liking the film, especially John, who had the chance to improvise a lot of his dialogue. For years to come, Ringo would be approached by children asking "Why did you push the button?", referring to when his character curiously presses the panic button, ejecting him from the submarine and into the Sea of Monsters.

August 2, 1968

The Beatles - Yellow Submarine

Released: August 2, 1968

Recorded: 26 May 1966 - 11 February 1968

Producer: George Martin

Track listing[12]

Side A: Film soundtrack

Yellow Submarine [Movie Remix]
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Hey Bulldog
All Together Now
It's All Too Much
All You Need is Love

Side B: 1967-1968 singles

I Am the Walrus
Hello, Goodbye
Baby You're a Rich Man
Lady Madonna
Across the Universe
Christmas Time is Here Again

As a release in conjunction with the film, the Yellow Submarine album was released in the United States with the second side consisting of the singles from late 1967 to early 1968, plus an edit of "Christmas Time is Here Again" from one of their fan club Christmas records.

It was originally released as a double extended play in the United Kingdom with the title track and "Sgt. Pepper's..." on side A, "All You Need is Love" on side B, "Hey Bulldog" and "All Together Now" on side C, and "It's All Too Much" on side D. When the Beatles' catalog was released on CD in 1987, the American album version became the official version. It was admittedly a little more hodge-podge compared to previous British releases, but it didn't stop it from reaching #1 in America when it first came out.[13]

26 July - 26 August 1968
Sadly, it wasn't all good news within the Beatles' inner circle; that May, John had left Cynthia for Yoko Ono, having met her at an exhibition in 1966. Paul had visited Cynthia and her son Julian following the breakup to provide comfort for the young Lennon. During the drive to their home in Kenwood, Paul composed "Hey Jude", which he then presented to his bandmates.

"I'll need to fix that line; 'the movement you need is on your shoulder'," Paul told John. "It's a stupid expression; it sounds like a parrot."

"You won't, you know," John insisted. "That's the best line in the song."

JOHN LENNON: "I always thought it was a song to me. On one level, Paul seemed to give his blessing to mine and Yoko's relationship, but on another, he must've been disappointed that he was being usurped as my creative partner and friend." (1980)

The "Hey Jude/Revolution" single cover, released August 26, 1968.

"Hey Jude" was recorded over a period of three days and was picked as the Beatles' first single under Apple Records. The seven minute pop epic, not unheard of by this point, was contrasted by its B-side "Revolution", Lennon's fast, loud statement against the Vietnam War. Despite Lennon insisting on "Revolution" being the A-side, "Hey Jude" was released as the lead single on the 26th, reaching #1 worldwide, excluding France (#2) and Italy (#4). At the time, it was the longest single to top the charts in England.

But it wasn't just "Hey Jude" that had come out; Mary Hopkin had come out with a rendition of the Russian romance song "Those Were the Days" and Jackie Lomax with the Harrison-penned "Sour Milk Sea" also featuring McCartney and Starr in the recording, plus Clapton. With "Hey Jude" and "Those Were the Days" reaching the top of the charts, as well as "Sour Milk Sea" becoming a Top 10 hit, Apple Records seemed to be off to a strong start.

Footnotes

1. In OTL, the Beatles had opened up Apple Boutique on December 7, 1967. It closed July 31 the following year. ITTL, the boutique was never founded due to butterflies.
2. Because Brian Epstein survives ITTL, the Beatles will not have to run into Allen Klein.
3. With Apple gaining control other Northern Songs, Lennon and McCartney get the full rights to their songs very early on, and they never merge with Sony Music Publishing.
4. "Across the Universe" is the version found on Past Masters, although the Let It Be... Naked version would work just as well.
5. In OTL, John was suffering from writer's block. ITTL, it's Paul who suffers whilst John and George assist on each others' songs.
6. Fleetwood Mac was a contender for Apple Records, but they were signed up to Warner Bros. Records through Reprise instead.
7. Joe Garagiola hosted The Tonight Show when John and Paul appeared, and the performance wasn't great, to say the least. With Carson hosting this time around, they have a lot more fun and feelings are more positive.
8. Rewriting and/or re-titling songs was not unheard of in Beatles mythology; "I Saw Her Standing There" was originally called "Seventeen", "I Want to Tell You" was "Laxton's Superb", "With a Little Help from My Friends" was "Badfinger Boogie", etc.
9. Crosby, Stills & Nash did audition for Apple, but they were rejected and instead signed onto Atlantic Records instead. In addition, Cream signed onto Polydor in 1968 for the United Kingdom, but they were still signed onto Atco in the United States.
10. The Beatles never voiced themselves in Yellow Submarine.
11. Peter Batten originally voiced George in the movie, but he was arrested during recording when it turned out he was a deserter of the British Army. His role was later finished up by Paul Angelis.
12. The "movie remix" of "Yellow Submarine" is taken from the "Real Love" CD single. "Sgt. Pepper" is from the 2017 remaster of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with the crowd noise at the start cut and the outro extended to include the "Billy Shears" intro from "With a Little Help from My Friends" which then fades out. "Christmas Time is Here Again" is sourced from the "Free as a Bird" CD single. All remaining tracks come from Yellow Submarine, Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters.
13. Something similar happened with Magical Mystery Tour in OTL.

Author's Comments

That came out a bit longer than I'd initially intended, but there you go. It's a pretty meaty chapter here, especially some of the behind the scenes stuff regarding Apple. In this universe, it's not the train wreck it was in our reality, but rather, the biggest and most successful independent company from England.

A lot was going on with the Beatles during this period, but I didn't want to include every detail as to what went on; just enough to give you all an idea. As the Fab Four's side of the story continues, I'll be putting a bit more emphasis on their albums with some side developments for Apple on the side. Things will turn out a lot differently than they did in OTL, believe me.