Plans for "Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming"

This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time since I started work on Strawberry Peppers in 2018, long before this blog came to fruition. All eighty chapters covering events from 1966 to 1985, with a bit of 1965 to set the stage (an average of four chapters per year), were intended to serve as a first draft for the story. I chose 1985 as the cut off point because as the story progressed, I knew I was going to have a hard time writing out what would happen next after Live Aid, with the Clash's This is The Clash being the sole exception. It was better for the first draft to burn out than to fade away.

So, with all that being said, had I personally done a good job on the first draft? Well, in some areas, yes, but in others, I feel like I could've done them better justice. Here are five artists, in no particular order, that I feel like are going to need some reworking when I start work on what will become The Second Coming. Alongside that, I'll also be listing bands under a sixth category and determine whether or not they'll play a role in The Second Coming. Each of them will take up about a paragraph, but for now, the big ones.

The Beatles

As evidenced by the title, the Beatles are the main focus of this alternate history. My inspiration behind the idea of John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr forming a new band separate from Paul McCartney came from an October 2013 article by Paste magazine telling a five part story as to what might have happened had the Beatles continued without Paul. An interesting idea in theory, although that article's hypothetical scenario did have some plot holes: For example, did Paul ever record "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" as a response to Bloody Sunday, or what about "Live and Let Die" for the film of the same name? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

For the early stages of the first draft, I had the Beatles do things that didn't really add much to the overall narrative. Among them being the Alice in Wonderland album and film; that could've easily been cut and the Beatles would've been more likely to record an album that didn't focus on a concept or story. Not to mention that for the Ladders, at least the earlier albums, would John have agreed to including "My Sweet Lord" on their debut album? George agreeing to "God"? And on the same album, no less? In real life, both tired of the band concept in the 1970s while Paul was unable to move on from that, hence he formed Wings (more on that later). On top of that, the Beatles reunited in 1980, which very much rendered the Ladders/Dark Horses/Paul McCartney & Smile storyline somewhat pointless. It would've made better sense if A) the Beatles remained together in the 70s, or B) the Beatles remained broken up for the 80s onward.

The solution? Choice A. But in order to get to that, I'll have to have the Beatles go through some changes before 1970 in order for them to stay together for at least five more years. In retrospect, I feel like my four-part mini series "An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers" is a more definitive take on how I would've handled the Beatles' story. Have them include all original material on Please Please Me and give George Harrison is due earlier on. So that will be the basis for the Beatles' story in Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming. Some ideas from the first draft will be carried over into TSC like John Lennon ending up with Madeline Kahn instead of Yoko Ono, albeit in a different manner.

Queen/Smile

Part of the reason behind the original version of Strawberry Peppers was a question I doubt anyone else has tried to answer - "what if Paul McCartney formed a band with Brian May and Roger Taylor?" That was where I came up with the track listing for A Night at the Rock Show, combining Paul's material from Venus and Mars (plus "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" sung by Denny Laine) with Brian and Roger's vocal spots from A Night at the Opera. I do have a soft spot for that playlist, and I still have it saved on my hard drive.

However, as fun an idea as it was, it didn't really make much sense from a historical standpoint; Tim Staffell quit Smile in 1970 to join Humpy Bong, and then he later became a part of Jonathan Kelly's Outside before moving onto Morgan, led by Morgan Fisher of Love Affair (later Mott the Hoople), neither group of which were mentioned once in the first draft. To be fair, neither band made it very big, and they disbanded just as quickly as they had formed. And of course, Tim would go on to make models for Thomas the Tank Engine. Even in a world where Smile signed onto Apple Records in the late 1960s, I doubt Tim would've stayed on for very long.

So, what I'm thinking of doing instead is making Freddie a part of Smile from the get go per OTL, but with Tim Staffell still as their bassist, perhaps being convinced to stay on for at least the first album, released in 1972 under Apple. After that, John Deacon comes aboard as their bassist and the band is renamed Queen. It's a pretty similar situation to Badfinger starting out as the Iveys when they joined Apple Records.

The Beach Boys

I'm just going to say this outright - killing off Brian Wilson during the production of Smile was the biggest mistake I made for the first draft. It seemed like an interesting idea at the time when planning out the story, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he contributed more to music than Mike Love ever did, and by killing off Brian, that just leaves major butterflies; too many to list, in fact. That's a whole other can of worms altogether.

So, that's why for The Second Coming, the Beach Boys do end up completing Smile with Brian still living, and the band lasts until 1973 with Holland, the group splitting up due to creative differences, and they end up maintaining a good track record instead of becoming shells of themselves until 2012's That's Why God Made the Radio. As for what I'll do with the post-1973 material, I'm not sure at the moment, but it'll be interesting to have albums by Brian, Dennis and Carl under the Wilson Brothers. I'd also like to keep one other brother alive so that Brian's not the sole survivor.

The Rolling Stones

I don't know why, but I found the idea of David Bowie joining the Rolling Stones instead of Mick Taylor in 1969 to be a fascinating one. The problem? I gave David too many vocal spots on their albums and didn't leave much room for Mick and Keith, both in terms of songwriting and vocal spots. I'll have to revise their 1969-1976 discography so that David has around two or three tracks per album (sometimes four, depending upon what's available), and that he also has the chance to have a concurrent solo career like leaving Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane as solo albums. As for 1976 and beyond... well, spoilers.

It'd also be interesting to tackle their pre-Could You Walk on the Water? material to see how the albums would be different. It all depends on what's available and whether or not I can make alternate albums for 1964 and 1965.

Genesis

Genesis were pretty much a last-minute inclusion for the first draft, as was the idea of Kim Beacon of String Driven Thing taking over on lead vocals for Peter Gabriel. However, as it turned out, while he was a talented musician in OTL, Kim was not the most disciplined, and it was likely because of excess drinking and drugs, pretty much any musician's bane, which could've been what led to his early death in 2001. Another idea was to bring forth John Wetton of King Crimson, which would've butterflied away the band U.K., but that also had problems; Phil Collins received criticism for causing Genesis to go pop, and Wetton would've likely been hit with the same criticism.

Then there was the possibility of having Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford all staying together up to at least the early 2000s, but that too has problems since their respective solo careers in OTL gave them more room to experiment and expand upon their horizons. There's a Reddit post suggesting what their discography may have been like had Peter and Steve (as well as Phil, come 1996) had stayed on. It's a nice idea, but a bit messy for my tastes, not to mention pretty restrictive.

So, what could I do for Genesis in The Second Coming? Something that I'm considering, besides having them signed onto Apple outright, is to have Peter Gabriel stay on and Phil Collins leave after recording A Trick of the Tail (with "Here Comes the Flood", started in 1975, as the closing track instead of "Los Endos"). Steve Hackett still leaves following Wind & Wuthering, leaving Genesis with just three of its core founding members. Genesis and solo Peter Gabriel seem to have parallels between them, although it's probably coincidental, but they could've been more or less alert and aware of each others' activities throughout 1976-1992. It's too good of an idea to resist, but we'll see where it goes.

Other Artists

In general - With some exceptions, I don't see too many of these artists having a huge focus for The Second Coming. At most, they'd probably each have a vignette dedicated to their discography from a certain timeframe or their entire discography, depending on how long they lasted.

Badfinger - The most that I've done with them is fix up Magic Christian Music to avoid double-dipping, improve upon their 1972 album, and have Head First released earlier. I still love the idea of having Pete Ham and Tom Evans survive, though I doubt we'll see a Badfinger reunion album post-1975. This one's a maybe, leaning towards being a keeper. We'll see.

The Bee Gees - I do like the idea of Andy Gibb joining his big brothers in the late 1977s, so perhaps that could stay on. I might do more with the Bee Gees in their pre-disco days, but hopefully not in a way that's directly copying Mass' A Crazy Gift of a Time. Oh yes, and their Odessa film for 1978? That'll be a keeper too.

Bob Dylan - Not too sure about Bob here; there's a lot - and I do mean a lot - written about paths he might have taken in the 1960s, I don't even know where to begin. Either I do something with him or I leave his path mostly unchanged, except maybe by releasing The Basement Tapes in 1967.

The Clash - The Reconstructor recently posted about condensing Sandinista! into a double album instead of a triple album, and I do like the idea there, although having three double albums back to back within a three year period is a bit overkill. I could change up the track listings for Something About England and my own take on Sandinista!, but other than that, I don't see the Clash's story changing up that much.

Cream/Eric Clapton - I might polish up the 1969-1971 Cream albums a bit, but otherwise, not much would change. Eric Clapton would maintain a solo career from 1974 onward, and he doesn't become part of a second supergroup in the 1970s. I've considered having him killed off in the early 1990s as I don't feel like he contributed much to music after 1992's "Tears in Heaven".

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - The Reconstructor is currently undergoing a project where Neil Young's albums from the 1970s make actual chronological sense and he doesn't shelve projects like a madman. I've even done a chart in Excel to keep track of what was recorded back then and when they were initially released. I'm hoping Archives Vol. 3 comes out in 2022 like Neil says, so we can have a more complete picture of him in the 70s. But where does that leave, Crosby, Stills & Nash? The idea of Neil never joining the trio is an interesting prospect, so I've decided to see if I could expand upon the other side of the coin, showing how the trio thrives without Neil.

The Electric Light Orchestra - Looking back at the Move's Looking On and Message from the Country, they feel more like ELO albums pre-No Answer (a.k.a. ELO's eponymous debut), so I feel like making them part of the ELO canon. Aside from that, not much would change for them in The Second Coming. Still unsure about 1986 onward though...

Fleetwood Mac - I like the idea of Fleetwood Mac doing solo projects in 1979 instead of Tusk, originally inspired by this post by Uncle Dan, who's also done something similar with Lindsey Buckingham. For The Second Coming, I might do a similar scenario; in addition, Mirage remains intact, but the band still does an album for 1985 alongside solo projects. I'm also thinking of having Lindsey and Stevie stay with the band into the 1990s, and perhaps they bring in Neil Finn later on to bring in some fresh blood for the band.

Jimi Hendrix - I featured him once in Phase One and briefly went over what he did next, but in hindsight, I probably should've cut Jimi's story altogether as it added nothing in the long run.

Kiss - Similar story, different artist. Again, I had them put out a double album with each member having a side to themselves and re-arranged Music from "The Elder" based upon an alternate track listing. The storyline went nowhere and could easily have been cut out.

Led Zeppelin/The Yardbirds - One thing I could've changed up in retrospect is having the band rename themselves Led Zeppelin per OTL, as I doubt Chris Dreja would've agreed to let Jimmy Page and co. use the Yardbirds' name when none of the original members were left. Something else that I'm thinking of changing, however, is having Robert Plant killed in a car crash in 1975 and the band breaks up because of it. Similarly, I'd thought of having Keith Richards die in his 1976 car crash, and then Jimmy Page takes over on guitar for the Rolling Stones, while John Bonham eventually takes over as drummer for The Who (more on that in a bit). Not too sure about John Paul Jones post-1975, though. And speaking of car accidents, considering what also almost happened with Phil Spector in 1974 and Peter Frampton in 1978, what is it with rock musicians and car crashes in the 70s? And before the age of 35 too?

The Monkees - They more or less fell off the radar after Phase One, save for Peter Tork working under Highway 61 Records. I did see The Reconstructor make a post as to what the Monkees' next album would've been like had Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart not been shoved to the side regarding the band's output, and how that would've affected their next few years as a group. That would make for an interesting twist, I reckon! But first, I'll need to arrange their songs as to when they were initially started on and when they were first released, and then work from there.

Ozzy Obsourne/Black Sabbath - This one's a bit tempting to keep on; Ozzy Osbourne dying in 1982 and Black Sabbath continuing with Ronnie James Dio does have a lot of storytelling potential behind it. I did introduce this fairly late into Phase Three, but we'll see if more can be done with it for The Second Coming.

Pink Floyd/Roger Waters - Roger Waters quitting Pink Floyd in 1977 is certainly a plausible point of divergence for sure, especially seeing how the band continues on without him. Something I could change up, however, is having Syd Barrett leave in the late 1960s while the Floyd carries on without him. I'd also probably cut out the Hunky Dory subplot as it'd create headaches if I kept it. I could still probably do something with Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground though...

Sex Pistols - I could still have them do a second album, but a third and beyond, I'm not so sure about. It all depends on what material by the band members post-Pistols was available back then during a specific time frame. I would probably have to remove the "Sid and Nancy kill Diana Ross" storyline as it was something else that I feel like I included just for shock value. Not to mention that Diana did some good music in the 1980s that, like Brian Wilson post-1973, I completely took no account for at all.

Tom Petty & Mudcrutch - For them, I added cut tracks to the 1976-1985 albums and created a "prequel" album for 1975. I probably won't change up what I wrote for them.

The Who - Might add in stuff about their 1964-1966 output, based upon what Albums That Never Were did, in creating Introducing The Who and Jigsaw Puzzle. Of course, like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Monkees, I'll have to arrange songs based upon when they were first written and recorded to make them sound authentic, so don't be surprised if I decide to change up a few track listings here and there. In addition, I thought of having the band kick Keith Moon out when his antics become too much for them to handle (not sure if he still dies in September 1978 or earlier; I think he was destined to die young) and they bring in a newly-sober John Bonham.

Yes - I'm going to have to cut their storyline altogether as I didn't really develop it all that well and like Kiss, it was just an excuse to put a lot of their solo material under the same banner.

The Zombies - Much like a fair number of bands that started in the 60s, I'll have to do more research on them as to when their songs were recorded and make new albums based upon notes. Hopefully I'll be able to do them better justice for The Second Coming.

TL;DR

As you can tell by a lot of the above, I've decided to change up a lot of storylines and drop some altogether in order to ensure that there is a coherent flow for The Second Coming. To quote Michael Ian Black, "your harshest critic is always going to be yourself." Looking back, I made a lot of mistakes and feel like if I was writing it right now, I'd have done things a hundred times better than I did. Now that I've finished up all eighty chapters of the first draft and given myself a self-analysis over what I could've done differently, I hope to start work on the first few chapters for The Second Coming during next year.

Of course, I do believe that you, the readers, deserve to provide some input as well regarding what I've got in mind for each the storylines. I'm working on a draft timeline that will serve as the bible for The Second Coming, as well as several documents and sheets of supplementary material that further flesh out band and label discographies. No matter what you say, I'm appreciative of any and all comments I receive from you, and I'm quite proud of the work I've done thus far on Strawberry Peppers. I hope to see you all soon for The Second Coming!

Intermission: Somebody to Love

13 July 1985 - Wembley Stadium, London

"It's 12 noon in London, 7 AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid," announced Richard Skinner. "Wembley welcomes their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales."

The Beatles and their families had finally arrived at Wembley Stadium in London; they were now watching Prince Charles and and his wife Diana on the television screen as the former greeted the crowd with a wave. Bob Geldof was to the Prince's left (right in viewer's perspective).

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Salute!"

No sooner had Tommy Vance made this announcement, the Coldstream Guards kicked off the Wembley show with the first six bars to "God Save the Queen". They'd been performing for the British Army for two hundred years, and it seemed fitting that they be the ones to kick off the show.

"And now, to start off sixteen hours of Live Aid," Vance announced again, "would you welcome, Status Quo!"

"Let's leave the telly on," John Lennon told his bandmates. "This concert's a big deal."

"This'll be even bigger than when we did the one for Bangladesh," remarked George Harrison. "Well, back when we weren't on the best of terms with Paul," he added, acknowledging his south-pawed friend.

"Yeah, but y'know, it's all in the past," Paul McCartney assured, slightly smiling, "and we're all good friends again. We have to stick together, y'know, no matter what life throws our way."

John and George, as well as Ringo Starr, could not have agreed more; they had reunited at the start of the 1980s, which became a huge deal in the music world, but lately? They were being viewed by some critics, especially in the United States, as relics of the 1960s having gone way beyond their prime despite not playing together that much in the previous decade. In the United Kingdom, however, they had managed to salvage things by starring in a successful children's television program based upon a series of books by a clergyman, and even had a number one single the previous year.

The Beatles performing at Live Aid was a huge deal for John, Paul, George and Ringo. Either they'd pull off a hugely successful performance and maybe record a new album with renewed optimism, or it would all come crashing down on them and they'd break up once more, this time for good. If there was something between the two extremes... well, who knew? Nobody could predict what would happen.

They spent the next several hours going over their planned setlist and making sure everything was tuned just right; they planned on kicking off with a few rockers, then an acoustic medley, and then a piano-based closer. John would then come back on stage towards the end of the concert, about 22:45-ish (5:45 PM in Philadelphia), and everyone within their party knew what song he would be performing at that time, along with a little surprise before the Band Aid group performance at the very end.

At long last, the Beatles were told by a stagehand that it was almost time for them to appear on the stage.

"Well, this is it, lads," John said to the others. "An event that's been nearly thirty years in the making." Had anyone told him, back in the 1950s, that he'd be playing for a charity concert on this exact date, he would've laughed and dismissed it with a rude, possibly even vulgar, remark. But now, this was happening, and there was no backing down now.

Ringo could see Phil Collins leaving the stage with the three surviving members of the Who; Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle. Several years ago, Phil has been a part of the progressive rock group Genesis, but he left the group to pursue a gig with the Who, succeeding Keith Moon, who had died seven years ago. Alongside his work with the Who, Phil had also pursued a solo career, having so far put out three albums.

Neither the Who nor the Beatles said anything to one another as the former left the stage to make way for the latter, but their facial expressions and the odd hand gesture were enough of a sign to show that the Who had done very well out there, and in return, they were telling the Beatles to break a leg. (Ironically, it is a theatrical superstition that it's actually bad luck to say "good luck" to someone when they're about to perform on stage.)

Not too far away from the Beatles, Julian Lennon could see his younger half-brother Freddie playing with James and Dhani, the respective sons of Paul and Linda, and George and Olivia. Although the three boys were still quite young, many had somewhat expected that one day, they'd form a band of their own like their dads before them, but of course, they were also free to pursue solo careers.

Zak Starkey looked over at his new wife, Sarah Menikides, who was having a bit of a "girls' hangout" with James' older sisters, Heather, Mary and Stella, Zak's younger sister Lee and Julian and Freddie's little sister Alice (Jason was helping to look after the smaller kids). Zak kissed Sarah, who then placed his hand onto her stomach; seven months pregnant. Expecting in September, they would be bringing in the first ever Beatle grandchild into the world.

But what about Maddy, Linda, Livvy and Babs? Much like their respective husbands, they were in their own group, sitting on chairs, gossiping about anything. They were also joined by Cynthia, Pattie and Maureen, the respective ex-wives of John, George and Ringo.

Out of the first Beatle wives, Linda was the only one who stayed married to Paul, a marriage of sixteen years and counting. In 1969, John was married to Yoko Ono, and while she and Linda never really hated each other - unlike their husbands at the time - the latter did sometimes feel intimidated by the former. But now, Madeline Kahn had taken Yoko's place as John's wife, and so far his most successful marriage. She was warm, kind-hearted and funny, and it always brought a sense of delight whenever she, Linda, Olivia and Barbara were in the same room.

Yes, since the beginning of the 1980s, the Beatles had become more than just a musical affair. They were a family. And no one wanted to trade that for anything in the world.

John, Paul, George and Ringo were now close to the stage entrance, holding onto their guitars and (in Ringo's case) drumsticks, feeling excited but a little anxious about what was going to happen. Bob Geldof, one of the people responsible for organizing this event, was giving his introduction.

"This could be the most important performance of the entire concert," he was saying, "let alone the entirety of rock music history. So, please let me introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years..." He paused for dramatic effect; there was some scattered chuckling at the reference Geldof had just made, but they were drowned out by unstoppable clapping and screaming the moment he said their name...

"THE BEATLES!"

Intermission: Love the One You're With

13 July 1985 - On the Road to London

The drive that would take the Beatles and their respective families from Liverpool to London was going to be a very long one; no more than five hours, at best. They were on their way to Wembley Stadium, where they would be one of many performers representing the United Kingdom for a dual-venue benefit concert called Live Aid. (Another venue was at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia in the United States.)

Live Aid had been organized by Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof and ex-Visage guitarist Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the Ehtopian famine in eastern Africa. The famine had taken place over a period of two years and the death toll was debated; some say it was as few as 400 thousand, others say it was up to 1.2 million or somewhere between the two numbers. As a response, Geldof and Ure had composed a charity single, "Do They Know It's Christmas", under the brand name Band Aid, which featured many of the current biggest British and Irish musical acts such as George Michael and Bono. The Beatles were asked to partake in the recording, but they had declined due to scheduling conflicts, although Paul McCartney did record a message on the B-side.

To make up for their absence on "Do They Know It's Christmas", the Beatles had agreed to partake in the Live Aid concert, and they would be performing early on in the evening, but rather late into the concert itself. Each act had generally been given up to 20 minutes for their own respective sets, and the Beatles would be performing six songs in their own set. The band was well-rehearsed for later in the evening and had decided that the majority of their songs would be post-Abracadabra.

"It's hard to imagine, isn't it?" said John to Paul as the drive went on the M6 motorway. "This is nearly thirty years in the making."

"Ever since we first met after your Quarrymen show back in '57," agreed Paul. "Time goes by so quickly these days. It almost feels like yesterday when our first single got released."

"But now both of us have married and we got kids of our own," added John. "God, it makes you feel mortal."

"Yeah," sighed Paul. There was silence before either man spoke up again.

"Still," Paul continued, "I almost wonder to myself what things might've been like had you, George and Ringo not ditched me like that..."

"Well, in our defense, Paul," said John, "you were kind of being an overbearing prima donna prick by the end of the 60s."

"That's a rather blunt way of putting it," replied Paul. "You weren't exactly perfect back then either, y'know, especially when you slagged me off in the press like all I wrote was nothing but sappy ballads. I could still rock hard even then like we did with 'Helter Skelter'. And it's not like you haven't written ballads either."

John tried to come up with a retort, but nothing came to him. Instead, he just simply replied, "Touche, Macca. Touche."

Linda and Maddy observed their respective husbands in silence; they were used to hearing banter like that, but they never escalated into giant arguments. The children were talking amongst themselves, not taking much notice of the middle-aged couples in the limousine. (George, Ringo and their respective families were in the other limousine whilst a van behind both of them carried all the musical equipment.)

"All that being said," said Paul, "if it hadn't been for you three ditching me, I'm not sure you and Madeline would've ever met."

"Maybe we might've," said John. "Just... under different circumstances, I believe; whatever they could be. Right, Maddy?"

"Who knows?" chuckled Maddy. "However different things may have been in the 70s, I'd have never gotten close to Linda, Livvy and Babs, or any combination of the three. They're the best sister figures an actress like myself could've ever asked for."

"I feel the same about you and others," smiled Linda. "Only in my case, I'm just a mere photographer."

"You're not just a mere photographer," John snorted. "You're practically the mother figure in our inner circle."

"John's right, y'know," said Paul, putting an arm around his wife. "Ever since the Beatles got back together, you've pretty much helped to keep conflict at a minimum, and even helped to provide us moral support when we needed it the most. Especially in recent times when we were at an artistic low."

Linda smiled again and rested her head against Paul's shoulder, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'll say this though," said John. "Even when I didn't think highly of you in the early 70s, Paul, you could still make some damn fine music. I still especially love 'Let Me Roll It' even now."

"And I've a particular fondness for 'Crippled Inside' myself," said Paul. "I get a kick out of it even now."

"D'ya think they could've been Beatles songs had we, as our song goes, worked it out back then?" asked John.

"Probably," Paul shrugged. "I mean, we wrote up quite a lot of material in India that we didn't put out on an album until years later."

"Who knows what we could've produced?" agreed John. "We could've gone down a similar route to ELO or maybe Pink Floyd."

"Or our friends from Smile," suggested Paul.

"Yeah," said John. "The 70s could've been way different..."

Prologue: In My Life

13 July 1985 - Liverpool, England

I groaned inwardly as that bloody alarm clock set off. I swear, if I had me way, they wouldn't exist. Reluctantly, I stretched out one of my arms to stop that damned clock and let gravity bring my arm down, almost touching the floor. I was tempted to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. Wembley was four hours away, and we could not afford to dillydally. Even though we were going to be playing in the evening.

So. I pulled the covers off of me, making sure that my wife didn't wake up and went off to the bathroom to get cleaned and dressed.

I looked up at myself in the mirror. I had to shave, so that was the first thing I did. As you get older, more facial hair comes up through the skin, making your face go long. And then something about eggs and walruses - you already know the lyrics to that, I'm sure.

I still find it hard to imagine how much things have changed in the last three decades. On the railways, trains were pulled by engines powered by steam, and now they were run by diesel or electric. Vinyl records were now starting to go out of fashion in favor of compact discs. Automobiles have become faster and more fuel efficient. Movies now have more advanced special effects, and they're in colour all the time. Same thing for television, in fact. Some places remained where they were; others had been demolished to make way for the new. Some friends that I knew had passed on, but others are still living, and I still love them all.

But the biggest change of them all has been the music.

Back in the 1950s, a time when we had Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, you name it, the music was far simpler. Even with brass instruments. It was all about the guitars and the voice. Music had changed a lot since; more use with synthesizers, more studio experiments, bigger stage productions - it's music, for crying out loud, not Broadway!

And yet, I feel like we hadn't changed a lot from what we were twenty years previous. Alright, that may not be completely true - we've all married, raised families, but still love one another regardless - but what's never changed, even when we were apart for nearly a decade, is that we were still part of the biggest band from the 60s.

I'd soon gotten myself showered and had some brekkie with Maddy, and by 8:00, we were walking outside our hotel to where the others and their respective families were waiting. Ringo was with his ex-wife Maureen, their three kids Zak, Jason and Lee, plus Zak's wife and daughter. In the Ringed One's arm was his new wife Babs. Sadly, her kids Francesca and Gianni couldn't be there.

George and his wife Livvy had their little boy Dhani in between them. Pattie wasn't there either, as she was already at Wembley with Eric. Paul and Linda were surrounded by their kids Mary, Stella, and Jimmy. Linda's oldest, Heather, was talking to Julian, my first-born son. They'd grown close in the past few years; a bit like meself and Paul, only they're more like cousins rather than brother and sister if you know what I mean.

Speaking of, Cynthia was there as well with my second-born son Freddie and little girl Alice. As for Yoko, you ask? Well, it's complicated, let's just say that.

They were all talking and laughing together, which warmed my heart to no end. The Beatles were not just a music group; they were a family, and nothing could spoil that.

Paul was the first to notice my arrival. "Ah, good morning, John," he said to me. "You ready for Wembley?" I nodded and smiled, as if to say "yes."

Introduction

There is a small following on Blogger for alternate rock albums and histories. Amidst them, there's Uncle Dan's What If - Misc. that tackles his Melancholia series, as well as Half-Off which reduces double albums like The Wall or Quadrophenia into single albums. Paul's Albums That Should Exist fills gaps in many artists' discographies. AEC of Albums Back from the Dead comes up with albums that never actually existed. Scott G comes up with Alternate Albums and More, and The Reconstructor goes for interesting approaches when it comes to alternate albums. In addition, we have Albums Forgotten Reconstructed, Albums I Wish Existed, and LP RE-construction Discussion, as well as a discontinued blog known as Album Fixer. None of them would have happened without soniclovenoize's Albums That Never Were, but even before that, Uncle Dan wrote up his own alternate Beatles story back in 2009/2010.

But where does the story of Strawberry Peppers fall into all of this? Well, taking inspiration from the aforementioned blogs, as well as a website called Alternate History, I'd begun to shape an alternate universe Beatles story where in the 1970s, they split into two groups with Paul on one side and John, George and Ringo on the other. The genesis of that came from a playlist I'd intended to be a one-off called A Night at the Rock Show, which drew from Paul's Venus and Mars album from 1975, as well as the lead vocal tracks by Brian May ("'39," "Good Company") and Roger Taylor ("I'm in Love with My Car") from Queen's A Night at the Opera. But eventually, it grew to become a timeline all in its own, and the rest, as you'll soon see, is history. Alternate history, that is.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Strawberry Peppers.