Kenny EV sgt Pepper
from Richard Rudin's tracks Hosted by Richard Rudin
In tribute to Kenny Everett, who died 20 years ago - on April 4th, 1995 - this is an off-air recording of him reviewing the just about to be released 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', on the BBC Light Programme's 'Where It's At', in May 1967. Within weeks, government legislation will have forced off the air most of the offshore 'pirate' stations. The BBC's own pop/youth service, Radio 1, did not begin broadcasting until the end of September that year, but a number of 'pirate' DJs, including Kenny Everett, had already jumped ship and began working on the 'groovier' programmes on 'the Light' . Kenny had known The Beatles for several years; they were all from Liverpool, which surely helped, but the Fab Four also recognised Kenny's unique talent and had commissioned him to produce their Fan Club Christmas singles - a huge honour, as they had let only George Martin produce their work up to that point. Kenny had accompanied them on their US tour in '66, reporting from various venues for the 'pirate' station Radio London, of which The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was a big fan. The audio quality is not great - but it IS nearly half a century old, an amateur off-air recording and fascinating, I think, to hear initial reaction to what is one of the all-time classic rock/pop albums. Plus, to hear The Beatles' thoughts, and them goofing around with Kenny, makes this a bit of a classic from the attic! Copyright BBC.
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