The Beatles song John Lennon said was turned into “ice cream”
Although every member of The Beatles was intrinsic to the band’s success, it was John Lennon and Paul McCartney that buoyed the four-piece, with their songwriting partnership becoming one of the most acclaimed in music history.
As a teenager, Lennon immersed himself in Liverpool’s skiffle movement, eventually forming a band known as The Quarrymen. Soon after their inception, The Quarrymen morphed into The Beatles, with Lennon initially acting as the band’s main leader. During his time with the Fab Four, Lennon helped write some of the most iconic songs of all time, quickly becoming one of the most popular musicians ever. As a member of the incredibly influential band, he aided a huge cultural shift, changing the landscape of popular music by popularising new sounds and recording techniques.
When The Beatles first rose to prominence, they led the British Invasion of the United States, a phenomenon in which many pioneering British bands found success across the pond. However, many of the band’s early albums were released differently in the US than in the UK. For example, the band’s original 1963 debut album, Please Please Me, was released with a different cover and slightly altered tracklist in the US a year later, Introducing…The Beatles.
Often, “fake stereo” mixes of the songs were reproduced for American editions of their albums, much to Lennon’s dismay. During an interview for WNEW-FM with Dennis Elsas, Lennon explained how he hated when American labels interfered with his music. “You know, many of these have been remixed with stereo,” he said. “Oh, it was awful”.
This led Lennon to discuss his thoughts on ‘Revolution’, the B-side to ‘Hey Jude’. The song took on various formations, with ‘Revolution 1’, a slower version, and ‘Revolution 9’, an avant-garde sound collage, both appearing on 1968’s The Beatles.
McCartney and George Harrison both agreed that ‘Revolution 1’ was too slow to be a single, which led to the recording of a faster version. Despite Lennon’s best efforts to have the new take released as an A-side, it was relegated to the back of McCartney’s ‘Hey Jude’.
However, discussing the B-side version, Lennon explained: “There’s a difference between stereo and mono, obviously. If you mix something in mono and try to fake it, you lose the guts of it. A lot of them lost that”.
He added: “The fast version of ‘Revolution’ was destroyed. It was a heavy record, and they turned it into a piece of ice cream.”
Lennon was clearly unhappy with his lack of creative control over some of the American releases of his songs, quipping, “Nevermind. It’s all in the past, isn’t it?” It seemed as though Lennon harboured much animosity towards the treatment of ‘Revolution’, which never received the appreciation he thought it deserved.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.