Watch Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Paul McCartney and more record ‘Come Together’ in 1995
Back in 1995, some of the biggest names in music, film and fashion joined forces to raise money for War Child. Featured on The Help Album, this star-studded rendition of ‘Come Together’ by The Beatles features Johnny Depp, Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Kate Moss and, of course, the great Paul McCartney. The album was inspired by a concept pioneered by John Lennon on records like ‘Instant Karma’, which was released as soon as it was recorded.
The Help Album was recorded on September 4th, 1995, mixed on the 5th and was in the shops by the 9th. This recording of ‘Come Together’ from Abbey Road featured alongside an original song by Radiohead and covers from the likes of Oasis, Blur, Suede and Manic Street Preachers. The rework of the classic Beatles song saw many of these contributors pile in and form a supergroup called Smokin’ Mojo Filters.
‘Come Together’ is just one of the 1960s classics that wouldn’t have existed without pioneering psychologist Timothy Leary, who rose to notoriety for promoting the benefits of LSD use. He believed that LSD could be used to remedy “the emotional or mental problems of the human race, in particular the American people.” In the Harvard psychologist’s view, hallucinogens could be used to explore one’s consciousness in a way that would benefit humanity as a whole.”
In 1969, Leary decided to run for Governor of California and asked John Lennon if he wouldn’t mind writing a song for his campaign, whose slogan was “Come Together, Join The party.” Leary eventually decided against using the song, leaving Lennon with a hit and nowhere to put it. Because the song was no longer needed for political purposes, Lennon went ahead and wrote a set of nonsensical lyrics and bought it to Abbey Road.
“The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook,” Lennon told Playboy in 1980. It was here that Paul McCartney came up with his iconic bassline: “I said, ‘Let’s slow it down with a swampy bass-and-drums vibe,'” he later recalled. “I came up with a bass line, and it all flowed from there.”
Make sure you check out this blistering 1995 rendition if you haven’t already.
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