{"id":732475,"date":"2026-06-29T07:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732475\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T07:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:52:15","slug":"the-1968-beatles-song-paul-mccartney-tried-to-have-removed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732475\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1968 Beatles song Paul McCartney tried to have removed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n

Mon 29 June 2026 7:11, UK <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m prejudiced, I like my own, you know. [laughs] I like \u2018Revolution #9\u2019,\u201d John Lennon explained in an interview discussing his favourite songs from The Beatles<\/a>\u2018 oeuvre. <\/p>\n

The track represents one of the defining moments of Lennon\u2019s contribution to the group, not only showcasing his unique, if not abstract, lyric-writing abilities but also his devotion to pushing the boundaries of recording techniques.<\/p>\n

The experimental track that serves as the penultimate track on The White Album was the most sonically ambitious and nebulous recording that The Beatles ever put their name on. It\u2019s one of the jump-off moments for a whole range of bold and creatively-driven music. However, while George Harrison and Ringo Starr participated in the song\u2019s creation, not every group member universally loved it.<\/p>\n

His initial dislike and misunderstanding of the song pushed Paul McCartney to attempt to keep it off the final cut of the 1968 album. But Lennon persisted, and eventually, the sound collage found its way towards the end of the vinyl pressing.<\/p>\n

In many ways, \u2018Revolution 9\u2032 represented the culmination of The Beatles\u2019 increasing fascination with the avant-garde. Having already experimented with tape loops, musique concr\u00e8te and studio manipulation on tracks such as \u2018Tomorrow Never Knows\u2019, Lennon was now pushing those ideas to their logical extreme, creating a piece that challenged conventional ideas of what could be included on a pop album. <\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just one of the group\u2019s most experimental pieces but also one of the longest songs in The Beatles\u2019 catalogue. But, as Lennon himself explained, it could have been much longer: \u201cThe slow version of \u2018Revolution\u2019 on the album went on and on and on, and I took the fade-out part, which is what they sometimes do with disco records now, and just layered all this stuff over it. It was the basic rhythm of the original \u2018Revolution\u2019 going on with some 20 loops we put on, things from the archives of EMI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of those loops included Lennon and George Harrison whispering the phrase \u201cThere ain\u2019t no rule for the company freaks\u201d six times, George Martin saying, \u201cGeoff, put the red light on\u201d, and a loop of Lennon playing the Mellotron backwards. One standout element is the repeated \u201cNumber nine\u201d declaration, sourced from examination tapes originally recorded for the Royal Academy of Music and stored at Abbey Road. This phrase surfaces intermittently in the track, subtly fading in and out, serving as a consistent thread in an otherwise tumultuous composition.<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

When these odd sound clashes are set against the backdrop of Lennon\u2019s numerical obsessio<\/a>n<\/a>, the song can quickly be devalued compared to the rest of The White Album. As such, both Paul McCartney and George Martin tried to dissuade Lennon from including the track on the record. McCartney was out of the country when Lennon and the rest of the group put the collage together. Upon returning to Britain, Lennon played him the finished song and things soon got heated between the pair after the bespectacled Beatle suggested it shouldn\u2019t just be on the album but be a single.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest issue for McCartney could have been the involvement of Yoko Ono. With Macca out of the studio, the conceptual artist was in the hot seat next to Lennon and helped to craft the song across three days and nights. In fact, Ono inspired much of the track\u2019s unique sonic landscapes, \u201cI did a few mixes until I got one I liked. Yoko was there for the whole thing and she made decisions about which loops to use. It was somewhat under her influence, I suppose. Once I heard her stuff \u2013 not just the screeching and the howling but her sort of word pieces and talking and breathing and all this strange stuff, I thought, My God, I got intrigued, so I wanted to do one. I spent more time on \u2018Revolution 9\u2019 than I did on half the songs I ever wrote. It was a montage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lennon\u2019s enthusiasm for the piece also reflected a broader shift in his artistic ambitions. By 1968, he was no longer interested solely in writing memorable songs; he wanted to explore sound as an artistic medium in its own right, blurring the lines between popular music, performance art and experimental composition.<\/p>\n

Of course, in the end, McCartney and George Martin wouldn\u2019t get their way entirely. Though not released as a single, the tune did find its way into the The White Album<\/a> and has become a part of the group\u2019s legacy. While it is easy to point to the more tuneful side of the Fab Four as the real landmarks of the band\u2019s journey, it should be noted that these moments of stepping over the line and into the avant-garde would keep the group\u2019s artistic dignity.<\/p>\n

Whether listeners embrace or skip \u2018Revolution 9\u2032, its importance within The Beatles\u2019 story is difficult to dispute. It demonstrated that the world\u2019s biggest band was willing to risk alienating its audience in pursuit of artistic curiosity, an attitude that helped cement their reputation as more than just exceptional songwriters. Even if it remains their most divisive recording, it stands as one of the boldest creative gambles they ever took.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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