Recording: Lovely Rita

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

This was the third recording session for the Sgt Pepper song ‘Lovely Rita’, following work on 23 and 24 February 1967.

On this day The Beatles added backing vocals and effects onto track four of the tape. John Lennon led Paul McCartney and George Harrison as they sang, hummed, sighed, screamed, groaned, moaned and blew through a comb and toilet paper, all of which was treated with heavy tape echo.

The comb and paper can best be heard immediately before the line “When it gets dark I tow your heart away”. The Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans was sent to collect paper from Abbey Road’s lavatory. Stamped with the words, “Property of EMI”, the paper was threaded into hair combs and blown, giving a kazoo-like effect.