UK single release: Lady Madonna

Recorded before their trip to India, but released in their absence to sustain public interest in the group, ‘Lady Madonna’ – The Beatles’ 17th Parlophone single – was released in the UK on this day.

Lady Madonna was coupled with George Harrison’s ‘The Inner Light’, the third and final of his Indian-style recordings with The Beatles.

The single was Parlophone R 5675. It entered the charts at number five on 20 March, and the following week reached the top spot. It spent two weeks at number one, and just eight weeks altogether in the charts.

Initial copies of Lady Madonna came with a fan club insert offering applicants a free colour poster.

A promotional film was made for the single. It was shot on 11 February 1968 inside EMI Studios at Abbey Road, while The Beatles recorded Hey Bulldog. The film was shown on BBC television’s Top Of The Pops the day before Lady Madonna was released.