Carnival of Light

Hitherto unpublished

Carnival of Light is a until today unreleased song from the Beatles. Apart from the closest associates no one has heard of this obscure work. In the official studio protocols is guaranteed only that the Beatles on January 5, 1967 after an overdub session for Penny Lane under the direction of Paul McCartney a nearly fourteen minute sound collage, without form, timing, tone and melody recordings.

A four-track tape recorder was there covered with all sorts of sounds and tape loops, came to heavily distorted guitars, percussion and organ tones. Working with tape loops been since the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows known. It is worth noting, however, that already 18 months before John Lennon's Revolution 9 was experimenting with absolutely free sound forms.

The piece grew out of an informal contract for a trio of artists organized by Douglas Binder, Dudley Edwards and Dave Vaughan mixed-media event, to be held on 28 January and 4 February 1967 at the Roundhouse Theatre in London.

The sound engineer Geoff Emerick then recalled as follows at the session:

" When They had finished George Martin Said to me ' This is ridiculous, we've got to get our teeth into something a little more constructive .'"

Not only because of the length of the piece McCartney was rejected proposal to publish it on Anthology 2, but also because George Harrison said at the time that he would not avant-garde music. Paul McCartney is planning to release the song, if Ringo Starr and the administrators of the estate of Lennon and Harrison agree.