May 17, 2007 10:13

Paul McCartney: 'Elvis influenced Sgt Pepper'

Macca reveals how the King shaped legendary album

Photo Gallery: The Beatles
Photo: Pa Photos

Paul McCartney has declared Elvis Presley as one of significant influences behind The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper' album.

After the release of the 1967 record the band chose to stay at home rather than tour, and McCartney explained they got the idea from The King.

"We had this idea that we'd make a record, and the record itself would go on tour for us," McCartney told Rolling Stone. "That came from a story we'd heard about Elvis' Cadillac going on tour. We though that was an amazing idea: He doesn't go on tour, he just sends his Cadillac out. Fantastic!"

The record has since been hailed as an influential classic, responsible for helping to develop the album as an artistic format rather than just a collection of songs, although it didn't impress The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr enough to be his personal favourite.

"You cannot put down 'Sgt. Pepper'," Starr admitted, "but as a musician, I preferred 'Revolver', and I preferred 'The White Album', because we were back to being musicians. It was like everybody got the madness out on 'Sgt. Pepper', so it served that purpose."