The Beatles (minus Paul) attend a party at Brian Epstein’s country house

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On May 28, 1967, Brian Epstein hosted a party at his country home, Kingsley Hill, in Warbleton, Sussex. Brian had recently purchased the house for £25,000, and the party was held to celebrate the upcoming release of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and also to welcome guests to his new home.

All the Beatles were present except for Paul McCartney, who chose to take his girlfriend Jane Asher to his farm in Scotland. The party was attended by a number of friends and celebrities, including Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Lionel Bart, Kenny Everett, Nat Weiss, and The Beatles’ former press officer Derek Taylor and his wife Joan. Despite having just two days’ notice, Derek and Joan flew 6,000 miles back to England to attend the party. Derek was in the process of setting up the three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival at the time.

At that particular moment there was an abundance of very special LSD in the Beatles’ family. It had been prepared to order by San Francisco’s famed acid-chemist, “Owlsley.” An ingenious plan was devised to get the acid into England. That June the first major, outdoor rock festival was taking place in Monterey, California, not far from Owlsley’s laboratory in San Francisco. Although the Beatles knew the film rights to the Monterey Festival had been sold exclusively to an American film company, they sent a large complement of film equipment to San Francisco, ostensibly to film the festival. When the camera crew was refused permission to film, as was expected, the airtight camera lenses were filled with liquid LSD and shipped back to England without any problem. Several pint-size vials of this Owlsley LSD now graced the bookshelves in the sunroom at Kenwood, while others had been converted to more convenient little pink pills, which made their way through the Beatles’ inner circle. The acid was especially potent, and tripping on it was very hallucinogenic and “electric.”

From “The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles” from Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, 2002

Paul … didn’t come … This day of all days … he should have come …

Brian Epstein – From “The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles” from Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, 2002

The party had a soft, dreamlike quality to it. The prophets were here, the masters were in control, there was good food and liquor and friends. A Whiter Shade of Pale, interspersed with Sergeant Pepper, played all afternoon and into the evening. Brian, of course, found something to ruin his fun. Paul had phoned earlier in the day with an impeccable excuse and was not coming. Brian was deeply paranoid about Paul anyway, and with his emotions magnified by the LSD he had taken, he was devastated by Paul’s absence. He strode around the living room at dusk and leaned dramatically up against the piano. “Paul … didn’t come …” Brian intoned softly. “This day of all days … he should have come …”

From “The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles” from Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, 2002

We had some exhilarating rides in the Phantom though, like going to Brian Epstein’s party at Kingsley Hill in Sussex to celebrate Sgt. Pepper’s release with a convoy of cars, including George’s mini that he had painted with Tantric symbols. John was playing Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” over and over, he liked that song so much! LSD was doled out to the guests and two foot long placards with the legend “Safe as Milk” were pasted all over the mansion to reassure the guests that all was groovy…

Marijke Koger – From 10. MEET THE BEATLES – (marijkekogerart.com)

Last updated on May 5, 2024