John Lennon felt The Beatles’ ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’ was a cosmic song. John wasn’t always a fan of his own work, and sometimes he denigrated The Beatles’ output as a whole.

It was clearly the latter for The Beatles in the case of the song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” which appears on their magnificent Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album from 1967.

We were high as kites, on so many levels, then the album came out and we got even higher. It was like someone opening a door to revolutionary music.” The Beatles’ eighth album didn’t come ...

And it comes in that remarkable Sgt. Pepper track Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite. The song, recorded in 1967, is a schedule of circus acts, all set to a carnival-esque shuffle. Mr K. will jump ...