Cody is endeavoring to read his way through Marvel's entire publishing history. Let's see if he can do it!
In the 1970s, producer Robert Stigwood purchased the rights to use 29 songs by the legendary band The Beatles in a jukebox musical stage play called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road – and since the deal also gave him permission to use the songs in a feature film, he did just that. Writer Henry Edwards was given the list of songs and told to build a story around them… and he got weird with it.
The story begins in the wholesome town of Heartland, which used to be home to a marching band called the Lonely Hearts Club Band, led by Sgt. Pepper. With their magical musical instruments, the band brought happiness to the people even in the toughest of times: World War I, World War II, the Depression, etc. When Sgt. Pepper died in 1958, the same day the town unveiled an honorary weather vane with his likeness, the instruments were left to Heartland.
Jump ahead to the ‘70s and Sgt. Pepper’s musical legacy is being carried on by his grandson Billy Shears, who has formed a new Lonely Hearts Club Band with his best friends, the Henderson brothers. The marching band is now a rock band, with Billy’s scheming, money-hungry half-brother Dougie working as their manager. And Dougie isn’t the only character they have to watch out for.
Big Deal Records president B.D. Hoffler invites the band to Hollywood with the promise of a record deal, and while they’re out of town, the villainous Mr. Mustard and his henchman, the Brute, raid Heartland, steal the magical instruments, and turn the place into a slum. Mustard also has his sights set on Billy’s girlfriend, Strawberry Fields – but Billy might be too distracted by the promises of fame and fortune, along with a woman named Lucy, to do anything about it.
Thankfully, Billy and the Hendersons switch into hero mode soon enough and attempt to thwart Mustard’s plans, which even include world domination, by getting the magical instruments back from the likes of anti-aging specialist Dr. Maxwell Edison and mind-controlling cult leader Father Sun, then facing off with the Future Villain Band. Things don’t go as well as they would have hoped for, but that’s what Deus ex machinas exist for.
The people behind the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie had high hopes for it, even going so far as to describe it as "this generation's Gone with the Wind." Thinking this was going to have that much cultural impact was going too far, but it’s easy to understand why they thought the movie was going to be a huge success. Not only was the movie fuelled by the music of The Beatles, one of the most popular bands of all time, but it also featured some of the biggest stars of the era. The titular group combined the extremely successful group the Bee Gees with Peter Frampton, whose album Frampton Comes Alive! was the biggest-selling live album ever at the time. There are also appearances by the likes of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith; Earth, Wind & Fire, and Steve Martin, who had a hit comedy album in ‘78. Plus, there’s George Burns and Donald Pleasence!
Despite the star power, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was not a hit. Made on a budget of $13 million, it only earned $20 million at the box office, and critics tore it apart. The only enduring thing about it seems to be the Aerosmith cover of “Come Together.”
I’m a big fan of The Beatles, but I have never seen the movie because it has such a bad reputation. It just always seemed like a misguided project to me, and felt like it would be really bizarre. I’m rarely in the mood to watch something that’s really bizarre.
Adding more weirdness into the mix is the fact that Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the movie. The draw of a jukebox musical is the chance to listen to and celebrate some cool songs, and that doesn’t translate into a comic book adaptation. The music doesn’t come through the page. The comic only features the first line or two of a song, to let readers know which tune was supposed to accompany which scene. Beyond that, all you have is the chance to see Edwards’ crazy story play out on the page.
The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band adaptation was handled by the team of writers David Anthony Kraft and D. Jon Zimmerman, artists George Perez and Jim Mooney, and colorist Janice Cohen for an issue of the Marvel Super Special series. Marvel Comics launched Marvel Super Special, a full-color magazine series that was “devoted to concepts thought to be deserving of special treatment” in 1977. The early issues featured stories about Conan the Barbarian, Star-Lord, and Weirdworld, as well as bands like The Beatles and Kiss, with some movie adaptations mixed in. As of issue #14, and continuing through its final issue (#41), the Marvel Super Special series became dedicated entirely to movie adaptations. The adaptation of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was issue #7.
This was my first exposure to what the movie is all about, and judging by the comic book, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is just as strange as I always expected it to be… but, I have to admit that after reading the story, I’m left eager to finally watch the movie. I want to see this stuff happen in live-action, and I want to hear the covers of the songs.
I have to note that the only issue of Marvel Super Special #7 I could get my hands on happened to be in French, so I had to run every page through Google Translate in order to understand what was going on. That made this quite an odd and unique experience, which felt fitting for the subject matter.
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