Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

John Lennon wrote Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! with collaboration from Paul as part of the set for The Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album released in 1967. While in Kent in January of 1967, on site for the filming for a promotional video for Strawberry Fields Forever, he came across a 19th century circus poster in an antique shop, indicating that the last performances of the run were "for the benefit of Mr, Kite," (an employee of Pablo Fanque's circus from 1843-45). The song was recorded shortly thereafter, on February 17, 1967, with overdubs afterwards. To create a carnival atmosphere, George Martin added organ sound effects. Four harmonicas can be distinguished in the mix (John, Ringo, Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall), and a mash-up of organ, harmonium and calliope sounds were randomly assembled by engineer Geoff Emerick and added to the recipe. Lennon enjoyed this song, even though it was by no means "deep" or "meaningful" for him. The lyrics came almost totally from the poster itself. He later said that this song was more like a painting, "a pure watercolor." The BBC banned Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! from its broadcasts because of a suspected reference in the lyrics to heroin. (The reference is the "Harry the Horse." A horse appears on the poster, but his name is not "Harry." The BBC identified "Harry" and "Horse" as slang terms for heroin, Lennon denied inserting any such connotation.