Was The Beatles’ real-life Sgt. Pepper actually ‘the wickedest man in the world’?
In his autobiography, Crowley claimed that his purpose in life had been to “bring oriental wisdom to Europe and to restore paganism in a purer form”. He was influenced by a wide variety of thinkers ranging from eastern religious movements and practices like Hindu yoga and Buddhism to scientific naturalism but one theory is that he was a firm believer in was magic.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-beatles-sgt-pepper-true-identity-aleister-crowley/
Nice to see this coming to light but too bad they couldn't include a photo of Crowley in the Sgt Pepper/Masonic garb to bring the point home.
From the article:
The identity of the real Sgt. Pepper is a question that Beatlemaniacs have been asking for over 50 years and, given its notoriety, there are countless theories in the ether surrounding the possible identity. One of the most popular beliefs that Beatles fans have been speculating for decades is that Sgt. Pepper’s identity is a man who goes by the name of Aleister Crowley, a person once branded ‘the wickedest man in the world’.
This has been a discussion steeped in mystery, one which is like a lot of things linked to the universe in which The Beatles exist in. The number of wild conspiracy theories attached to anything surrounded the band is truly endless but, undoubtedly, one of the more interesting question marks around The Beatles is from their iconic 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and, more specifically, who the inspiration was. The number of people that have been rumoured to be Sgt. Pepper is a long list but no name on the list seems more legitimate than the dangerous occultist writer Aleister Crowley.
The number of people that have been rumoured to be Sgt. Pepper is a long list but no name on the list seems more legitimate than the dangerous occultist writer Aleister Crowley.
God, this is thin gruel. The reason why Crowley's candidacy seems "more legitimate" than any other boils down to:
"The record was released 20 years on from the death of Crowley, which the band seem to draw attention to on the opening line of the album when they sing, 'It was 20 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,” which suggests that they are aligning themselves with the occultist.' "
How might Crowley popping his clogs have "taught the band to play"?
"This was seemingly confirmed by Lennon’s 1980 interview with Playboy’s David Sheff. In the interview, Lennon seemingly repeats Crowley’s most famous teaching, 'Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law,' when he said, 'The whole Beatle idea was to do what you want, right? To take your own responsibility, do what you want and try not to harm other people, right? Do what thou wilt, as long as it doesn’t hurt somebody.' "
Some years after the album was made, Paul McCartney offered a perhaps-less-fancful account of the derivation of the title:
"By the time The Beatles took a three-month vacation in the latter part of 1966, they were all tired of being The Beatles. McCartney and tour manager/assistant Mal Evans ruminated on this problem as the two traveled together, ending their international adventures in Kenya. On their flight back to London, McCartney was developing an alter ego for the band for their next record.
"Me and Mal [Evans] often bantered words about, which led to the rumor that he thought of the name Sergeant Pepper," McCartney explained to author Barry Miles about how he came up with the name. "But I think it would be much more likely that it was me saying, 'Think of names.' We were having our meal and they had those little packets marked 'S' and 'P.' Mal said, 'What's that mean? Oh, salt and pepper.' We had a joke about that. So I said, 'Sergeant Pepper,' just to vary it, 'Sergeant Pepper, salt and pepper,' an aural pun, not mishearing him but just playing with the words." McCartney then added "Lonely Hearts Club" to "Sergeant Pepper," and figured it would be a "crazy enough" band name, "because why would a Lonely Hearts Club have a band?"
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80939/11-facts-about-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band
I like John the best, he's so dreamy.
he's so dreamy.
If we're going to go there, i will resurrect a '60s schoolyard "joke"
"By George!" said Paul, sitting on the John. "Where did my Ring go [Ringo]?"
The height of wit in Miss Tiernan's 4th grade class in 1968, i assure you.
We would also chant
Marijuana! Marijuana!
LSD!
Scientists are making it,
College kids are taking it!
Why can't we?
Why can't we?
Hahhahahaha. very nice 🙂
When I wake up early in the morning, lift my head, I'm still yawning. When I'm in the middle of a dream...
God, this is thin gruel.
Naturally. Anything that references Aleister Crowley in the press is usually a bit titillating. At least it didn't accuse him of eating children or filing his teeth into fangs as the Daily Mail UK article did yesterday.
The reason why Crowley's candidacy seems "more legitimate" than any other boils down to:
"The record was released 20 years on from the death of Crowley, which the band seem to draw attention to on the opening line of the album when they sing, 'It was 20 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,” which suggests that they are aligning themselves with the occultist.' "
The Beatles/Crowley influences over the years are a matter of fact. Look at the HELP cover:
There were also many very silly and fun masonic/freemason references in the HELP movie:
Yet, in cinema, a fun example can be found, when the famous drummer Ringo Starr, asks an Indian restaurant doorman, ‘You know what this ring means?’, to which he gets the reply ‘Freemason?’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help!_(film)
An eastern cult (a parody of the Thugee cult) is about to sacrifice a woman to their goddess Kaili. They notice that she is not wearing the sacrificial ring. Instead, Ringo Starr drummer of the Beatles, has the ring.
The Sgt Pepper connection is a matter of speculation. But he did appear on the cover (among others) and this was somewhat controversial at the time. Hitler didn't make the cut.
We were having our meal and they had those little packets marked 'S' and 'P.' Mal said, 'What's that mean? Oh, salt and pepper.' We had a joke about that. So I said, 'Sergeant Pepper,' just to vary it, 'Sergeant Pepper, salt and pepper,' an aural pun
Songs are like dreams and songs and lyrics often arrive from many influences and have multiple meanings. The songwriting process is often very much derived from sub-conscious influences. Connections and influences are not always apparent until later examination. The above explanation is true i'm sure but does not preclude that Crowley was also an influence. And the story comes from only one of the two (Lennon/McCartney) writer's of the song.
Crowley is also credited by some with providing MI5 and Winston Churchill's with the "V'" for Victory sign:
https://www.foreverandaday.biz/aleister-crowley
"Crowley has been attributed as selecting the “V for Victory” sign during World War II as used by Sir Winston Churchill."
Is this true? Who knows.
How might Crowley popping his clogs have "taught the band to play"?
Songs are like dreams and songs and lyrics often arrive from many influences and have multiple meanings. The songwriting process is often very much derived from sub-conscious influences. Connections and influences are not always apparent until later examination.
Case in point here's John Lennon explaining a song from the same album, Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds.
According to John the LSD reference was unintentional:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAZAdhPXQ2w
No one believes John of course as he says repeatedly in the interview.
Fans will believe what they want to believe.
Regardless, its all good fun and our boy Aleister made the cut.
John Lennon (man of peace) was pretty wicked here and there e.g. if anyone jumped on stage at the (early) Hamburg he would use their head as a football.
https://www.lashtal.com/wiki/Aleister_Crowley_Timeline
John Lennon (man of peace) was pretty wicked here and there e.g. if anyone jumped on stage at the (early) Hamburg he would use their head as a football.
It's quite common for people not to live up to their ideals, but so what? I suppose the solution is to have no ideals whatever, and thus be beyond reproach. In any case, the time of the Beatles in Hamburg was the early 1960s, a good few years before the "Man of Peace" image.
I suppose the solution is to have no ideals whatever, and thus be beyond reproach.
You are revealing the higher secrets again in plain language. Can't you QBL it and make it more obscure?
One would need to sync this head-kicking with the "states" mentioned over in the 8-circuit thread, where "Men of Peace" knock out assailants.
In a performance, the performers have the stage, and the audience has the seats (or the standing room area). If someone breaks in your door, you may shoot him (in the USA). If an acrobat jumps on the stage, you kick him off. If you put down your instrument to push the invader away, you stop playing. To be able to keep playing while kicking off the offenders is a rather high-level skill, isn't it?
To be able to keep playing while kicking off the offenders is a rather high-level skill, isn't it?
“ In any case, the time of the Beatles in Hamburg was the early 1960s, a good few years before the "Man of Peace" image. “
And probably before he grew his hair;
challenging sensibilities and ideas considered fundamental.
Casting aside aeons of adherence to a social order and declared the posse bigger than jesus.
Resounding the note and broadcasting the the signal to sympathetic souls which responded to the new shift in human consciousness;
of the uniqueness of the individual, rather than conformity, and recognizing ones own innate divinity.
Along with magus Keith Richards there.
To be able to keep playing while kicking off the offenders is a rather high-level skill, isn't it?
Ha! Reminds me of zen master Henry Rollins defending the stage with Black Flag:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQB4pyTrmc
Neither Love nor Will are passive or weak.
Lennon spoke about his violent past in the song Getting Better:
I used to be cruel to my woman
I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved
Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can
But Lennon's passive nice guy image didn't end too well. Perhaps he could have been a more alert to the possibilities of violence while living in New York City during the city's more raucous years.
I heard Mick Jagger used to pack a gun while walking in NYC.
There's actually an older, much better, clip of Keef swinging his Tele overhead into a stage-invader and then coming back in perfectly, having missed/laid out for like one bar, but i couldn't find it in five minutes and settled for that one.
Henry hitting the dude on the beat of the song is good too. Here is a funny Black Flag tour story: on the first few national tours, they did it with a van, and a U-Haul for the gear, the kind with the little "porch" over the cab. The band minus Henry went in the van. Henry spent every drive, mostly 6-10 hours per, locked alone in the back of the dark equipment truck on a mattress up on the "porch".
Not to mention the uppers they were taking back then...'to be able to play for days'
~Reformed Beatlemaniac.
Yes- the Beatles became enlightened and groovy as a result of cannabis smoking, and LSD use.
This was still far in the future during the leather jackets and pompadours Hamburg Preludin (a strong, but very calming, amphetamine; no longer available anywhere as far as i know) phase, when they were still a "punk rock" band in the original meaning of the term.
My fave Beatles era. I love Beatles at the beeb, when they were playing all those covers.
~Reformed Beatlemaniac.
I still have the occasional binge now and again
My fave Beatles era. I love Beatles at the beeb, when they were playing all those covers.
Ringo was the last bit of alchemy required to complete the full Beatles experience though. He explains his "left-handed but uses a right-handed drumkit" style here (starts at 3:18):
https://youtu.be/AL45-q391Jc?t=198
I only recently found out about this "mad accident", always wondered why he had that distinct style. (its interesting to non-musicians like me anyway).
(yes, I'm discussing crap old bands and politics today).