Paul McCartney February 1967, and the LP followed in June. McCartney's "She's Leaving Home" was an orchestral pop song. MacDonald described the track as "[among] the finest work on "Sgt. Pepper"—imperishable popular art of its time". Based on an ink drawing by McCartney, the LP's cover included a collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, featuring the Beatles in costume as the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, standing with a host of celebrities. The heavy moustaches worn by the Beatles reflected the growing influence of hippie style trends on the band, while their clothing "spoofed the vogue in
The Birthday Party (The Idle Race album) The Birthday Party (The Idle Race album) The Birthday Party was the first album by The Idle Race, a psychedelic pop band, released in 1968 (see 1968 in music). This quasi-concept album was the first to be composed almost entirely of songs by a young Birmingham guitarist/singer named Jeff Lynne. The LP came in a gatefold sleeve, the first of its kind since the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper" and the Rolling Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request" albums. The inside sleeve art included a mock birthday feast attended by many British Celebrities, including most of the Radio 1 disc jockeys, the Beatles,