In mid May 1966, Tony Hall of "Record Mirror" wrote a preview of the Beatles' new recordings in which he opined that some of them were "the most revolutionary ever made by a pop group". While avoiding mention of the official song titles, he highlighted Lennon's "The Void" for its electronic effects, along with a "McCartney song about lonely people" set to string orchestration, and a "Harrison number on which he plays a long exotic solo on sitar". In Britain, EMI gradually distributed the album's songs to radio stations throughout July – a strategy that MacDonald describes as "building anticipation for what would clearly be a radical new phase in the group's recording career". "Revolver" was released there on 5 August and on 8 August in the United States. "Eleanor Rigby" was issued as a double A-side single with "Yellow Submarine". The pairing of a ballad devoid of any instrumentation played by a Beatle and a novelty song marked a significant departure from the usual content of the band's singles.