Editing Strawberry Fields Forever (section)

==Release==
{{quote box|quote= The reaction when you played "Strawberry Fields [Forever]" to people was ''weird'' ... "Penny Lane" was a bit Beatley; "Strawberry Fields" really wasn't.<ref name="Harris/Mojo" />|source= – Beatles associate Tony Bramwell|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
The double A-side single was issued by [[Capitol Records]] in the US on 13 February 1967 (as Capitol 5810),{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|pp=61–62}} and by EMI's [[Parlophone]] label in the United Kingdom on 17 February (as Parlophone R 5570).{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=257}} Aside from the compilation album ''[[A Collection of Beatles Oldies]]'', issued in the UK but not the US,{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=573}} it was the first release by the Beatles since ''Revolver'' and their August 1966 single.{{sfn|Frontani|2007|p=131}}{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=42}} It was also the first Beatles single in the UK to be presented in a picture sleeve.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=199}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=98}} The front of the sleeve contained a studio photo that again demonstrated the band's adoption of facial hair; on the back cover were individual pictures of the four Beatles as infants,{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=199}} which heightened the connection to a Liverpool childhood.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=68}} Recalling the reaction to the new single and the expectations it created for ''Sgt. Pepper'', music critic [[Greil Marcus]] later wrote: "If this extraordinary music was merely a taste of what The Beatles were up to, what would the album be like?"<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Steve|last=Turner|title=The Beatles: ''Sgt Pepper'', The Inside Story Part II|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=July 1987}} Available at [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-isgt-pepper-ithe-inside-story-part-ii Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> Comparing the two sides in his book ''Electric Shock'', [[Peter Doggett]] likens "Penny Lane" to [[pop art]] in its evoking "multifaceted substance out of the everyday", and describes "Strawberry Fields Forever" as [[art pop]], "self-consciously excluding the mass audience".{{sfn|Doggett|2015|p=373}}

The promotional film for "Strawberry Fields Forever" was the more experimental of Goldmann's clips and underlined the Beatles' ties to the avant-garde scene.{{sfn|Frontani|2007|p=133}}{{sfn|Courrier|2009|pp=164–65}} The band's new look was the focus of much scrutiny,{{sfn|Frontani|2007|p=133}} as promotion for the single and its musical content left many listeners unable to recognise the act as the Beatles.{{sfn|Courrier|2009|p=165}} The films were first broadcast in America on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' and in Britain on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'',{{sfn|Greene|2016|p=34}} a day before the respective release dates in those two countries.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=200, 201}} On 25 February, they aired on ''[[The Hollywood Palace]]'', a traditional US variety program hosted by actor [[Van Johnson]].{{sfn|Frontani|2007|pp=134–35}} Amid screams from female members of the studio audience,{{sfn|Frontani|2007|pp=134–35}} Johnson bemusedly introduced "Strawberry Fields Forever" with the comment: "It's a musical romp through an open field with psychedelic overtones and a feeling of expanded consciousness … If you know what that means, let me know …"{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=201}} The films attracted a similar level of confusion on the more youth-focused ''[[American Bandstand]]'', on 11 March, where [[Dick Clark]] invited comments from his studio audience.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=201–02}} In the description of author Doyle Greene, the varied opinions towards the "rebranded 'counterculture Beatles'" and their new music demonstrated a "gendering" of popular culture: male reaction was marginally more favourable than female, and women variously focused on the "weird", "ugly" or "grandfather"-like appearance of the band members.{{sfn|Greene|2016|pp=34–35}} Courrier says the hostility towards "Strawberry Fields Forever" was reflective of how pop fans felt abandoned by the Beatles, with one teenager commenting that the group had turned "deliberately weird"{{sfn|Courrier|2009|pp=165–66}} and "ought to stop being so clever and give us tunes we can enjoy".<ref name="Harris/Mojo" />{{refn|group=nb|Referring to this ''American Bandstand'' screening, Winn says that the "bewildered reaction ... to the song and the group's new look has to be seen to be believed".{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=85}} Three of the four teenagers were troubled by the clip; the fourth, a young male, said with a broad smile: "I thought it was just ''great''."<ref name="Harris/Mojo" />}}

In Britain, "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" was the first Beatles single since "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]" in 1963 to fail to reach number 1 on ''[[Record Retailer]]''{{'}}s chart (later the [[UK Singles Chart]]).{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=694, 723–24}}{{refn|group=nb|There was no standardised UK chart until February 1969, when it was established through the British Market Research Bureau. The [[Official Charts Company]] recognises the listings published by ''Record Retailer'' from March 1960 onwards as representing the UK Singles Chart for that period.<ref name="OfficialChartsHistory">{{cite web|title=Key Dates in the History of the Official UK Charts|url=https://www.theofficialcharts.com/company_history.php|publisher=[[The Official Charts Company]]|access-date=15 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110032725/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/company_history.php|archive-date=10 January 2008}}</ref>}} It was held at number 2 behind [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]]'s "[[Release Me (1946 song)|Release Me]]",{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=198}}{{sfn|Doggett|2015|p=389}} the year's biggest-selling single. (In George Martin's book ''Summer of Love'' he claims the two songs were counted as two separate singles on the chart, severely hampering the record's chances of reaching the top - but none of the UK's charts listed the two sides separately, including the ''Record Retailer'' chart, and so being defined as a double A-side cannot have affected the single's chart position.<ref>https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19670302/7501/ Unlike the American chart, which included radio plays and point-of-sale requests in its data, the UK chart at this time was entirely based on sales of a disc. There was no way the sales could have been divided between the two sides.</ref>) Following the speculation that the Beatles were due to disband, their failure to secure the number 1 spot was trumpeted in the UK press as a sign that the group's popularity was declining.{{sfn|Carr|Tyler|1978|p=62}}{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=197–98}} At the time, McCartney said he was not upset because Humperdinck's song was a "completely different type of thing",{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=239}} while Harrison acknowledged that "Strawberry Fields Forever", like all of the Beatles' latest music, was bound to alienate much of their audience but would also win them new fans.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=107}}{{refn|group=nb|Starr recalled that the single's failure to top the chart was "a relief" because "it took the pressure off".<ref>{{cite video|author=The Beatles|year=2003|title=[[The Beatles Anthology (documentary)|The Beatles Anthology]]|medium=8 DVDs|publisher=Apple Corps|id=ASIN: B00008GKEG (barcode: 24349 29699)|time=episode 6: 0:41:17}}</ref> He likened it to the relief he initially felt in September 1969 when, following Lennon's lead, the Beatles agreed to disband.{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=348}}}} On the national chart compiled by ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine, however, the combination topped the singles list for three weeks.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=338}}

On the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] the two sides of a single were counted separately whether defined as a double A-side or not (for example, "[[She's a Woman]]" reached number 4 in 1964 despite being a B-side<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1964-12-26/ | title=Billboard Hot 100 | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] }}</ref>). "Penny Lane" topped the chart for one week, while "Strawberry Fields Forever" peaked at number 8.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=198–99}}{{sfn|Philo|2015|p=162}} "Penny Lane" was the side favoured by chart compilers in Australia, where the single was number 1 for five weeks.{{sfn|Sullivan|2017|p=411}} The single was also number 1 in Canada and Norway, and peaked at number 4 in France.{{sfn|Sullivan|2017|p=411}}