Editing Penny Lane (section)

==Influence and legacy==
According to historian David Simonelli, further to "[[Tomorrow Never Knows]]" in 1966, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" "establish[ed] the Beatles as the most avant-garde [pop] composers of the postwar era". He also says:
<blockquote>With this double-sided single, the Beatles planted the flag of [[Romanticism]] squarely at the center of psychedelic rock. They emphasized innocence, childhood as purity, improvisation, and the spirits of individuality and community united as one. For the next three to five years, these ideals would dominate rock music on both sides of the Atlantic. The Beatles' vision dominated the entire rock music world.{{sfn|Simonelli|2013|p=106}}</blockquote>

Ian MacDonald comments on "Penny Lane"'s place in an era of high optimism in Britain marked by a vibrant arts scene, England's victory in the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 World Cup]], and the Beatles' standing as "arbiters of a positive new age" in which outdated social mores would be superseded by a young, classless worldview. He writes: "With its vision of 'blue suburban skies' and boundlessly confident vigour, 'Penny Lane' distills the spirit of that time more perfectly than any other creative product of the mid-Sixties. Couched in the primary colours of a picture-book, yet observed with the slyness of a gang of kids straggling home from school, 'Penny Lane' is both naive and knowing – but above all thrilled to be alive."{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=221}} MacDonald adds that although the song "fathered a rather smug English pop vogue for brass bands and gruff Northern imagery", its sequence in the 1968 animated film ''[[Yellow Submarine (film)|Yellow Submarine]]'' demonstrated it to be "as subversively hallucinatory as 'Strawberry Fields'".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=223}} Music critic [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] praised the musical arrangement and said the song was "as perfect as pop gets". He also wrote: "'Penny Lane' survives as a classic because its surface charm masks its structural intelligence – the appeal is as simple and sweet as the youthful glow it recaptures."{{sfn|Sullivan|2017|p=412}}

Some commentators have described the pairing as pop music's best double A-side.<ref name="Unterberger/AM" />{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=209}} In 2011, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked "Penny Lane" at number 456 on its list of the "[[500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]".<ref name="rs 500 (2011 edition)">{{cite magazine|title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 456 – The Beatles, 'Penny Lane'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-beatles-penny-lane-20110526|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=11 December 2003|access-date=8 July 2015}}</ref> On the magazine's 2021 revised list, the song appears at number 280.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-beatles-penny-lane-2-1225058/|title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" > "280: The Beatles, 'Penny Lane'|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=15 September 2021|access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref> In ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''{{'}}s list of "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs", published in 2006, the song appeared at number 9. In his commentary on the track, [[Neil Innes]] admired McCartney's melodic gifts and the key changes, and he described the song as "mould-breaking" with lyrics that "ran like a movie".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Alexander|first=Phil|title=The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=July 2006|page=92|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Sociologist Andy Bennett views the characters in the lyrics as representing a "story book version of British suburban life", an approach that he says anticipated television soap operas such as ''[[Brookside (television programme)|Brookside]]'' and ''[[EastEnders]]''. Bennett writes that a similar notion of "Britishness" informed music videos by [[Britpop]] acts in the 1990s, particularly [[Blur (band)|Blur]]'s "[[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]", which brought to life some of the lyrical imagery of Lennon–McCartney songs and the "utopian reminiscing" evident in "Penny Lane".{{sfn|Bennett|2000|pp=196–97}}

[[File:Pennylaneproper.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A Penny Lane street sign in Liverpool]]
The promotional clips for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" are recognised as pioneering works in the medium of music video.{{sfn|Burns|2000|p=176}} In 1985, they were the oldest selections included in the New York [[Museum of Modern Art]] (MoMA)'s exhibition of the most influential music videos.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Strawberry+Fields+Forever&pg=PT109 |author=New York staff|title=Clips Receive an Artful Showcase|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=31 August 1985|access-date=15 December 2017|page=51}}</ref> The two films occupied a similar place in MoMA's 2003 "Golden Oldies of Music Video" exhibition, where they were presented by avant-garde artist [[Laurie Anderson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film/2003/oldies.html |title=Film Exhibitions: Golden Oldies of Music Video|publisher=[[Museum of Modern Art]]|year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718040116/http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film/2003/oldies.html |archive-date=18 July 2007|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The "Penny Lane" clip was included on the Beatles' 2015 video compilation ''[[1 (Beatles album)|1+]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first= Matt |last= Rowe |title= The Beatles 1 To Be Reissued With New Audio Remixes ... And Videos |work= The Morton Report |date= 18 September 2015 |access-date= 9 January 2016 |url= https://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/music/the-beatles-1-to-be-reissued-with-new-audio-remixesand-videos}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/oct/30/the-beatles-penny-lane-watch-the-restored-video|author=Guardian music|title=The Beatles – Penny Lane: Watch the restored video!|publisher=[[The Guardian|theguardian.com]]|date=30 October 2015|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref>}}

[[File:Penny Lane (10).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Streetscape showing the Penny Lane roundabout (centre left) and shops in 2018]]
Liverpool poet [[Roger McGough]] credited "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" as the first examples of British streets and locations being celebrated in pop music and of the Beatles creating a "mythology" for Liverpool.{{sfn|Turner|2012|p=132}} The song's popularity led to the regular theft of Penny Lane street signs and the area becoming one of the city's major tourist attractions.{{sfn|Turner|2012|pp=132–33}} As of 2014, the roundabout was home to the Sgt. Pepper Bistro & Bus Shelter, although the business had long ceased operating.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=725}} The feature films ''[[Wonderwall (film)|Wonderwall]]'' (for which Harrison supplied the instrumental musical score in 1968) and ''[[Almost Famous]]'' include characters named after the song.<ref name="Fontenot/About">{{cite web|first=Robert|last=Fontenot|url=https://www.liveabout.com/oldies-major-artists-4688233 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404224842/http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/pennylane_2.htm |title=The Beatles Songs: 'Penny Lane' – The history of this classic Beatles song ''[continued]''|publisher=[[About.com|oldies.about.com]]|archive-date=4 April 2015|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref> Former adult film star [[Jennifer Ketcham]] said she chose her pseudonym Penny Flame to reflect her fondness of the Beatles song and marijuana.<ref name="Fontenot/About" />

German politician [[Martin Schulz]] once described the song as a [[working class]] anthem. He said that it is his favourite Beatles song and it can reduce him to tears sometimes. It is a symbol of [[class consciousness]] for him and the Beatles' working-class background reminds him of his own.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Feldenkirchen |first=Markus |date=2017-10-12 |title=Martin Schulz: Inside the Failed Campaign |language=en |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/martin-schulz-inside-the-failed-campaign-a-1172210.html |access-date=2022-03-28 |issn=2195-1349}}</ref>