Editing Magical Mystery Tour (section)

==Release==
In advance of the EP's release, Lennon promoted the soundtrack in an interview on the [[BBC Radio 1]] show ''Where It's At''.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=284}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|pp=138–39}} Lennon discussed the studio effects used on the new songs, including "I Am the Walrus",{{sfn|Winn|2009|pp=138–39}} which received its only contemporary airing on BBC radio when disc jockey [[Kenny Everett]] played it as part of the interview broadcast on 25 November 1967.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=284}} According to author John Winn, because the lyrics included the word "[[panties|knickers]]", the song "remained unofficially prohibited from BBC playlists for the time being".{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=138}} "I Am the Walrus" was also banned from American airwaves.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=284}}

''Magical Mystery Tour'' was issued in the UK on 8 December, the day after the opening of their [[Apple Boutique]] in central London, and just over two weeks before the film was broadcast by [[BBC Television]].{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=285}} It retailed at the sub-£1 price of [[Decimal Day#Old system|19s 6d]] (equivalent to £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|0.975|1967}}}} today).{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=131}} It was their thirteenth British EP and only their second, after 1964's ''[[Long Tall Sally (EP)|Long Tall Sally]]'', to consist of entirely new recordings.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=602}} With the broadcast rights for North America assigned to [[NBC]], the Capitol album was scheduled for a mid-December release.<ref name="BB">{{cite magazine|author=Billboard staff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PigEAAAAMBAJ&q=Beatles|title=Beatles' 13th Cap. LP Due Mid-December|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=25 November 1967|page=6|access-date=15 September 2020|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026163912/https://books.google.com/books?id=PigEAAAAMBAJ&q=Beatles#v=snippet&q=Beatles&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The company instead issued the album on 27 November. In Britain only, the film was then screened on [[Boxing Day]] to an audience estimated at 15 million.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=90}} It was savaged by reviewers,{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=229}}{{sfn|Neaverson|1997|p=71}} giving the Beatles their first public and critical failure.{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=368–69}}{{sfn|Frontani|2007|pp=161–62}} As a result, the American broadcaster withdrew its bid for the local rights, and the film was not shown there at the time.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=90}}{{refn|group=nb|The film had been scheduled for broadcast in the US over the Easter weekend.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=132}}}}

{{quote box|quote=Any resentment or hostility that the watching audience might have felt towards the Boxing Day broadcast of ''Magical Mystery Tour'' was more than amply counterbalanced by the fact that for three weeks over the Christmas and new year period the "Hello, Goodbye" single and the ''Magical Mystery Tour'' EP were numbers one and two in the UK singles chart. You heard them everywhere and all the time, resplendent in tandem.{{sfn|Chapman|2015|p=303}}|source=&nbsp;– Music journalist [[Rob Chapman (journalist)|Rob Chapman]]|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
In its first three weeks on sale in the US, ''Magical Mystery Tour'' set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP.{{sfn|Harry|2000|p=699}} It was number 1 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s Top LPs listings for eight weeks at the start of 1968 and remained in the top 200 until 8 February 1969.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=359}}{{refn|group=nb|Due to the alleged clues in its artwork, the album returned to the ''Billboard'' chart in late 1969, at the height of the "Paul is dead" rumours.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}}{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=844}} Among several records that exploited this phenomenon,{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=127}} a group calling themselves the Mystery Tour issued the single "The Ballad of Paul".{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=281}}}} It was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awardsandshows.com/features/grammy-awards-1969-243.html|title=Grammy Awards 1969|publisher=Awards and Shows|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105235136/http://www.awardsandshows.com/features/grammy-awards-1969-243.html|archive-date=5 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Britain, the EP peaked at number 2 on the [[UK Singles Chart|national singles chart]],{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=97}} behind "Hello, Goodbye",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19680110/7501|title=Official Singles Chart Top 50: 10 January 1968&nbsp;– 16 January 1968|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112548/http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19680110/7501|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=46}} and became the Beatles' ninth release to top the national EPs chart compiled by ''[[Record Retailer]]''.{{sfn|Bagirov|2008|p=113}} In the UK singles listings compiled by ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine, it replaced "Hello, Goodbye" at number 1 for a week.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=338}} The EP sold over 500,000 copies there.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=132}} Walter Everett highlights its UK chart performance as a significant achievement, given that the EP's retail price far exceeded that of the singles with which it was competing at the time.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=132}} As an American import, the Capitol album release peaked on the ''Record Retailer'' LPs chart at number 31 in January 1968.<ref>{{cite web|author=Datablog|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/09/beatles-albums-singles-music-rock-band|title=The Beatles: Every album and single, with its chart position|publisher=[[The Guardian|theguardian.com]]|date=9 September 2009|access-date=16 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527110359/http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/09/beatles-albums-singles-music-rock-band|archive-date=27 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In the US, the album sold 1,936,063 copies by 31 December 1967 and 2,373,987 copies by the end of the decade.<ref name="How many records did the Beatles actually sell?">{{cite web|url=http://deconstructingpopculture.com/2009/04/how-many-records-did-the-beatles-actually-sell|first=David|last=Kronemyer|title=How Many Records did the Beatles actually sell? |publisher=Deconstructing Pop Culture|date=29 April 2009|access-date=11 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306054326/http://deconstructingpopculture.com/2009/04/how-many-records-did-the-beatles-actually-sell/|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to music historian [[Clinton Heylin]], the release of ''Magical Mystery Tour'' and of [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[Their Satanic Majesties Request]]'', which was the Stones' answer to ''Sgt. Pepper'', inadvertently brought an end to [[psychedelic pop]].{{sfn|Heylin|2007|p=245}} Music journalist [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]] cites the critical maligning of the film as the excuse the British authorities were looking for to begin targeting the Beatles, despite the band's status as MBE holders, for their wayward influence on youth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=John|year=2003|chapter=Cruel Britannia|title=Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years&nbsp;– Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970)|location=London|publisher=Emap|page=44|title-link=Mojo (magazine)#Special editions}}</ref> Within the Beatles, McCartney's role as the group's ''de facto'' leader, a role he had assumed with Lennon's withdrawal before ''Sgt. Pepper'',{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=32}} was destabilised as individual creative agendas were increasingly pursued over 1968.{{sfn|Greene|2016|p=42}}

In 1968, jazz musician [[Bud Shank]] released the album ''[[Magical Mystery]]'', which included five of the EP's tracks and "Hello, Goodbye".{{cn|date=August 2024}} "The Fool on the Hill" was highly popular among other artists, particularly cabaret performers,{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=48}} and became one of the most covered Lennon–McCartney compositions.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=91}}
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