Editing Pet Sounds (section)

===United Kingdom EMI release===
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 |quote=Personally, I think the group has evolved another 800 per cent in the last year. We have a more conscious, arty production now that's more polished. It's all been like an explosion for us. [...] it's like I'm in the golden age of what it's all about.
 |source=—Brian Wilson quoted in ''[[Melody Maker]]'', March 1966<ref name="MelodyMakerBlast">{{cite magazine |last=Grevatt |first=Ren |title=Beach Boys' Blast |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |date=March 19, 1966|page=3}}</ref>
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Carl stated that while the Beach Boys recognized shifting music industry trends, Capitol had maintained a fixed perception of the group that conflicted with their desired artistic presentation.<ref name="Carl1997"/> In March, the band hired [[Nick Grillo]] as their manager after switching management firms{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=120}} and recruited [[Derek Taylor]], the Beatles' former [[press officer]], as their publicist.{{sfn|Butler|2012|p=231}} Taylor's reputation helped provide a credible external perspective on the band's evolving image and activities.{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|pp=91–93}} Responding to Brian's complaints regarding public perception of his talents,{{sfn|Kent|2009|p=27}} Taylor [[Brian Wilson is a genius|championed him as "a genius"]] as part of an effort to rebrand and legitimize the group.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=120, 142}}

In the UK, the band experienced limited commercial success until March 1966, when "Barbara Ann" and ''Beach Boys Party!'' both reached number 2 on the ''[[Record Retailer]]'' charts.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=122}} Two singles were issued in April: "Sloop John B" peaked at number 2, while "Caroline, No" did not chart.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=122, 124}} Capitalizing on their rising British popularity, the group filmed two music videos for ''[[Top of the Pops]]''—one for "Sloop John B" and another for "God Only Knows"—with Taylor as director.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=130–131}}{{refn|group=nb|The first video was shot at Brian's Laurel Way residence with Dennis as cameraman; the second, filmed near [[Lake Arrowhead, California|Lake Arrowhead]], depicted the band (excluding Johnston) wearing grotesque horror masks while playing [[Old maid (card game)|Old Maid]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=130–131}} }} Though intended to incorporate excerpts from "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Here Today", the BBC slightly edited the "God Only Knows" video to reduce runtime. The "Sloop John B" video debuted on April 28.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=130–131}}

The band's British distributor [[EMI]] initially had no plans to release ''Pet Sounds'' in the UK as of late May but later scheduled its November release to coincide with the band's British tour.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=136, 139}} From May 16 to 21, Johnston and Taylor stayed at London's [[The Waldorf Hilton, London|Waldorf Hotel]] to promote the album locally.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=134}} Through London-based producer [[Kim Fowley]]'s connections, musicians, journalists, and guests including Beatles [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]] and [[the Who|Who]] drummer [[Keith Moon]] attended repeated album playbacks in their suite.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=134–135}} Fowley likened the event to the Beatles' 1964 arrival at [[LaGuardia Airport]], describing Johnston as "Jesus Christ in tennis shoes" and the album as "the Ten Commandments".{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=191}} Moon facilitated Johnston's exposure on British television and introduced him to Lennon and McCartney.<ref name="Johnston1997"/>

[[File:Petsoundsadtext.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Black and white text reading: "The most Progressive Pop Album ever! PET SOUNDS|Text from a UK advertisement of the album. Public demand had led to ''Pet Sounds'' being issued several months earlier than scheduled.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=139}}]]

EMI rush-released ''Pet Sounds'' in the UK on June 27 due to popular demand,{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=139}} where it peaked at number 2, behind [[The Sound of Music (soundtrack)|the soundtrack album]] for ''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'' (1965),{{sfn|Stanley|2013|p=163}} and remained in the top ten for six months.{{sfn|Gillett|1984|p=329}} Taylor is widely recognized as having been instrumental in this success, due to his longstanding connections with the Beatles and other industry figures in the UK.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=152}} The music press there carried advertisements saying that ''Pet Sounds'' was "The Most Progressive Pop Album Ever!"{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=81}}{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=207}} while Rolling Stones manager [[Andrew Loog Oldham]]—also the Beach Boys' UK publisher{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=87}}—purchased a full-page ''Melody Maker'' advertisement declaring it "the greatest album ever made".{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=88}} The third UK single, "God Only Knows" (B-side "Wouldn't It Be Nice"), was released on July 22 and reached number 2.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=142}}

''Pet Sounds'' became one of the five bestselling UK albums of 1966.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=139}} Capitalizing on the success of Beach Boys singles like "Barbara Ann", "Sloop John B", and "God Only Knows", EMI issued multiple existing Beach Boys albums in the UK market, including ''Party!'', ''Today!'', and ''Summer Days''.{{sfn|Savage|2015|p=476}} ''Best of the Beach Boys'' spent five weeks at number 2 through year's end.<ref name="Mawer/OCC">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217020406/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1966.php|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1966.php|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|title=Album Chart History: 1966|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|date=May 2007|archive-date=December 17, 2007|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> By the final quarter of 1966, the Beach Boys surpassed British acts like the Beatles as the UK's top-selling album artists.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Andrews |first1=Grame |date=March 4, 1967 |title=Americans Regain Rule in England |magazine=Billboard Magazine |volume=79 |issue=9 |pages=1, 10 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=CykEAAAAMBAJ |page=1}} |access-date=April 27, 2013}}</ref>