That alone doesn’t prove the guitar, drum, and tambourine drop out in Day Tripper was intentional but it’s enough for me to lean toward that belief. It would be things like a beat missing or something like that, see if anyone noticed – I know we used to have a few things, but nothing that could be interpreted like that.” I don’t know, you know as much about it as me… No, that was bullshit, the whole thing was made up. “I don’t know where that started, that was barmy. He responded in a typically forthright fashion: In his revealing Rolling Stone interview in 1970, John Lennon was asked about the “Paul is dead” rumor. If it was in fact intentional why would they now change it (but stick to those often horrible stereo mixes)? This would be like manipulating or sabotaging your own song (a song you want to be a hit), why would anybody do that? John said that at times he was just miming on stage (intentionally) and nobody noticed the difference because of the screaming. Even if he would have liked to do it, the other three (and especially George Martin, not to mention Brian Epstein) would have never let him his way – I’m sure about that. But this could be one of those legends that were distributed by John himself (it sounds like John doesn’t it?). I mean in 1965 the Beatles were just starting to get into experimentation – it goes a bit too far for me to believe they did this on purpose. I think dropping the tape out intentionally for a song meant to be their new hit single, that would have been too Avantgarde, too Yoko Ono – for that time. It’s a mistake that becomes a cult moment. It’s one of those things that once you discovered it, you almost wait for it when the song plays. I really don’t think that this drop out was intentional, I think it was a technical error that just went unnoticed and unfixed. ‘We Can Work It Out’ was the more successful of the two titles ‘Day Tripper’ peaked at number five in the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed in the top 40 for eight weeks. It fared less well in the US, where it was released on 6 December. Five days later the single entered the chart at number one, where it remained for five weeks. ‘Day Tripper’/‘We Can Work It Out’ was released in the UK on 3 December 1965 – the same day as the Rubber Soul album, on which it did not feature.

However, anecdotal evidence suggests that ‘We Can Work It Out’ was requested by a greater proportion of record buyers, and was likewise favoured by radio stations. Lennon’s protestations resulted in the single being marketed as the world’s first double a-side. However, after the group recorded ‘We Can Work It Out’ four days later, on 20 October, that was considered the more commercial song. The Beatles originally intended for ‘Day Tripper’ to be the a-side of their final single of 1965. Lennon and Paul McCartney were positioned behind a nearby 1920-style aeroplane. In the first film The Beatles wore their Shea Stadium suits, and George Harrison and Ringo Starr stood behind a railway carriage prop Starr brought out a saw and began dismantling the set.

The Beatles made three promo films for ‘Day Tripper’ on 23 November 1965, at Twickenham Film Studios in London. The Beatles also recorded the rhythm track for Harrison’s ‘If I Needed Someone’ during the same session. That evening they added a number of overdubs Lennon and McCartney both shared lead vocals, and Lennon played the climactic guitar solo. On the afternoon of 16 October 1965 the band spent some hours rehearsing the backing rhythm track, recording three takes, only the final one of which was complete. ‘Day Tripper’ was recorded in three takes during the sessions for Rubber Soul. It was the fourth song performed at their final concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on 29 August 1966.

‘Day Tripper’ was a part of The Beatles’ live repertoire from 1965 until they gave up touring. Paul McCartney Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

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