APRIL 11, 1967 – While flying back to England after participating in the Beach Boys’ aborted “Smile” sessions, Paul McCartney came up with the idea for the Beatles film and album “Magical Mystery Tour.” Inspired by the tradition of London’s “Mystery Tours” of the city for tourists, and an LSD-drenched real life cross-country (in the USA) excursion by “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” author Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters (See the Tom Wolfe book “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”), The Beatles began filming in September 1967, but there was no script, nor a very clear idea of exactly what was to be accomplished, not even a clear direction about where the bus was supposed to go. The “Magical Mystery Tour” bus set off for the West Country in England stopping for the night in Teignmouth, Devon were hundreds of fans greeted The Beatles at their hotel. Filming resumed, but lasted only for a few days.The film aired on BBC1 on December 26, 1967, but didn’t reach the US until 1974. Excepting perhaps the “Yellow Submarine” film, it remains their most surreal movie. The Merry Prankster’s 1964 trip amid a psychedelic bus also was the inspiration for The Who’s “Magic Bus” and the vivid mode of transportation on the popular 1970s ABC-TV sitcom “The Partridge Family.”
