‘Help!’, the groundbreaking album by legendary British band The Beatles, is turning 60 this year.
The record, published on August 6, 1965, showcased the soundtrack of their second feature film of the same title. It followed ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, released the year before.
The movie, directed by Richard Lester, brought the band to the Bahamas.
In it, the Fab Four are busy trying to foil a plan devised by evil characters to kidnap Ringo and steal his precious rings, between songs.
A revolutionary record
‘Help!’ marked the first step towards artistic maturity for the Liverpool band.
It paved the way to the album that would change their discography forever: ‘Rubber Soul’, released in December of the same year.
For the first time in their career, the Beatles used innovative techniques during the recording of the LP, with the introduction of overdubs and tape machines, used to rehearse and record songs more efficiently.
New instruments were also featured in the EMI Recording Studios (or as we know it now, Abbey Road Studios). The flute and the electric piano made their official debut in this album.
The record also showed the first hints of American songwriter Bob Dylan’s influence on the band’s production.
The Beatles and Dylan had met for the first time the year before, when the band toured the US.
Dylan allegedly introduced them to marijuana, which helped broaden their artistic views.
“We thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing, this stuff’. And so it became part of our repertoire from then on,” Paul McCartney said in a 2021 interview.
McCartney went on to write multiple songs dedicated to ‘the devil’s lettuce’, among which feature ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ (from ‘Revolver’, 1966) and ‘Fixing a Hole’ (‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club’, 1967).
MORE MUSIC NEWS: Calvin Harris announces birth of baby son with wife Vick Hope
A collection of classics
‘Help’ gave the world many of the Beatles’ most celebrated and famous songs.
Among these are the cheeky ‘Ticket to Ride’ and the instant classic ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’.
The title track and ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ mark two of the most introspective songs written by John Lennon, while ‘I Need You’ stands out as George Harrison’s first songwriting contribution in a Beatles album.
The most celebrated song to come out of the album is of course Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’.
According to its author, the song came to him in a dream.
“I went to sleep one night and dreamed a tune. Somewhere in my dream I heard this tune,” he said.
The track came on to be one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music.
MORE FROM LUCIA CAPORALINI: Fans say goodbye to Ozzy Ozbourne in his hometown
Elan Castanares 
Newsjustnews writers 
Shameeka Voyiya