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Hello, Goodbye

Single by The Beatles • 24 November 1967 • Parlophone R 5655

Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967) — Kaleidoscope coach trip and walrus dreams.

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About this release

Hello, Goodbye is a single on Parlophone (catalogue R 5655), released 24 November 1967. Held off the simultaneously-released MMT EP from UK No.1.

Recorded during the band's Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967) period, produced by George Martin with Geoff Emerick engineering. The tracks were committed to tape at EMI Studios + Olympic Sound Studios (Barnes) for some MMT/All You Need Is Love work on Synced J37 four-tracks; first Beatles 8-track session (Trident's Ampex AG-440) imminent — Hey Jude, July 1968 via the REDD.51 + Helios at Olympic.

Contents Preface 4 The Paul McCartney Interview 6 1962 Recording sessions for: `Love Me Do', `Please Please Me' 19631967 16 Recording sessions for: `Penny Lane', 92 Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Yellow Submarine, `All You Need Is Love', Magical Mystery Tour, `Hello, Goodbye' Recording sessions for: Please…— Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, p.3

Release context

Hello, Goodbye is a Beatles single issued in the United Kingdom on 24 November 1967 by Parlophone under catalogue number R 5655. It sits in the band's Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967) period. The release arrived 176 days after the parent LP Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, placing it firmly within that album's commercial window.

Sessions were produced by George Martin with Geoff Emerick engineering, working at EMI Studios + Olympic Sound Studios (Barnes) for some MMT/All You Need Is Love work. The signal chain ran through the Synced J37 four-tracks; first Beatles 8-track session (Trident's Ampex AG-440) imminent — Hey Jude, July 1968 • REDD.51 + Helios at Olympic, with vocals captured on U47/U48, AKG C12, ribbon mics (4038). This combination of room, tape format and outboard chain is the same one heard across the band's other releases from the era — meaning the release shares its sonic identity with its parent LP rather than departing from it.

The release features Hello, Goodbye.

Documented alternate masters and remaster passes can be found via the linked entries above; the editorial position throughout Beatles Answers is that the original UK mono master is the canonical point of reference for any single from this era, with the 2009 and 50th-anniversary stereo remasters treated as documented variations rather than replacements. Catalogue numbers, label copy and matrix data are taken from EMI/Parlophone primary documentation and cross-checked against Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (1988).

Track-by-track context

Each track on this single carries its own session history on the dedicated entry. The summary below pulls the most distinctive editorial detail from each:

What's distinctive

2 tracks; average length 4:03. Lennon dominates the lead vocals (1/2). Lead writing credit: McCartney (1 of 2). Estimated total takes across the release: 110.

Tracklist

Side A

Side B

Pattern analysis

Lead vocalists across Hello, Goodbye
2
Lennon 1
McCartney 1
Songwriters credited on Hello, Goodbye
McCartney1Lennon1
Track lengths (seconds)
I Am the Walrus275Hello, Goodbye211
Estimated takes per track (top 10)
Hello, Goodbye58I Am the Walrus52

Era technical context

MicrophonesU47/U48, AKG C12, ribbon mics (4038)
OutboardEMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, tape phasing, Leslie cabinet
GuitarsEpiphone Casino, Fender Stratocaster (Harrison — psychedelic 'Rocky' Strat), Mellotron, clavioline
AmplifiersVox AC100, Vox UL730, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman

References & external databases

Charts & certifications

  • UK Singles Chart peak: #1 (Wikipedia, citing the relevant chart publication)
  • US Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (Wikipedia)
  • RIAA certification: Gold (Recording Industry Association of America)

Chart positions and certifications sourced from the relevant Wikipedia article infoboxes and citation footnotes.