2017 marks the 50th anniversary of what many think is the greatest Beatles album. This book is a new way of telling the album's story and is split into two distinct halves:

A: The 'A-side' is all about the Beatles, the music on the album, the recording process, how the disc was received at the time and how subsequently it has been acknowledged as one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

B: The 'B-side' looks at the state of the world in 1967. It covers the Summer of Love, anti-war protests, the Six-day War, the death of Che Guevara, the launch of Rolling Stone magazine, Jimi Hendrix's first UK tour as a solo artist – and many more events of global significance. Fascinating photographs and text build up a complete picture of the world as it was when one of the most famous albums of all time was released.

the 'a-side' of the book is dedicated to the Beatles and the music of Sgt. Pepper, the 'b-side' covers global events in popular culture and politics at the time.

Brian Southall began writing about pop music in the 1960s on a local newspaper before graduating to the likes of Melody Maker and Disc. He then worked in the record business for more than 30 years, for A&M, Tamla Motown, EMI and Warner Music. Upon leaving the industry he began writing, and has penned some highly regarded works, including the official history of Abbey Road Studios, the Sex Pistols 90 Days at EMI, Northern Songs – the story of the Beatles music publishing; and The Rise & Fall of EMI. He lives in Essex.