View source for Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
| cover         = Beingforthebenenfitofmrkite.PNG
| cover_size    = 160
| alt           = 
| caption       = Sheet music cover
| type          = song
| artist        = [[the Beatles]]
| album         = [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]
| released      = {{Start date|1967|5|26|df=y}}{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=123|ps=. "In the United Kingdom ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''...was rush-released six days ahead of its official date, June 1."}}
| recorded      = 17, 20 February, 28, 29, 31 March 1967
| studio        = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre         = {{flatlist|
* [[Psychedelic music|Psychedelia]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wybenga |first1=Eric |title=Dead to the Core: An Almanack of the Grateful Dead |date=2011 |publisher=Random House}}</ref>
* [[circus music]]<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Richie |title=Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! - The Beatles - Song Info |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/being-for-the-benefit-of-mr-kite%21-mt0055324383 |website=AllMusic |access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref>
* [[music hall]]<ref name= "McIver 2015">{{cite book|first= Joel|last= McIver|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2015 |title= 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die|chapter= The Kinks - "[[Sunny Afternoon]]|publisher= [[Rizzoli Libri|Universe]]|location= New York|page= 174}}</ref>
}}
| length        = 2:37
| label         = *[[Parlophone]] (UK)
*[[Capitol Records|Capitol]] (US)
| writer        = [[Lennon–McCartney]]
| producer      = [[George Martin]]
| misc          = {{Audio sample
 | type        = song
 | file        = Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!.ogg
 }}
}}
"'''Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!'''" is a song recorded by the English rock band [[the Beatles]] for their 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. It was written and composed primarily by [[John Lennon]] and credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]].{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=318}}<ref name="macca" />

Most of the lyrics came from a 19th-century circus poster for [[Pablo Fanque]]'s Circus Royal appearance at [[Rochdale]]. It was one of three songs from the ''Sgt. Pepper'' album that was banned from playing on the [[BBC]], supposedly because the phrase "Henry the Horse" combined two words that were individually known as slang for heroin.<ref>Kenneally, Tim. [https://www.thewrap.com/sgt-pepper-beatles-album-50-things-to-know/ "The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band': 50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know: From producer George Martin’s biggest regret to a masked, X-rated message, an exhaustive look at the Beatles’ 1967 classic,"] ''The Wrap'' (June 1, 2017).</ref><ref>James. [https://www.hmv.com/music/10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-sgt-pepper-s-lonely-hearts-club-band "10 Things You Didn't Know About... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,"] ''HMV'' (25 May 2017).</ref> Lennon denied that the song had anything to do with heroin.<ref>Goodden, Joe. ''Riding So High: The Beatles and Drugs'' (Joe Goodden, 2017).</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Mr Kite - Full Color Photo.png|thumb|The circus poster from 1843 that inspired John Lennon to write "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite".|left]]
The inspiration to write the song was a 19th-century circus poster for [[Pablo Fanque]]'s Circus Royal appearance at [[Rochdale]]. Lennon purchased the poster on 31 January 1967 at a Sevenoaks antiques shop while the Beatles were filming promotional films for "[[Strawberry Fields Forever]]" in [[Sevenoaks]], Kent.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=98}} Lennon claimed years later to still have the poster in his home.<ref name="HitPar">{{cite magazine |title=Lennon–McCartney Songalog: Who Wrote What |magazine=[[Hit Parader]] |volume=Winter 1977 [reprint of April 1972] |issue=101 |pages=38–41 |format=PDF |url=https://archive.org/details/JohnLennonInterview1972HitParaderMagazine |access-date=6 June 2017 }}</ref> "Everything from the song is from that poster," he explained, "except the horse wasn't called Henry."{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=183}} (The poster identifies the horse as "Zanthus".)

The song's lyrics (based on the original poster) detail the evening's program, which was to occur at [[Bishopsgate]] in the following sequence: On Saturday at 5:50 pm the band was to begin playing while Mr. Kite would perform, flying "through the [[circus ring|ring]]". Meanwhile, Mr. Henderson would execute ten [[somersault|Somerset]]s, and then perform on the [[trampoline]], "over men and horses, through hoops and over garters",{{efn|According to a catalogue of Britishisms found in Beatles lyrics, "'hoops' are probably the staves used to reinforce a hogshead or barrel; used in this sense, 'garter' may also be a circlet of some material through which a performer jumps."<ref>Somers, Harold. [http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/britguide.html "BRITGUIDE---an introduction to Britishisms in the Beatles' Lyrics"] (July 1, 1993).</ref>}} and "lastly through a [[hogshead]] of real fire". This act would be followed by the Hendersons dancing and singing. Finally, Henry the Horse would dance the [[waltz]].

Mr. Kite is believed to be [[William Kite]], who worked for Pablo Fanque from 1843 to 1845. "Mr. J. Henderson" was John Henderson, a wire-walker, [[Equestrianism|equestrian]], [[trampoline]] artist, and clown. While the poster made no mention of "Hendersons" plural, as Lennon sings, John Henderson did perform with his wife Agnes, the daughter of circus owner [[Henry Hengler]]. The Hendersons performed throughout Europe and Russia during the 1840s and 1850s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Steve |title=A Hard Day's Write |publisher=Carlton Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-06-084409-7 |location=United Kingdom |pages=128 |language=en}}</ref>

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is credited to Lennon–McCartney, but Lennon said he had written it entirely himself.<ref name="HitPar"/> In 1977, when shown a list of songs Lennon claimed writing on (including "Mr. Kite"), McCartney disputed only "[[In My Life]]".<ref name="HitPar"/> In his 1997 memoir, he claimed to have also co-written "Mr. Kite".{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=318}} In a 2013 interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, he recalled spending an afternoon with Lennon writing the song based on the poster, and said that "the song just wrote itself".<ref name="macca">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-paul-mccartney-looks-back-on-his-latest-magical-mystery-tour-20130725|title=Q&A: Paul McCartney Looks Back on His Latest Magical Mystery Tour|last=Vozick-Levinson|first=Simon|date=25 July 2013|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=27 July 2013}}</ref> Pete Shotten, however, in his book ''John Lennon: In My Life'', also remembers Lennon writing the song alone.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Shotton | first1 = Pete | last2 = Schaffner | first2 = Nicholas | title = John Lennon: In My Life | year = 1983 | publisher = Stein & Day Pub | isbn = 081286185X}}</ref>

==Recording==
One of the most musically complex songs on ''Sgt. Pepper'', it was recorded by the Beatles on 17 February 1967 with overdubs on 20 February (organ sound effects), 28 March (harmonica, organ, guitar), 29 March (more organ effects) and 31 March.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=98, 99, 105–106}} Lennon wanted the track to have a "carnival atmosphere", and told producer [[George Martin]] that he wanted "to smell the sawdust on the floor".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=99}} In the [[Thirty-two-bar form#Middle eight|middle eight]] bars, multiple recordings of [[fairground organ]]s and [[calliope (music)|calliope]] music were spliced together to attempt to satisfy this request.  In a 1968 interview, Martin recalled that he achieved this "by playing the [[Hammond organ]] myself and speeding it up".{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 45, track 3, 6:22}} In addition to the Hammond organ, an attempt was made to find a 19th-century steam organ for hire in London, to enhance the carnival atmosphere effect, but to no avail.{{sfn|Emerick|2006}} After a great deal of unsuccessful experimentation, Martin instructed recording engineer [[Geoff Emerick]] to chop the tape into pieces with scissors, throw them up in the air, and re-assemble them at random.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=99}}

Before the start of the first take, Lennon sings the words "For the benefit of Mr. Kite!" in a joke accent, then Emerick announces, "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite! This is take 1."  Lennon immediately responds, ''"Being'' for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", reinforcing his title preference from a phrase lifted intact from the original [[Pablo Fanque]] poster. The exchange is recorded in ''The Beatles Recording Sessions''{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=98}} and audible on track 8 of disc 2 of ''[[Anthology 2]]''. The original recording can also be heard during the loading screen for the song if it is downloaded in the 2009 video game ''[[The Beatles: Rock Band]]''.

Although Lennon once said of the song that he "wasn't proud of that" and "I was just going through the motions",{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=243}} in 1980 he described it as "pure, like a painting, a pure watercolour".{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=183}} [[AllMusic]] stated that "the Beatles and Martin pulled out all the stops to make a layer of sound that was only possible to create in the recording studio [...] resulting in a sound both redolent of the circuses of bygone days, and as [[avant-garde]] as anything in rock music."<ref name="allmusic"/>

==Personnel==
* [[John Lennon]] – [[Double tracking|double-tracked]] lead vocals,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Howlett|first=Kevin|title=Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (50th Anniversary Deluxe Version) (book).|publisher=The Beatles. Apple Records.|year=2017}}</ref> [[Hammond organ]], and harmonica
* [[Paul McCartney]] – harmony vocal, bass guitar, lead guitar
* [[George Harrison]] – harmony vocal, harmonica, tambourine,<ref name=":0" /> [[Shaker (musical instrument)|shaker]]
* [[Ringo Starr]] – drums, tambourine
* [[George Martin]] – piano, [[Pump organ|harmonium]], [[Lowrey organ]], [[Wurlitzer#Electronic organs|Wurlitzer organ]], [[Mellotron]],<ref name=":0" /> Hammond organ, [[glockenspiel]], tape loops{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 45, track 3, 6:22}}
* [[Mal Evans]] – [[bass harmonica]]
* [[Neil Aspinall]] – harmonica
* [[Geoff Emerick]] – tape loops

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book
| author=The Beatles
| year=2000
| title=The Beatles Anthology
| publisher=Chronicle Books
| location=San Francisco
| isbn=0-8118-2684-8
| url-access=registration
| url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Emerick |first1=Geoff |title=Here, there, and everywhere : my life recording the music of the Beatles |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin |location=New York |isbn=978-1-59240-179-6}}
*{{cite book
|last=Everett
|first=Walter
|author-link=Walter Everett (musicologist)
|year=1999
|title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-512941-0
|url={{google books  |plainurl=y  |id=eTkHAldi4bEC}} 
}}
*{{Gilliland 
|show=45
|title=Sergeant Pepper at the Summit: The very best of a very good year
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Lewisohn
| first=Mark
| year=1988
| author-link=Mark Lewisohn
| title=The Beatles Recording Sessions
| publisher=[[Harmony Books]]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-517-57066-1
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Miles
| first=Barry
| year=1997
| author-link=Barry Miles
| title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now
| publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-8050-5249-6
| url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Sheff
| first=David
| year=2000
| author-link=David Sheff
| title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
| publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-312-25464-4
| url=https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Notes on|http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/bftbomk.shtml}}
* [http://www.beatlesagain.com/bkite.html Discussion of the original poster]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSseylYWaFQ&t=1s A short film with close-up shots of the original poster as well as its history, including replications]
* [http://kiteprint.com/blogs/news/6943798-other-versions-of-the-mr-kite-poster Comparisons of modern reproductions of the poster with the original]

{{Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!}}
[[Category:1967 songs]]
[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:Circus music]]
[[Category:Songs banned by the BBC]]
[[Category:Psychedelic songs]]
[[Category:Songs about theatre]]
[[Category:Songs based on actual events]]
[[Category:Music hall songs]]