The Beatles Yellow Submarine - A Psychedelic Icon?

Cover of Yellow Submarine [Region 2]

The Beatles Yellow Submarine Sets Sail For Psychedelia by Vince P Platania

Ringo Starr was never really given his due as a creative influence in The Beatles. While he was vastly overshadowed as a songwriter by the divine combination of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Starr was an extremely talented drummer who had shone in various bands around Liverpool before being asked to join the Beatles. Starr was one of the most popular Beatles amongst fans, and he sang on several tracks for the band, many of which could best be described as novelty songs. One of the most memorable of these is the Beatles Yellow Submarine.

Yellow Submarine was released on the album 'Revolver' in 1966. Revolver was somewhat of a turning point for the band, as it was a mix of the rock and roll and folk-oriented rock they had previously performed, along with the harder edged and somewhat strange psychedelic sound that would come to define their next few years' output. The album contained straight-ahead rockers, meticulously arranged string pieces, and fuzzed out sitar explorations, and was one of their strongest efforts to date.

The Beatles Yellow Submarine told the tale of a man who set out to live underneath the ocean, and it detailed the animals and people he encountered on his journey. The song is heavily laced with hallucinogenic imagery and overtones, and the theme of the track was loosely adopted 2 years later for the animated film 'Yellow Submarine' - produced at the height of the bands interest in mind-altering substances.

From the film, a soundtrack record was produced, as well as a 6-track EP called 'Yellow Submarine' which was more of a collection of previously-recorded odds and ends than a proper record. In fact, the second side of the record doesn't feature any Beatles songs at all, and is instead a showcase for the songwriting of producer George Martin.

'Yellow Submarine' suffered from negative publicity upon its release, relating to the flamboyant comments made by Lennon about Jesus Christ. It failed to reach number one but rather quickly achieved gold record status. Revolver, on the other hand was a huge commercial success, and has been widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best album released by the Beatles. Ignoring the possible drug connotations, the child-friendly image of 'Yellow Submarine' created a family-friendly image in the mind of many for Ringo Starr, and later in life he was able to parlay this into a successful children's acting career.

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