Bloody Sunday Manifesto

**Bloody Sunday Manifesto** is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band The Beatles. The album was co-produced by the band and longtime producer George Martin, released on 12 June 1972 by Apple Records, distributed by EMI in the United Kingdom and Europe and by Columbia in the United States. Considered a divisive album by the fans, its agitprop and socially conscious lyrics are very politically charged compared to its predecessors.

*Imagine* was the only song recorded prior to the main sessions of the album. In June 1971, the Beatles organized the Concert for Bangladesh, their first live performance since the rooftop concert. Following the Bloody Sunday, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, both of Irish ancestry, felt the need to release a statement regarding the event. *Give Ireland Back to the Irish* and *Sunday Bloody Sunday* were released as a double A-side single, being censored in the United Kingdom by the BBC, while being overlooked in the US. The group felt the need to rejoice to a response to the censorship given in the country.

The album features the heavy usage of sarcasm in their lyrics and structure, as well as messages discussing political themes of the time, such as the Bangladesh Liberation War, The Troubles, attacks on political power, the media and organised religion, and concerns with the working class. During the recording sessions and mixing, the track list was frequently changed, with many songs being added and removed until a compromise was reached between Apple, EMI, Columbia, and the band, which delayed the release by a month.

Bloody Sunday Manifesto was met with a wide commercial success while given a mixed response by music critics, from scathing to average reviews. The album topped both charts in the United Kingdom and the United States thanks to the return of the band going on the road again with the Beatles University Tour in 1972, but it fell out quickly. *Soily* was released as a lead single, followed by *Gimme Some Truth*, both reaching the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

Considered a wild card in the Beatles' catalogue, Bloody Sunday Manifesto is widely considered a divisive landmark between the fanbase. While gathering a cult following to the album, other fans label the material of the album as superficial and politically shallow, although it span attention to The Troubles across the world. The record wasn't free of criticism from the Beatles themselves, mostly John Lennon and George Harrison, who "partially regretted" recording the album.

## Background

Following the release of *All Things Must Pass*, the Beatles took a break from their activities to focus on their solo careers and personal lives. Paul and Linda McCartney began to record a follow-up to *Rock and Roll Springtime*, whereas John Lennon and Yoko Ono did the same with *It's So Hard*. While George Harrison also did the same thing with *Let It Down*, he was busy with other projects, such as providing the soundtrack for a documentary on the life and music of Ravi Shankar, Howard Worth's *Raga* (1971), for which Harrison had stepped in at the last minute to provide funding and distribution through Apple Films. At the same time, Harrison was working with Badfinger during the production of *Straight Up* before dropping out.

During a dinner, Ravi Shankar and George Harrison discussed about the growing humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh. By 13 June, the *Sunday Times* in London had just published an influential article by Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas, which exposed the full horror of the Bangladesh atrocities, and a distraught Shankar approached Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering. As a result, George felt the need to call up a meeting with the Beatles in a successful effort to release *Bangla Desh* and organize a concert to raise awareness for the millions of refugees from Bangladesh, following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The release of the song was then followed by Lennon's desire to release *Imagine*, both making the Beatles' popularity as a vehicle to spread their message. Bangla Desh reached the the top 15 in the UK Singles Chart and number 10 in the US, while Imagine peaked at 3 at the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.

In August 1971, The Beatles organized the *Concert for Bangladesh*, a three-day benefit concert to raise awareness for the millions of refugees in the aforementioned country. The shows were held between 30 July and 1 August 1971 to fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide. The concerts were followed by a box set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972. The concerts were attended by a total of 70,000 people, and the initial gate receipts raised close to $600,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF.

In what was considered the Beatles' popularity peak, after August 1971 the group pretty much returned to the solo affairs, with the releases of It's So Hard, Let It Down, and *Another Day*. However, on 30 January 1972 at a protest march in Derry, 13 marchers were killed by members of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment. The killing was quickly dubbed Bloody Sunday. Enraged by the massacre, both Lennon and McCartney wrote three songs about the event, in the same way as Harrison, called the Beatles to release the songs as singles. *Give Ireland Back to the Irish* and *Sunday Bloody Sunday* were released as a double A-side single, reaching number 6 in the UK Singles Charts, number 15 in Billboard Hot 100, while topping the charts in Ireland. The reception was mixed, as it was pointed by the British press that the Beatles seemed to test the limits of their success. The single was banned by the BBC and other organisations, which prompted the band to record an album as a response to the backlash and censorship given to the single.

## Production and recording

Given the context that Paul McCartney and John Lennon were interested on a "protest record", George and Ringo were considerably more cautious with the choice by both leading members, although appalled by the events previously mentioned. The Beatles rejoiced at the Apple Studios, with some periods at the Abbey Road. The recording sessions were pretty quick lasting two months, with each Beatle contributing with at least one song, while the mixing took two months, and the conflicts with the labels over the tracks forced the band to delay the release of the album by a month. Imagine, Give Ireland Back to the Irish and Sunday Bloody Sunday were chosen to be included in the album. Bangla Desh was originally included, but was left out per Harrison's request.

The Beatles engaged a core set of musicians to support them reminiscent from the previous album. Of them, only Denny Laine, Henry McCullough and Jim Keltner were new supporting members. This caused the Beatles to be less in their respective positions, as Paul McCartney was moving more towards piano, while Denny Laine, Lennon and Harrison were fulfilling his role as bass players. Also John Lennon and George Harrison were in their respective roles of guitarists, occasionally moving to piano, while Ringo was the only to effectively hold his position as drummer of the band, despite the help of session drummer Jim Keltner.

*Soily*, *The Luck of the Irish* and *Gimme Some Truth* were some of the first new batch of songs to be recorded between 6–19 February 1972. Gimme Some Truth was already presented to the Beatles during the *Get Back* sessions, but was vetoed for not being developed enough. Soily was written as an exercise by Paul McCartney to imitate John Lennon's writing and recording style, while the song pleased the band as a "banger". On Ringo's side, he offered Blindman, originally intended to be the theme song for the Ferdinando Baldi-directed Spaghetti Western *Blindman*. The group liked the lyrics, despite being "vaguely political", and was included in the album.

Originally, Lennon also offered *Attica State* and *Women is the N\*gger of the World*. While the first song managed to be included in the original track listing, it was vetoed by Columbia Records, distributor of the album in the United States, while the last song was considered off-limits even by Paul himself, while John was reprimanded by Brian Epstein. 1882 evolved in a similar way as Wild Life, while George presented *Awaiting On You All*, *The Lord Loves The One (That Loves The Lord)* and *The Day the World Gets 'Round*. As the recording sessions were coming to an end, Paul wrote *Mary Had a Little Lamb*, initially intended to be a plain children's song, but John considered a "sarcastic cherry-on-top" of the record, being included in the last minute as Attica State was vetoed.

During the recording sessions, the initial word to the band was the both distributors would reject releasing the album, unless a few things would change. Attica State was vetoed by Columbia not only because it dealt with a recent political event in the United States, but to avoid future problems with the immigration, as Lennon was dealing at the time. Mary Had a Little Lamb was recorded and replaced the song afterwards, delaying the album's release. After a compromise between Apple, EMI and Columbia, the album would be set to release on 12 June 1972.

## Songs

### Side one

*Sunday Bloody Sunday*, *Give Ireland Back to the Irish* and *The Luck of the Irish* were songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney during the following days after the events of the Bloody Sunday. With partial Irish ancestry, Paul and John wanted to write a protest song regarding the events, and both considered the first two as singles, whereas John shelved The Luck of the Irish to an eventual solo venture. As the single received considerable backlash from the press at the time, plans changed and all songs were included in the record.

*Soily* was written by Paul McCartney in 1971, as an exercise to mimic fellow bandmate John Lennon's political writing style. After playing it, the song was approved by the band, particularly John Lennon, who pointed the "raw nature" of the song, comparing it to *Helter Skelter*.

*The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)*, written by George Harrison, was inspired by the teachings of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. In his lyrics, Harrison criticizes the falsehood of striving for wealth or power in the material world and advocates a direct relationship with one's deity as a genuine life goal. The song was written between 1971-72 due to the frustration regarding legal and business issues afflicting the band's Concert for Bangladesh aid project.

*The Day the World Gets 'Round* was also written by Harrison around the same time, echoing the same themes from The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord), such as the financial problems and commercial concerns regarding the aid project, and his disappointment that such a humanitarian aid project was necessary, given the abundance of resources available across the planet. Originally considered the closing track with Imagine, it was then placed as a side closer with the withdrawal of Attica State.

### Side two

*Imagine* was immediately included by John Lennon, as it was the band's most popular single at the time. The song encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace, and was inspired by Yoko Ono's content.

*Blindman* was written by Ringo Starr to be featured as the theme song for the film with the same name. As it was pulled off, the drummer offered the song to the band, who accepted it, as it was considered "vaguely political". The group itself was surprised when Ringo presented the song to them.

*Gimme Some Truth* was already known as it was presented earlier by Lennon during the Get Back sessions, and was even rehearsed and recorded, as shown in some bootlegs. The song's lyrics conveys Lennon's frustration with deceptive politicians, hypocrisy, and chauvinism.

*Awaiting On You All* was written by George Harrison during the Let It Down sessions, and recorded at some point, but eventually it was left out from the album. Harrison presented and picked the song over including Bangla Desh in the album, as it seemed a bit more politically-themed. The lyrics criticise the tenets of organised religion, advocating the direct relationship with one's deity in a similar vein as The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord).

The song structure of *1882* was written as early as the Get Back sessions, and was first presented during the *All Things Must Pass* sessions. It was vetoed in favor of *Wild Life*, which was far more developed by the group at the time. The song was then brought back by Paul McCartney and approved by the band, who developed the song as a jam band in the same way as Wild Life.

*Mary Had a Little Lamb* was written by Paul McCartney as a "sincere effort to write a song for children". During a visit from Lennon to Paul's home, he interpreted the song's with a sarcastic style and wanted to include it in the album, replacing Attica State. The song was chosen as the closing track, with Lennon claiming it as a response on BBC's ban of their political singles.

### Leftover material

Over the course of the sessions, some material was shared between the members of the band. Bangla Desh was widely discussed on whether it would be included in the album, eventually being vetoed by Harrison himself. Attica State was recorded, but vetoed by the American distributor Columbia Records, while Women is the N\*gger of the World was primarily discarded by the band, and later the label. George Harrison also presented other three songs: The Light That Has Lighted the World, Living in the Material World, and Who Can See It, but the band preferred Awaiting On You All over the three. However, The Light That Has Lighted the World would be later recorded as part of *Band on the Run*.

## Packaging and release

Contrasting with previous albums, Bloody Sunday Manifesto had the most simple packaging since *Revolver*. In most countries, except the United Kingdom, the album cover was photographed by P.L. Gould, and unanimously chosen by the Beatles. Originally, John Lennon wanted a shot of Reverend Bishop of Derry Edward Daly holding a blood-stained handkerchief, but it was deemed too graphic and unabashedly controversial by the label. However, a shot of the moment was included in a reissue packaging a few years later, along with many other photos from the event.

Apple Records issued Bloody Sunday Manifesto on 12 June 1971 in the United States and on 19 June 1971 in the United Kingdom. In the original issue, the cover photo was the only one present in the album, while the back sleeve was a photo with all the Beatles included, dedications (including a mention to the Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party) and the personnel. The gatefold was filled with lyrics, but in reissues, each lyric was preceded by a photo of the Bloody Sunday.

Soily was released as a single, backed by the Concert of Bangladesh's version of I Saw Her Standing There, then followed by Gimme Some Truth, backed by the live version of Bangla Desh. The album saw lukewarm success worldwide, but strove to top Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Charts, after the announcement of the University tours. At the time, the band, particularly John Lennon and Paul McCartney, was reportedly stunned by the album's failure and consequently did not record new music together for over a year.

## Critical reception

On release, *Bloody Sunday Manifesto* received a mixed response from contemporary music critics and provided a startling contrast for listeners expecting a more strict successor to *All Things Must Pass*. John Pidgeon of *Let It Rock* deemed its songs as "mediocre, full of 1970s left-wing clichés", while Rolling Stone's *Stephen Holden* called the album "incipient artistic suicide" considering how the Beatles "were pushing the limits of their fame to the edge" and adding later "if the Beatles are way past their prime". *Village Voice* critic Robert Christgau derided the Beatles' mostly political songs by saying that "You shouldn't care less about a Beatles' political album if there's a Ringo Starr song in it". In later interviews, all the band members also considered *Bloody Sunday Manifesto* as "weak" and "below average". George Harrison wrote in his autobiographic memoir *I, Me, Mine* he never listened to *Bloody Sunday* more than once. John Lennon stated that "there were a few mistakes we should've noted" and "it's not that good". Critics to the album were further added during the US leg of the University Tour.

Dave Marsh wrote a mixed review for *Creem*, stating that "it's not half bad. It may be 49.9% bad, but not half." In the *NME*, Tony Tyler scathed the album, and suggested that "Lennon's pathetic and superficial leftist politics may have tarnished the group's public image, and perhaps, their entire history". In a relatively positive review, Ian Dove of *The New York Times* liked the radical change on their sound as a surprise factor, considering it more similar to their respective solo albums rather than its predecessor. Chris Charlesworth of *Melody Maker* followed Dove by adding that *Bloody Sunday Manifesto* is the "natural progression" of the band's sound, considering the material released in 1971.

In a more retrospective review, Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez describes the album as "an odd, but interesting and purposefully dated piece in their catalogue". Writing four years later, Roy Carr admitted he was surprised by the music, but not impressed by the lyrics, considering the critics at the time as an "understandable overreaction" to the group's statements at the time. Writing in the *Boston Phoenix* in 2005, Eliot Wilder said that listening to the album was "a painful experience". More impressed, Mark Kemp of *Paste* considered that "the album has been unfairly chastised", citing "1882" and "Gimme Some Truth" as the highlights of the album.

## Personnel

The Beatles
* John Lennon – lead, backing and harmony vocals; electric, acoustic and bass guitars
* Paul McCartney – lead, backing and harmony vocals; bass, piano, guitars, electric piano, Moog synthesizer
* George Harrison – lead, backing and harmony vocals; electric, acoustic and bass guitars
* Ringo Starr – lead, backing and harmony vocals; drums and percussion

Additional personnel
* Yoko Ono – backing vocals
* Linda McCartney – backing vocals
* Denny Laine – backing vocals, guitars, bass
* Henry McCullough – electric guitar, backing vocals, percussion
* Klaus Voormann – bass guitar, standup bass, tenor saxophone
* Nicky Hopkins – piano, electric piano
* Gary Wright – organ, harmonium, electric piano, harpsichord
* Jim Horn – saxophones, flute, horn arrangement
* Jim Keltner – drums, percussion
* Alan Parsons – recording engineer
* George Martin – producer