Sgt Pepper wins new fans 40 years on

By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) - Mae West said: "No. I won't be in it. What would I be doing in a lonely hearts club?"

So The Beatles personally wrote to the Hollywood vamp who then agreed to join Fred Astaire and Karl Marx on the cover for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which celebrates its 40th anniversary on Friday.

It took 129 days for the Beatles to record one of the most enduring albums of the 20th century. Their first, "Please Please Me", had taken just 585 minutes to record.

Now 21st century rock stars have paid their own tribute -- Oasis, Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight celebrated the anniversary by recording their own versions of the album's famous songs.

Recording engineer Geoff Emerick, who worked on the original album, was back at the controls for the 'time machine' recording session. "This is the first time I've touched this equipment since The Beatles days," he said.

Computer technology has transformed 21st century music. Back in 1967, if Paul McCartney sang off-key or John Lennon fluffed his guitar lines, they had to re-record.

Pop historian and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, reflecting on the album's legacy, told Reuters: "It is one of the great icons of the 20th century. It was the symbol of a very well defined moment in time -- the summer of love in 1967."

The download generation could now give the album another fillip.