The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon successful solo careers.

The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over one billion records internationally.

Taxman

“Taxman” is a song written by George Harrison released as the opening track on the Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver. Its lyrics attack the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labor government of Harold Wilson.

Harrison said, “‘Taxman’ was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical.” As their earnings placed them in the top tax bracket in the United Kingdom, the Beatles were liable to a 95% supertax introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labor government (hence the lyrics “There’s one for you, nineteen for me”). In a 1984 interview with Playboy magazine, Paul McCartney explained: “George wrote that and I played guitar on it. He wrote it in anger at finding out what the taxman did. He had never known before then what he’ll do with your money.”

In 1980, Lennon recalled in an interview with Playboy magazine, “I remember the day he [Harrison] called to ask for help on ‘Taxman’, one of his first songs. I threw in a few one-liners to help the song along, because that’s what he asked for. He came to me because he couldn’t go to Paul, because Paul wouldn’t have helped him at that period. I didn’t want to do it… I just sort of bit my tongue and said OK. It had been John and Paul for so long, he’d been left out because he hadn’t been a songwriter up until then.”

The backing vocals’ references to “Mr Wilson” and “Mr Heath,” suggested by Lennon, refer to Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, who were the leaders of the Labor Party and the Conservative Party, the two largest parties in British politics. Wilson, then Prime Minister, had nominated all four of The Beatles as Members of the Order of the British Empire just the previous year. The chanted names replaced two refrains of “Anybody got a bit of money?” heard in take 11, an earlier version released on Anthology 2 in 1996.

Recording began on April 20, 1966, but this was left unused and ten new takes occurred on April 21, 1966, the four tracks being filled that day with drums and bass, Harrison’s distorted rhythm guitar, overdubs of his vocal and Lennon and McCartney’s backing vocals. The ending was created on June 21, 1966.

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Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

(If you drive a car ), I’ll tax the street,
(If you try to sit ), I’ll tax your seat,
(If you get too cold ), I’ll tax the heat,
(If you take a walk ), I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman.

‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for
(Haha! Mister Wilson!)
If you don’t want to pay some more
(Haha! Mister Heath!),
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me,
(Taxman).

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• Audio from the 1966 album, Revolver:
  

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The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon successful solo careers.

The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over one billion records internationally.

You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” is a song by the Beatles originally released as the B-side of the single “Let It Be” on 6 March 1970. Although first issued with their final single (penultimate single in the United States), it was recorded in four separate sessions beginning with three in May and June 1967, and one in 1969.

The song is a music hall comedy number. Lennon came up with the lyric/title after seeing a phone book. He said:

That was a piece of unfinished music that I turned into a comedy record with Paul. I was waiting for him in his house, and I saw the phone book was on the piano with ‘You know the name, look up the number.’ That was like a logo, and I just changed it.

McCartney once told Beatles recording analyst Mark Lewisohn, “[People] are only just discovering things like ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)’ — probably my favorite Beatles’ track !” He went on to explain:

It’s so insane. All the memories … I mean, what would you do if a guy like John Lennon turned up at the studio and said, ‘I’ve got a new song’. I said, ‘What’s the words?’ and he replied ‘You know my name look up the number’. I asked, ‘What’s the rest of it?’ ‘No, no other words, those are the words. And I want to do it like a mantra!’

The lounge section includes a reference to Denis O’Dell, associate producer on the A Hard Day’s Night film, who Lennon had also worked with on How I Won the War. Partway through the song, Lennon introduces McCartney as lounge singer “Denis O’Bell.” The reference prompted numerous telephone calls to O’Dell’s home by fans who told him, “We have your name and now we’ve got your number,” as well as personal visits by fans wanting to live with him.

All four Beatles participated in the first three recording sessions on 17 May, 7 and 8 June 1967. A saxophone part was recorded on 8 June which was played by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones.

The song was left unreleased and untouched until 30 April 1969 when Lennon and McCartney laid down all the vocal tracks and added additional sound effects with the help of Mal Evans. George Harrison and Ringo Starr did not participate in this last session. Nick Webb, second engineer on the 30 April session described it this way:

John and Paul weren’t always getting along that well at this time, but for this song they went out on the studio floor and sang together around one microphone. Even at this time I was thinking ‘What are they doing with this old four-track tape, recording these funny bits onto this quaint song?’ But it was a fun track to do.

Despite the fun sessions described by McCartney and Webb, the song was not released for another year.

Although eventually released as a Beatles song, “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” was nearly released as the A-side of a Plastic Ono Band single. Lennon was determined to have this song and “What’s the New Mary Jane” (a Beatles outtake from the White Album recorded by Lennon and Yoko Ono with George Harrison) released, and he arranged for Apple to issue both unorthodox songs on a Plastic Ono Band single. On 26 November 1969, four months after Jones drowned in his swimming pool, Lennon edited “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”, reducing the length from 6:08 to 4:19, a more suitable length for a single. The Plastic Ono Band single was given an Apple catalog number (Apples 1002) and British release date (December 5, 1969).

Apple issued a press release, describing the record as Lennon and Yoko Ono singing and backed by “many of the greatest show business names of today” which the press believed was a thinly disguised reference to the Beatles. The record was cancelled before it was issued.

Three months later, the song was released as the B-side to The Beatles’ single, “Let It Be.” The original Plastic Ono Band single catalog number is visible, though scratched out, in the runout groove of the original British pressings of the “Let It Be” single.

“What’s the New Mary Jane” was not officially issued by the Beatles until the release of Anthology 3 in 1996, although the song did appear on bootleg records.

“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” was the last Beatles song from the group’s official canon to be included on an album, issued on an LP for the first time on Rarities (which had been included as a bonus disc in the British and American boxed set, The Beatles Collection in 1978, and released separately as an album in the United Kingdom in 1979). The first stand-alone American album to feature “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” was the US Rarities, which was released in 1980.

The first CD version was issued in 1988 on the Past Masters, Volume Two compilation.

“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” was available only in mono until 1996, when an extended stereo mix was finally issued on Anthology 2. However, while this mix restores portions of the song, it omits others that were released on the mono single, causing considerable differences between the mono and stereo versions of the track. For example, the ending of the stereo version has the talking portion fade out, whereas the mono version does not.

A stereo version featuring all five sections uncut has never been released or appeared on bootlegs.

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You know my name
Look up the number
You know my name
Look up the number
You you know you know my name
You you know you know my name

Good evening and welcome to Slaggers
Featuring Denis O’Bell
Come on Ringo, let’s hear it for Denis

Good evening
You know my name
Better look up the number
You know my name
(That’s right) look up the number
You you know you know my name
You you know you know my name
You know my name
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Look up my number
You know my name
That’s right look up the number
Oh you know you know
You know my name you know you know you know my name.

Huh huh huh huh
You know my name
Ba ba ba pum
Look up the number
You know my name
Look up the number
You-a you know you know my name
Baby you-a you know you know my name
You know my name you know you know you know my name
Go on Denis, let’s hear it for Denis O’Bell
You know my name you know you know you know you know you know my name
Prrr you know my name and the number
You know my name and the number you know you know my name
Look up me number
You know my number three you know my number two
You know my number three you know my number four
You know my name you know number too
You know my name you know my number
What’s up with you?

You know my name
That’s right
Yeah.

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• Audio from the 1996 album, Anthology 2:

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