Paul McCartney wants the entire world to experience “Carnival of Light”
If Paul McCartney has his way, the numerous fansites that offer a “this day in Beatles history” feature are going to need some updates. In addition to being the day “Hey Jude” hit number one for the sixth week in a row, the band made their last photographic session - for the cover of a 1969 issue of Rolling Stone - and Elton John released his famed cover of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, November 16th will now be known as not only the date Paul McCartney acknowledged the existence of a recorded version of “Carnival of Light”, but plotted its release.
In an interview with BBC Radio set to air later this week, the former Beatles frontman finally confirmed the 14-minute experimental piece does indeed exist beyond its legend and he hopes to prove it with an eventual release.
‘It does exist,’ McCartney says on a BBC Radio 4 arts programme to be broadcast this week. Talking to John Wilson, the presenter of Front Row, the former Beatle confirms that he still has a master tape of the work and says he suspects that ‘the time has come for it to get its moment’.
Originally created in 1967, between sessions for “Penny Lane”, “Carnival of Light” was a song recorded 
specifically to be played at the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, an electronic music event London held in London that same year. Ironically, at the time the song was debuted, few attendees actually realized what they were listening to, or even more, the significance of the event. 40 years later, the event remains the only time the “Carnival of Light” has ever been publicly been heard, causing some to even speculate whether the song is anything more than an urban legend.
In explaining the reasoning behind why the song has never been released, McCartney cited that despite many personal attempts to contrary, his bandmates’ perceived notion of its “adventurous” nature, a result of a “jumble of shrieks and psychedelic effects,” kept the song locked up.
McCartney regards ‘Carnival of Light’ as evidence of how musically adventurous he has always been. For the three other Beatles the track was just an oddity. George Harrison dismissed it as too weird. But McCartney is hopeful it can now be released with the agreement of the group’s estate…
“I like it because it’s the Beatles free, going off piste,” he adds.
We were set up in the studio and would just go in every day and record…I said to the guys, this is a bit indulgent but would you mind giving me 10 minutes? I’ve been asked to do this thing. All I want you to do is just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn’t need to make any sense. Hit a drum, wander to the piano, hit a few notes … and then we put a bit of echo on it. It’s very free.”
News of McCartney’s comments come just days before the experimental-heavy Electric Arguments, the singer’s latest collaboration with producer Martin Glover under the alter ego The Fireman, is scheduled to hit stores.
Coincidence? We think not.
Though we have a hard time believing “Carnival of Light” will work well on the Beatles edition of Rock Band.
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