The great pop artist, Sir Peter Blake, recently expressed his frustration over how little he was paid for his most celebrated creation, the album cover for The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Blake’s art dealer, Robert Fraser, was given £1,000 — about £18,000 in today’s money — by EMI records, but he passed on only £200 to the artist. The album went on to sell more than 30 million copies.
‘There was never any royalty or anything like that . . . I’m not irritated any more,’ says the mild-mannered Blake, 92. ‘That was a long time ago, and there was a time when a little extra money would have been helpful. Now we’ve gone on from there, and it doesn’t matter.’
Blake suggested a collage of famous characters, all assembled around the central figures of The Beatles, who in 1967 were the four most famous young men in the world. ‘Look,’ he told them, ‘I can make a crowd with photography, cutouts and waxworks, and so we could have anyone in it you really want.’
The Beatles’ choices mirrored their contrasting characters. The spiritual George picked Indian holy men. Paul, the all-rounder, suggested an eclectic mix from the worlds of art, literature and showbiz, such as Fred Astaire and Aldous Huxley, as well as the Everton footballer Dixie Dean, although he didn’t make the final cut.
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David Beckham and David Attenborough at Wimbledon on July 1 inside the prestigious Royal Box
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They were joined by plenty of VIPs on the outing on July 1, including the likes of Jamie Cullum, Katherine Jenkins and Alexander Armstrong
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Sir Lenny Henry made a rare appearance with his partner Lisa Makin as they attended day eight of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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Will Pepper Pig visit the Royal Box at Wimbledon?
John, ever-keen to wind people up, wanted Hitler and Jesus Christ, but both these suggestions were turned down by the head of EMI, who also rejected Gandhi for fear of repercussions in India. But John’s other nominees — among them Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe — all made the grade.
Ringo, being Ringo, let the others decide. ‘Whatever the others have is fine by me,’ he told Peter Blake. ‘I won’t put anyone in.’
Like so many other aspects of The Beatles, the Sgt Pepper cover was ahead of its time, heralding a new age of celebrity.
The final assembly included such disparate figures as Albert Einstein, Diana Dors, Sir Robert Peel, Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence of Arabia, their only common denominator being fame. Nowadays, wherever you look, you can spot variations of the Sgt Pepper cover. Over the past ten days, each time I have glimpsed a photograph of the Royal Box at Wimbledon, Sgt Pepper has pinged into my head.
Oddly enough, they both contain almost exactly the same numbers: 70-plus figures for Sgt Pepper and 74 places for the Royal Box.
On day one of this year’s Wimbledon, Royal Box guests included Sir David Attenborough, Alexander Armstrong, David Beckham, Jamie Cullum, Katherine Jenkins, Floella Benjamin and the actress Alison Oliver from Saltburn.
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Also in attendance, Cliff Richard appeared in great spirits as he held up a peace sign inside the courtyards on July 1
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Former British Prime Minister Theresa May attended Wimbledon with her husband Philip (both pictured) on July 3
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Nicole Scherzinger, 46, looked wonderful in an ivory Esha dress by Emilia Wickstead as she attended Wimbledon on July 8
Over the next few days, Michael and Carole Middleton, Richard Osman, Mary Berry, Salma Hayek, Sir Cliff Richard, Dustin Hoffman, Bear Grylls, Theresa May and Bill Bryson all gathered in that small space. On Monday of this week, guests included Sir Lenny Henry, pop star Nicole Scherzinger and the strangely dispiriting figure of Prince Albert of Monaco, who came with his cousin once removed, the awkwardly named Melanie-Antoinette Costello de Massy. Tuesday saw Sienna Miller and her boyfriend Oli Green, Michael McIntyre, writer Lena Dunham, Stephen Fry, Princess Beatrice and broadcaster Adrian Chiles.
How do the powers-that-be decide who is worthy of a freebie to the Royal Box? The Wimbledon website says they issue invitations to ‘British and overseas royal families, heads of government, people from the world of tennis, commercial partners, British Armed Forces, prominent media organisations, supporters of tennis and other walks of life’.
Those two last categories — ‘supporters of tennis’ and ‘other walks of life’ — are so elastic as to include the whole world.
They would be unlikely to invite enemies of tennis, while ‘other walks of life’ covers everyone from Love Island contestants to shoplifters and store detectives, Peppa Pig, the Gallagher brothers, Lee Anderson, Katie Price, Mr Blobby, Harry and Meghan, and, at a stretch, newspaper columnists.
But fame seems to be the prime criterion for admittance. Which of us would want the impossible job of sifting through the mountain of requests from celebrities in order to make a final selection?
Is Mary Berry more or less famous than Gordon Ramsay? Is Nicole Scherzinger a bigger fish than Zara Tindall?
Faced with such dilemmas, I would opt for the Ringo way out, and let the others decide.
