It was 58 years ago today…

January 31, 2025

Here at Kite, Beatles history is one of our interests. We’ve covered everything from the band’s inception to its breakup, but there’s one Beatles moment we’ll never forget.

58 years ago today, The Beatles found themselves in Sevenoaks, Kent, filming the Strawberry Fields Forever music video. Specifically, the band were filming inside an antique shop, and this is where John Lennon found himself drawn to an antique circus poster from 1843.

The poster was a fascinating piece of history: containing the line-up of a Victorian circus, Pablo Fanque’s Circus Royal. Lennon bought the print, and kept it in his music room. The poster began to inspire Lennon’s songwriting. During the creation of Sgt. Pepper, Lennon and McCartney drew inspiration from the poster to compose ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’.

This song is one-of-a-kind: experimental, eccentric, enchanting, and born out of a serendipitous encounter with an antique print. Lennon and McCartney's creativity resurrected a long-gone historical event, and immortalised it in song. This serves as a reminder that inspiration can be gleaned from the strangest of places.

At Kite, we were inspired by the story behind ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’ and set out to recreate the original Victorian circus poster in meticulous detail. You can buy a copy of the limited edition Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite print here, and also watch a short film that documents the creation of our poster.

---

Also in News