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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney discussed the experiences that inspired him to write The Beatles’ “Penny Lane.”
  • The cute Beatle revealed what he thought about “Penny Lane” compared to other songs he wrote.
  • The tune charted higher in the United States than it did in the United Kingdom.
The Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney with guitars
The Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney | Mark and Colleen Hayward / Contributor

Paul McCartney said The Beatles‘ “Penny Lane” was inspired by waiting for a bus in the rain. In addition, he said it affected the tourism habits of Fab Four fans. Notably, the track charted higher in the United States than it did in the United Kingdom.

Paul McCartney said he spent time with the other Beatles in Penny Lane

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the area known as Penny Lane. “It was on the way to Liverpool city center so I would pass it every day on my bus route or if I was taking the bus to John’s, if it was raining or something, I’d take it to there and change and get the bus up to his house,” he said.

Paul also spent time with George Harrison in Penny Lane. “George and I used to go through there to the cinema and it was also the way to a friend called Arthur Kelly who was a schoolmate,” Paul recalled. Subsequently, Kelly appeared on the television show The Boys from the Blackstuff.

How Paul McCartney felt about The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ compared to other songs he wrote

During a 1989 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Paul named “Penny Lane” as one of his favorites among his own songs, alongside “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” and “The Fool on the Hill.” “Beatles fans are now always stopping by Penny Lane to take pictures of the place, but I used to actually stand there as a kid, waiting for a bus in the rain,” he said.

“It’s been fascinating to me how a place that was just a part of your own life can be used to relate to so many other people,” Paul added. “I guess we all remember special places in our childhood.”

How the song performed and its parent album on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Penny Lane” became a big hit in the United States. The tune reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one of its 10 weeks on the chart. While it was initially a standalone single, “Penny Lane” appeared on the LP version of Magical Mystery Tour, which topped the Billboard 200 for eight of its 93 weeks on the chart.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Penny Lane” reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. The tune recharted at No. 65 and stayed on the chart for two weeks. On the other hand, the Magical Mystery Tour LP reached No. 31 in the U.K. and lasted 10 weeks on the chart.

“Penny Lane” is an important song and it might not exist without rainy days.

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