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TL;DR:

  • A rock star compared one song from The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour to a TV show theme.
  • He said the song was simultaneously “throwaway” and “amazing.”
  • Magical Mystery Tour outsold The Beatles’ other soundtrack albums in the United States.
A vinyl copy of The Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour'
The Beatles’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

A rock star described a song from The Beatles‘ Magical Mystery Tour as a “non-song.” Subsequently, he compared the track to candy. Notably, the rock star in question made music in the same genre as Magical Mystery Tour.

A rock star said the title track of The Beatles’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was so good he didn’t care what it was introducing

Wayne Coyne is a founding member of the psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips. During a 2022 interview with Stereogum, he named his favorite song Paul ever wrote: the title track from Magical Mystery Tour.

“Paul’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ is the perfect ‘non-song’ song,” he said. “It positions itself as an introduction (similar to the opening track on Sgt. Pepper’s) but in the end is so catchy and full of life and energy that you don’t really care to wait for what it’s introducing … you’re already satisfied.”

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips said the song was The Beatles’ version of a TV show tune

Coyne ruminated on Paul’s talent. “Paul works great this way,” he said. “He’s one of the greatest songwriters ever, but he can really make a throwaway song into something amazing. I say throwaway … I always got the sense that ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was kind of like a TV show theme song. 

“The song has a lot of info it’s trying [to] get to you and it’s not that concerned with emotional context,” he continued. “But in Paul’s hands, he can’t help but make it, along with the rest of The Beatles and George Martin, one ecstatic moment after another. Three minutes of ear candy that leaves you (like all great candy) wanting more.”

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How ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and its parent album performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Magical Mystery Tour” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The track appeared on the album Magical Mystery Tour, which topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. The album spent a total of 93 weeks on the chart. In the U.S., Magical Mystery Tour was a bigger hit than any of the Fab Four’s other soundtrack albums.

“Magical Mystery Tour” was not a single in the United Kingdom either, so The Official Charts Company reports it did not chart there. Meanwhile, the album Magical Mystery Tour reached No. 31 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for a total of 10 weeks.

“Magical Mystery Tour” is not one of The Beatles’ most famous songs but Coyne was able to see the magic in it.

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