Recording: Taxman

Thursday 21 April 1966 | Revolver, Studio

The Beatles returned to EMI Studios to restart work on George Harrison's Taxman, the song that would ultimately open the Revolver album.

Despite recording four takes the previous day, the group began again from scratch. Between 2.30pm and 12.50am, they taped 11 new takes, with the final take forming the foundation of the released version.

The four-track recording featured guitar, bass, and drums on the first track. Harrison overdubbed two lead vocals onto tracks two and three, while the fourth track included a searing lead guitar solo by Paul McCartney, tambourine by Ringo Starr, and backing vocals from McCartney and John Lennon.

The now-famous count-in heard on Revolver came from take 11. At this stage, the backing vocals differed from the final version, with Lennon and McCartney singing “Anybody got a bit of money?” in falsetto rather than the later “Mr Wilson/Mr Heath” lines.

This early version of Taxman was later mixed and released on Anthology 2 in 1996, offering insight into the song's development. Further overdubs and a reduction mix would follow on the next day's session.