March of the Meanies
Song by The Beatles • George Martin
Yellow Submarine (1969) — Pop-art primary blocks for the animated film.
Background
March of the Meanies is a song by The Beatles, written by George Martin and led on vocal by instrumental. George Martin orchestral piece composed for the Yellow Submarine film; appears on side two of the LP. Within the catalogue, its instrumental thread connects it to Flying, Pepperland, Sea of Time; its george-martin thread connects it to Pepperland, Sea of Time, Sea of Holes; its film-score thread connects it to Pepperland, Sea of Time, Sea of Holes.
What's distinctive
One of 8 purely instrumental UK Beatles tracks. Recorded approximately 9 of 11 into the Yellow Submarine (1969) sessions.Opening line — "(orchestral)" (brief identification excerpt; full lyrics © Sony Music Publishing — see Genius link in References.)
Recording
The session work falls within the band's Yellow Submarine (1969) period, recorded Oct 1968 at EMI Studios. George Martin produced; Geoff Emerick (1967 sessions); George Martin orchestral score side B engineered. The track was committed to Studer J37 four-track via the REDD.51, with the era's standard signal chain — EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, Leslie. Likely instrumental setup followed the era's working kit: Epiphone Casino, Hammond organ, Mellotron, harpsichord (Martin), amplified through Vox AC100, Fender Showman. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.164 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below).
| Studio | EMI Studios — Studio Two/Three (for the band tracks); CTS for orchestral score |
|---|---|
| Tape machine | Studer J37 four-track |
| Console | REDD.51 |
| Microphones | U47/U48, AKG C12, STC 4038 |
| Outboard / effects | EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, Leslie |
| Guitars | Epiphone Casino, Hammond organ, Mellotron, harpsichord (Martin) |
| Amplifiers | Vox AC100, Fender Showman |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer / 2nd | Geoff Emerick (1967 sessions); George Martin orchestral score side B • Phil McDonald, Ken Scott |
Pattern analysis
Legacy & release history
In the UK canonical discography it appears on the LP Yellow Submarine. Documented alternate versions include 2009 Stereo Remasters. Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below.
Mono & stereo
- Stereo only on UK release — the band's last three LPs were mixed for stereo; no UK mono LPs were issued.
Documented alternate versions
- 2009 Stereo Remasters — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey remaster
Released on
- Yellow Submarine — LP, 17 January 1969
Cross-references
Other songs sharing themes (instrumental, george-martin, film-score, yellowsub-side2)
Other songs led by the same vocalist
Other songs from this era
instrumentalgeorge-martinfilm-scoreyellowsub-side2