17 January – The Daily Mail newspaper reports 4,000 potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire; this article, along with a follow-up article on the death of Guinness heir Tara Brown in a car accident, inspires lyrics for The Beatles song "A Day in the Life".[2]
7 February – Micky Dolenz of the Monkees meets Paul McCartney at his home in St John's Wood, London, and they pose together for the press. His impressions of the visit feature in the lyrics of "Randy Scouse Git".[3]
12 February – Police raid 'Redlands', the Sussex home of Keith Richards in the early hours of the morning following a tip-off about a party from the News of the World; although no arrests are made at the time, Richards, Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser are subsequently charged with possession of drugs.
3 March – Eric Burdon & The Animals refuse to perform a show in Ottawa, Ontario, unless they are paid in advance. The audience of 3000 riots, causing $5000 in damages to the auditorium.
4 March – The Monkees release their latest single, "Randy Scouse Git", inspired by Micky Dolenz's recent visit to London. Having seen Till Death Us Do Part on TV while there, he uses the term "Randy Scouse Git" from the programme for the title of the single, not realising it is an offensive term. The title is changed to "Alternate Title" in the UK, where it reaches #2 in the chart (#1 in the Melody Maker chart).[5]
31 March – Kicking off a tour with The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdinck at The Astoria London, Jimi Hendrix sets fire to his guitar on stage for the first time. He is taken to hospital suffering burns to his hands but the guitar-burning act will become a trademark of Hendrix's performances.
15 May – Paul McCartney meets American photographer Linda Eastman, his future wife, at the "Bag O' Nails" club in London.
19 May – Linda Eastman photographs The Beatles at the London press party for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band held at the Belgravia home of Brian Epstein. Media there are perplexed by the band's fashion statements and the music itself. The following day, Kenny Everett plays the album almost complete on BBC Light Programme radio show Where It's At.[6] The BBC refuse to air "A Day in the Life" for alleged "drug references" in the lyrics.
26 May – The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is rush released in the UK as mono and stereo LPs ahead of the scheduled June 1 release date. "The closest Western Civilization has come to unity since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 was the week the Sgt. Pepper album was released."[7]
28 June – The Monkees fly into London at the start of their concerts at the Empire Pool, Wembley.
1 July – William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times, uses the phrase "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" in his editorial criticizing the prison sentences given to Mick Jagger and Keith Richard two days earlier. They later appeal successfully against the sentences.
23 August – Brian Epstein's last visit to a Beatles' recording session, at the Chappell Recording Studios on Maddox Street, London. The last new Beatles song he lives to hear is "Your Mother Should Know".[9]
27 August – The Beatles, in Bangor, Wales, with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi since 25 August, are informed of the death of their manager Brian Epstein, and return to London at once.
31 August – Paul McCartney calls a band meeting to discuss his TV movie idea about a psychedelic bus ride.
30 September – The BBC completely restructures its national radio programming, introducing a pop music channel, Radio 1 (modelled on successful "pirate" station Radio London), and changes the Light Programme into the more MOR-orientated Radio 2, also renaming the Third Programme, which covers classical music and culture, to Radio 3 (and transforming the Home Service into the speech-oriented Radio 4). Radio 1's split from Radio 2 is heralded by "Theme One", specially composed by George Martin; Radio 1's programmes then launch with a jingle recorded by PAMS, the voice of DJ Tony Blackburn and his signature tune, an extract from "Beefeaters" by Johnny Dankworth. The first full single played is The Move's "Flowers in the Rain". The first song played on Radio 2 is Julie Andrews with the title song from "The Sound of Music".[11]
11 October – Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, wins a libel action against rock band The Move in the English High Court after being depicted in a compromising position on a promotional postcard for their record "Flowers in the Rain"; in settlement, royalties from the song will be donated to charity.[13]
15 December – The Who release their third studio album The Who Sell Out. It is a concept album, formatted as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with faux commercials and public service announcements.
26 December – The first broadcast of The Beatles' made-for-TV film Magical Mystery Tour (filmed mostly during September) on BBC1. It is shown in black & white, upsetting the band because it does not show the intended psychedelic colour effects.
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