History of Sorts

“I heard the news today, old boy”. That must be the best start to any song. The song ‘a day in the life’ by the Beatles is not just a random set of words strung together, it actually has a back story which in a way links to another band, the Chieftains.

According to Lennon, the inspiration for the first two verses was the death of Tara Browne, the 21-year-old heir to the Guinness fortune who had crashed his Lotus Elan on 18 December 1966 in Redcliffe Gardens, Earl’s Court. Browne had been a friend of Lennon and McCartney,and had, earlier in 1966, instigated McCartney’s first experience with LSD.Lennon adapted the song’s verse lyrics from a story in the 17 January 1967 edition of the Daily Mail, which reported the ruling on a custody action over Browne’s two young children.

“He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t…