John: I never took it (LSD) in the studio. Once I did, actually. I thought I was taking some uppers and I was not in the state of handling it.

I took it and I suddenly got so scared on the mike. I said, "What is it? I feel ill."

I thought I felt ill and I thought I was going cracked. I said I must go and get some air.

They all took me upstairs on the roof, and George Martin was looking at me funny, and then it dawned on me that I must have taken some acid.

I said, "Well, I can't go on. You'll have to do it and I'll just stay and watch." I got very nervous just watching them all and I kept saying, "Is this all right?" They had all been very kind and they said, "Yes, it's all right." I said, "Are you sure it's all right?"

They carried on making the record. We did not really shove the LP full of pot and drugs but, I mean, there was an effect.

We were more consciously trying to keep it out.

You would not say, "I had some acid, baby, so groovy", but there was a feeling that something had happened between Revolver and Sgt Pepper. (Whether it would have happened anyway is pure speculation.)

George Martin: I was aware of them smoking pot, but I was not aware that they did anything serious.

In fact, I was so innocent that I actually took John up to the roof when he was having an LSD trip, not knowing what it was.

If I'd known it was LSD, the roof would have been the last place I would have taken him. He was in the studio and I was in the control room, and he said he was not feeling too good.

So I said, "Come up here," and asked George and Paul to go on overdubbing the voice.

"I'll take John out for a breath of fresh air," I said, but of course I could not take him out the front because there were 500 screaming kids who would have torn him apart.

So the only place I could take him to get fresh air was the roof.

It was a wonderful starry night, and John went to the edge, which was a parapet about 18 inches high, and looked up at the stars and said, "Aren't they fantastic?"

Of course, to him I suppose they would have been especially fantastic. At the time they just looked like stars to me.

I suppose I was a big brother to them. I was 14 years older.

I guess I was straight, and they knew I disapproved very strongly of drugs (although I'm afraid I used to smoke cigarettes, and that's pretty well as bad).

They never smoked pot in front of me. They used to nip down to the canteen below and have a little drag and come out giggling a bit.

I knew what they were doing, but it did not make any difference.

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