The shortest Beatles song?
A 23 second-long happy accident
At only 23 seconds, Her Majesty is the shortest Beatles song. It was unlisted on its original vinyl release, bursting into life 14 seconds after what appears to be the end of Side 2 of Abbey Road. This makes it one the first ‘Easter Eggs’ or hidden tracks.
Ian Macdonald describes it as a ‘party piece’ that McCartney was unsure how to use. Arriving early at the studio after a break in July 1968 he recorded it in three takes. He then experimented with inserting in the Long Medley (between Mean Mr Mustard and Poythene Pam but didn’t like the result.
‘Take it out,’ he told engineer, John Kurlander. ‘It doesn’t work.’
Thankfully, all Abbey Road engineers had been instructed to never discard anything recorded by The Beatles. So Kurlander added the discarded song to the end of the master tape: inserting fourteen seconds of the lead-out tape which creates silence between “The End” and “Her Majesty”.
The next day Paul was listening to the playback — and with the tacked-on Her Majesty. ‘Now that works!’ he said.
Beatles Penny Black
News of the late inclusion of Her Majesty came after the first pressing of the album. This caused a scramble to release a ‘corrected’ version with the song listed on the label and cover. Three versions were released in the US, around fifty worldwide. Some are highly sought after by collectors, especially those in which the added song is in a different typeface.
Her Majesty now has a track listing and officially ends Abbey Road. It is a fittingly innovative way to close The Beatles recording career.
