THE MAKING OF “STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER”: A STORY by JON-PAUL KHOURI

‘Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields...’

“The only true songs I ever wrote were ‘Help!’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.” - John Lennon

In October 1962, the Beatles released their first UK single, “Love Me Do”. It heralded a new spirit in the air, a youthful energy—driven by ‘beat’ music, that was spontaneous and exciting. Not long after, ‘Beatlemania’ was in full cry—and a wave of young songwriters, inspired by the do-it-yourself example of the Beatles, began to form their own bands and write and perform their own songs. Within a few short years, the Beatles had reached the ‘toppermost of the poppermost’.

By 1966, a near-universal hysteria followed the group wherever they appeared, and they could no longer hear themselves play on stage—drowned out by the deafening noise of their screaming fans. The band found themselves at a crossroads of sorts: fed up with touring and concerned that they were regressing as musicians, the group decided that they would never perform live again… Rumours of a Beatles break-up began to swirl.

On November 24 of that year, the band returned to Abbey Road Studios from a three-month hiatus, to begin recording their eighth studio album. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had some idea that the new album would be autobiographical in nature, and the inaugural song was a Lennon composition, that brought for the first time a Liverpool theme into their music, with the title “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

As ‘brilliant’ a song as “Strawberry Fields Forever” was to those who heard it on that first listen, the recording process was anything but straightforward, and the group stumbled through a number of false starts—as its composer strained to find the version of the song that he heard in his own mind. With the band at an inflection point, and with unprecedented creative control over the recording process, the Beatles spent 55 hours of studio time before arriving at the vision that John Lennon had for his song… Even then, he remained unsure.

Originally slated to be included on their next LP, it was decided instead that it would be released as a single to satiate the insatiable appetite for new Beatles music—it had been, after all, nearly six months since the band had released their groundbreaking seventh studio album, Revolver! Packaged as a double A-side along with “Penny Lane”, and with a promo-film shot in the English countryside to be aired on Top of the Pops, the song set the tone for what would become Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: An album that would see the Beatles come of age, define a generation, and forever change the way people listened to music.

The Making of “Strawberry Fields Forever”: A Story invites the audience on an intimate and immersive journey through time—past, present, and future—and along the lines of the influences that gave rise to The Beatles’ aural invention, and the sonic experimentation that led them to create one of their greatest songs. Part live reading, part listening party, full of story and song—a theatre experience that celebrates the enduring power of The Beatles’ music, and a heartfelt tribute to a band that helped to shape the writer and performer’s own storytelling journey.

ABOUT THE WRITER & PERFORMER

Jon-Paul Khouri is a creator, writer, actor, teacher, and storyteller from Calgary. As a playwright and solo-creation artist, he has written and produced work for the stage that has been curated by and performed for stages and festivals across Canada. In the past couple of decades, he has acted on more than forty stage, film, television, radio, music video, and other storytelling projects, including multiple internationally screened and award-winning productions. He has studied extensively throughout North America, including at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City, and is an alumnus of the Canadian National Voice Intensive. In December 2025, Khouri released his debut novel, Hannah.

A child of story and storytelling, his solo-performances have been described as lyrical, luminous, and unique. A lifelong Beatles fan, the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney continue to inspire him to write and perform live on stage, and to bring his own vision of storytelling to life.