File:Beatles "Sgt Pepper" launch party 1967.jpg

The image is from the album launch party and illustrates a section dedicated to advance promotion for the Sgt. Pepper album. The event is recognised as the first example of a press launch for an album in the UK. It also marked the Beatles' first interaction as a group with the UK press in close to a year, resulting in speculation about their absence and scrutiny of their appearance. The relevant commentary on the event concerns the band's public image and their apparent disappearance from the public eye. The text discusses journalists' shock at the band members attire, particularly John Lennon's appearance and behaviour. An image is needed to convey Lennon's eccentricity and his bandmates' continued deference to him as the longtime leader of the Beatles, and because text cannot convey the visual impact of the event as it was reported to an audience accustomed to seeing the band as concert performers but denied that or any other professional appearances by the band since August 1966. The article discusses Lennon's abdication of this leadership role – due variously to increased introspection after the band's final tour, what he later termed as a deep depression, and his reliance on hallucinogenic drugs. The image shows Lennon shaking hands with Paul McCartney, which, as commentary states, appears to be a sarcastic and exaggerated gesture.

The significance of Lennon's Afghan sheepskin coat is discussed further in the section covering the album's influence on "Contemporary youth and counterculture". Professor Tim Bonyhady describes the launch party as a "musical and fashion landmark" and credits Lennon's choice of coat with helping to popularise Afghans in the West and make them ubiquitous among the late 1960s hippie movement.