Although the song is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, it was written by McCartney alone. McCartney said that he was 'using the symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom the rise and fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise.' He later said that the song was a response to critics who accused him of writing only sentimental ballads and being 'the soppy one' of the band. In British English, a helter skelter is a fairground attraction consisting of a tall spiral slide winding round a tower, but the phrase can also mean chaos and disorder. So we did it like that, 'cos I like noise. So I thought, 'Oh well, we'll do one like that, then.' And I had this song called 'Helter Skelter,' which is just a ridiculous song. It wasn't rough and screaming and tape echo at all. Must be great – really screaming record.' And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. Umm, that came about just 'cause I'd read a review of a record which said, 'and this group really got us wild, there's echo on everything, they're screaming their heads off.' And I just remember thinking, 'Oh, it'd be great to do one. On 20 November 1968, two days before the release of The Beatles (also known as 'the White Album'), McCartney gave Radio Luxembourg an exclusive interview, in which he commented on several of the album's songs. He said he then wrote 'Helter Skelter' 'to be the most raucous vocal, the loudest drums, et cetera'. Paul McCartney was inspired to write 'Helter Skelter' after reading an interview with the Who's Pete Townshend where he described their September 1967 single, ' I Can See for Miles', as the loudest, rawest, dirtiest song the Who had ever recorded. Helter skelter at Clacton Pier, in the English county of Essex Siouxsie and the Banshees, Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith, U2, Oasis and Pat Benatar are among the artists who have covered the track, and McCartney has frequently performed it in concert. Rolling Stone magazine ranked 'Helter Skelter' 52nd on its list of 'The 100 Greatest Beatles Songs'.

Manson titled his vision of this uprising after the song.

In 1976, the song was released as the B-side of ' Got to Get You into My Life' in the United States, to promote the Capitol Records compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music.Īlong with other tracks from the White Album, 'Helter Skelter' was interpreted by cult leader Charles Manson as a message predicting inter-racial war in the US. It is regarded as a key influence in the early development of heavy metal. The song was McCartney's attempt to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney.

' Helter Skelter' is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album The Beatles (also known as 'the White Album').

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