So it was 50 years ago today that Sergeant Pepper taught the world to play.

Were The Beatles doing the right thing at the right time? Had the influence of hallucinogenics made them open a new chapter in songwriting? Or were they simply musical geniuses on top of their game, now with more time to spare due to ending their touring duties? Probably all of the above and more.

Pepper changed everything for the band and for the vast expanses of popular music in general. It paved the way for longer albums, “concept” albums, fancy inventive art work for album covers, lyrics printed on the back cover, open gatefold sleeve, hidden tracks, no gaps between tracks, mainstream meeting psychedelia and much more.

No one quite knew what to expect when the stylus hit the opening track, the title track, with the hubbub of a background audience getting ready for a journey.

The largely Lennon-written Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds follows. Inspired by a painting by his four-year-old son and the writing of Lewis Carroll, it paints such colourful and illusionary imagery. At this point the listener realises we’re listening to something a bit different.

The Beatles had swerved on a different trajectory by this point with all four on a different plane to each other. Gone were the days of mop-top screaming fandom, being cooped up like sardines in hotels and planes, grinning away as they chanted “yeah yeah yeah”.

So is Sgt Pepper the greatest album of all time? Some say it’s not even the greatest Beatles album. Abbey Road and Pepper’s preceding album Revolver are as critically hailed if not more. But it can be, and still is, described as the most important rock album ever.

Of course many of its listeners, including this fan, were born after its time.

But listen to it closely, maybe with headphones, and imagine what the fresh ears of 1967 were experiencing. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released on June 1, 1967. A reissue package is being released on 26 May.

Take our quiz and test yourself: