 The song was the first track recorded during the sessions for the Beatles ' Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967 ) , and was intended for inclusion on the album . Instead , with the group under record @-@ company pressure to release a single , it was issued in February 1967 as a double A @-@ side with " Penny Lane " . The combination reached number two in the United Kingdom , breaking the band 's four @-@ year run of chart @-@ topping singles there , while " Strawberry Fields Forever " peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in America . 
