The Beatles planned to issue `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' and `` Penny Lane '' as part of their next album , but EMI asked for a single at the beginning of 1967 . The two songs were issued as a single , with `` Penny Lane '' as the A-side . `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' was intended for the album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967 ) , but was instead released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with Paul McCartney 's `` Penny Lane '' .