McGough & McGear was a short-lived but fascinating collaboration between two key figures of Britain’s 1960s cultural explosion: poet Roger McGough and musician Mike McGear (born Peter Michael McCartney, younger brother of Paul McCartney of The Beatles). The duo’s self-titled 1968 album remains a curious artifact of the psychedelic era, blending poetry, comedy, rock, and satire into a unique, if often overlooked, record. Roger McGough, born in 1937 in Liverpool, rose to prominence as part of the "Liverpool Poets" alongside Adrian Henri and Brian Patten. His witty, surreal, and accessible verse captured the spirit of the 1960s counterculture. Mike McGear, born in 1944, was a photographer and musician who became part of The Scaffold, a Liverpool comedy-poetry-music group that enjoyed several UK chart hits, including the 1968 Christmas number 1 song "Lily The Pink". Though McGough and McGear had worked together in The Scaffold, they branched out briefly as a duo, aiming to fuse McGough’s poetic voice with McGear’s musical sensibilities. Recorded in 1967 and released in 1968 on Parlophone, “McGough & McGear” was very much a product of its time: experimental, whimsical, and immersed in the psychedelic atmosphere of London. The sessions benefited from the pair’s connections in the music world. Notably, Paul McCartney helped arrange the project and recruited friends from the wider British rock scene. Contributors reportedly included Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Graham Nash, Dave Mason of Traffic, and Paul Samwell-Smith of The Yardbirds. However, credits were vague, and much of the participation remains semi-legendary. Paul McCartney himself was deeply involved behind the scenes but kept his contributions uncredited. Musically, the album alternates between spoken-word poetry, satirical sketches, and psychedelic rock. Tracks such as "So Much" and "Summer with Monica" highlight McGough’s poetic delivery, while songs like "From Frink, a Classic Case of Murder" and "Ex-Art Student" veer into avant-garde humour and rock experimentation. Though critically praised for its creativity, McGough & McGear did not achieve commercial success. Its odd mixture of poetry and rock may have been too ahead of its time, and it was quickly overshadowed by better-known psychedelic releases of the era. After the project, both artists returned to their main pursuits. McGough continued to build his reputation as one of Britain’s most beloved contemporary poets, later becoming a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s “Poetry Please” and receiving the OBE in 1997. Mike McGear rejoined The Scaffold, which enjoyed continued success in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1974, he released a solo album, “McGear”, produced by Paul McCartney and featuring Wings as his backing band. Today, “McGough & McGear” is considered a cult classic, a lost gem of 1960s British psychedelia. Its rarity made it a prized collector’s item until it was reissued on CD in later decades, allowing new audiences to rediscover its eccentric blend of Liverpool wit, psychedelic rock, and poetic invention.