Beatles end on high note
January 30 marked the anniversary of a major musical event. Fifty-one years ago, The Beatles played together in public for the very last time.
Their final performance happened on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row within central London’s office and fashion district.
They performed five songs together, along with keyboard player Billy Preston who was often referred to as the fifth Beatle.
The band played for 42 minutes before the Metropolitan Police shut them down for being too noisy!
So how did that final live concert come about? According to Billy Preston, it was John Lennon’s idea. He wanted the band to play live for their last performance.
Several venues were tossed around by the group, including The London Palladium, before settling on the roof of their office. It would be a lot easier to transport all their gear onto the roof rather than transport it across London.
When The Beatles first started playing, there was a great deal of confusion from lunch time passersby five storeys below.
Word soon got around and crowds gathered on Savile Row and on nearby rooftops to take in what would become a very historic musical event.
When the police arrived, Apple employees initially refused to let them inside, until they were threatened with arrest.
The concert came to an end with Paul McCartney’s slightly rearranged version of Get Back.
“You’ve been playing on the roofs again, and you know your Momma doesn’t like it, she’s going to have you arrested.”
The concert came to an end with John Lennon saying “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition”.
The rooftop concert consisted of nine takes of five Beatle songs: three takes of Get Back, two takes of Don’t
let me Down and I’ve Got a Feeling and one take each of One After 909 and Dig a Pony.
Sir Peter Jackson along with Giles Martin, son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, are collaborating on a film about the concert based on more than 55 hours of unreleased footage of not only the Beatles performing on the roof, but also from the studio where they were recording their album
Let it Be.
I cannot wait for that movie.
Fifty-one years ago, The Beatles played together in public for the very last time.