Beatles' Famous Rooftop Concert: 15 Things You Didn't Know (2024)

FAQs

What was the point of The Beatles rooftop concert? ›

The Beatles' rooftop concert was the climax of a project originally titled Get Back. It was conceived as exactly that, a return to their rock roots in a desperate effort to restore unity when business and personal chaos threatened to destroy the band.

London Metropolitan PC Ray Dagg was 19 at the time. To his colleagues he was known as Police Constable 574C but to the legions of fans who have now watched the docuseries on Disney+, he's the London cop who pulled the plug on the last live gig of one of the greatest bands in history.

Background. Although the rooftop concert was unannounced, the original intention behind the Beatles' Get Back project had been for the band to stage a comeback as live performers.

In 1966, John Lennon entangled The Beatles in what was likely their biggest controversy. In an interview, he spoke about the enduring quality of rock music versus religion. “Christianity will go,” he said, per Rolling Stone. “It will vanish and shrink.

Their break-up is attributed to numerous factors, including: the strain of the Beatlemania phenomenon, the 1967 death of manager Brian Epstein, bandmates' resentment of McCartney's perceived domineering, Lennon's heroin use and his relationship with Yoko Ono, Harrison's increasingly prolific songwriting, the ...

It was Jan. 30, 1969, and the world-renowned rock band decided to stage a performance on the roof of its Apple Corps building in London for family, friends and film cameras. The 42-minute show became the grand finale of the band's documentary, “Let It Be.”

Some of The Beatles got cold feet — which would soon get colder — about performing live on the five-story Apple Corps rooftop in the midst of a London winter. While the temperature stood at 45 degrees, a blustery wind whipped around the rooftops that January day.

August 10, 1972

In 1972, he and Linda were arrested for possession in Sweden. However, McCartney didn't serve any jail time, instead paying a fine of $2,000. The incident was reputedly one of the inspirations of the song 'Band on the Run.

This is timely, and a lovely recollection 52 years on. Daniele Hamamdjian from Canada's CTV News speaks to Ray Dagg. He was one of the police officers sent into the Apple building – on Savile Row in London – to shut down The Beatles' famous rooftop concert in 1969.

Did The Beatles wear their wifes coats on rooftop concert? ›

30 January 1969 in London was a cold day, and a bitter wind was blowing on the rooftop by midday. To cope with the weather, John Lennon borrowed Yoko Ono's fur coat, and Ringo Starr wore his wife Maureen Starkey's red mac.

It was 50 years ago today (January 3rd, 1970) that the Beatles recorded their final song together. Three of the four Beatles — Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — gathered at London's Abbey Road studios to complete Harrison's tune "I Me Mine" for the group's Let It Be soundtrack.

1965 Shea Stadium the Beatles' Biggest Concert – The First Rock Concert Ever. On Aug. 15, 1965, the Beatles performed their biggest concert at Shea Stadium to a crowd of 55,000 screaming fans.

While his last concert would come in 1975, a time when he played – against his will – during an evening in honour of the mogul, Sir Lew Grade, Lennon refrained from playing any Beatles songs during his set.

A visitor to the roof of 3 Savile Row today (it is now an Abercrombie and Fitch children's shop and its roof is not open to the public) would see essentially the same view, both in the foreground and on the horizon, looking due south.

Leon Wildes and The Deportation Battle

They had released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club, played the Shea Stadium, released the White Album and broken up. On March 23, 1973, John Lennon was ordered to leave the United States within 60 days. Ono, on the other hand, was granted permanent residency.

Paul McCartney says The Beatles suffered from mental health issues: “There were a lot of things we had to work through” Paul McCartney has said that The Beatles most likely suffered from mental health issues, but they were reluctant to discuss it at the height of their fame.

Despite being the favorite of one in four, Lennon is also the least favorite Beatle of nearly half (49%) of people who say they are "not a fan" of at least one of the band members.

Ringo Starr was the first to quit the band!

"I felt I wasn't playing great," Ringo recalled in the Anthology documentary, "and I also felt that the other three were really happy and I was an outsider. There was no magic and the relationships were terrible." Starr returned, however, and the sessions resumed.

Why did the Beatles hate touring? ›

But in their final four years as a band, the prospect of The Beatles going on tour became increasingly remote. There were three key reasons why they stopped playing live: poor sound, exhaustion and unease about their personal security. All three came to a head during their chaotic 1966 World Tour.

Despite their feud, they are believed to have reconciled before John was shot dead by Mark Chapman in New York in December 1980.

Kevin Ker, who doggedly oversaw the 437-hour live-music marathon at the Earl of Whitchurch Pub over 18 sleep-deprived days between March 17 and April 4 of last year, got the call on Wednesday morning saying that both the New York and London offices of the Guinness World Records had signed off on the Stouffville bid as ...

The concert was part of Canada's celebration of their country's 150th anniversary. It lasted for 453 hours, 54 minutes, and 40 seconds.

At least one local woman, however, witnessed the documentary's climactic scene first-hand. In 1969, Jennifer "Jenny" Spruill, a native of England who has lived in Hampstead, north of Wilmington, for more than 20 years with her husband, Jack, a North Carolina native, was working at an office in central London.

Global Sound Group's James Dyble conducted research that indicates that the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium concert reached 131.35 decibels. To put that into context, that's 28 decibels louder than the sound of a jumbo jet just 100 feet overhead.

In the 1960s the Beatles were estimated to have lost a billion dollars in underhanded merchandising deals. More than a decade on, shady operators continue to turn a profit. Every year, the Beatles brand continues to lose millions of dollars in revenue as a result of the unauthorized use of the band's name and likeness.

On August 27, 1967, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was found dead of an accidental drug overdose.

For 50 years, Dick Rowe has been blamed for the biggest blunder in rock music history: he turned down the Beatles.

Did Elvis try to get rid of The Beatles? ›

Elvis's anti-Beatles tirade wasn't just a one-off, either. In early 1971, Presley took a tour of the FBI offices, and had some words to pass on to J. Edgar Hoover. After calling the FBI director the "greatest living American," Presley targeted the Beatles yet again.

Many trace the breakup of the Beatles to the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27, 1967.

This might very well have been a major reason for George's sour mood at the time and one of the reasons he decided to leave the band temporarily. So marital problems were the main reason Patti wasn't on the roof during their performance.

Paul McCartney is barefoot in the photo because the shoes he was wearing were too tight and he took them off just before the photos were taken.

The Ronettes opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour, becoming the only girl group to tour with them, before splitting up in 1967.

John Lennon's Borrowed Brown Fur Coat

This lush coat provided Lennon warmth during the chilly day the band played their last set on a London rooftop, and this faux-fur peacoat by Amiri is sure to keep you just as toasty.

Beatles song 'Hey Jude' was almost never released because vinyl cover was considered 'p*rnographic' | The Independent | The Independent.

The Beatles' first single Love Me Do was released 60 years ago — but it nearly didn't happen. On September 4, 1962, an unknown band arrived at EMI's recording studios in London to make what they hoped would be their first hit single.

That makes 'All My Loving' the first song that The Beatles had ever performed in the US, but it wasn't an official concert setting. Two days later, the band made their first concert appearance in the United States at the Washington Coliseum in Washington D.C., which you can still visit today.

Led Zeppelin: In 1973, Led Zeppelin played to 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium, Florida - which broke the record previously set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965, as they played to a mere 55,600 fans.

Who was the biggest Beatle? ›

Today, 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' remains The Beatles' highest-selling physical single of all time, with no less than 12 million copies sold worldwide.

'I think we'd had a barney or something,' he said

Reminiscing on the time the band recorded Revolver track “She Said, She Said”, McCartney, who turns 80 today (18 June), told Many Years from Now: “I'm not sure, but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on.”

Ringo Starr and John Lennon held a strong bond that was never in doubt and, following the split of The Fab Four, the success that Starr had in his solo career made Lennon immensely happy.

Sir Paul explained that it had just occurred to him that he has known Ringo longer than anyone else. There was no other point he wanted to make. It had just moved him that he and Ringo have been friends for so long. That's all.

Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814. Despite his wealth, which is of unknown origin, Mr. Fogg, whose countenance is described as repose in action, lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision.

John and Ringo wore their wives coats!

Thought it was 45 degrees that day, no one expected the high winds on the rooftop of Apple Corps.

It's known for its fantastic array of high-end bespoke tailor shops and it was originally named for the very famous Lady Dorothy Savile. She was the spouse of the 3rd Duke of Burlington. Savile Row itself was created during the 1730's and was a part of the vast Burlington Estate.

Late in 1968 came the move to 3 Savile Row, which had formerly belonged to the bandleader/impresario Jack Hylton and was purchased for what was even then a bargain £500,000.

There was a recording studio in the basem*nt, in which much of the Let It Be album was made, and on 30 January 1969 the celebrated rooftop performance was held atop the building. The Beatles spent much of the next 18 months at 3 Savile Row.

What is in 3 Savile Row now? ›

In Early 2020 Abercrombie Kids moved out of 3 Savile Row, to be integrated with the main Abercrombie shop at number 42, and the doors to number 3 closed. After going back to Savile Row after lockdown I noticed that 3 Savile Row is now Abercrombie and Fitch and number 42 has closed completely. All very confusing!

McCartney and Asher had been together for five years, since meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963. However, McCartney had a string of other girls, mainly while The Beatles were touring – and in 1968 began an affair with an American woman, Francie Schwartz.

McCartney said on two occasions that "if anyone was the fifth Beatle", it was manager Brian Epstein (in a 1997 BBC interview) and producer George Martin (in a 2016 memorial post).

Paul McCartney's arrival at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on January 16, 1980, marked his first visit to Japan since the Beatles tour of 1966. The occasion was a planned 11-city concert tour by his band Wings.

Gonorrhea plagued the Beatles after a wild stint in Hamburg, greatly complicating both their personal and professional lives, according to Bob Spitz's uncomfortably-detailed history of the band, simply entitled “The Beatles.”

9. John Lennon (1940-1980) The popular Beatle is thought to have had ADHD due to his disruptive behavior and inability to focus on his lessons growing up.

Ringo Starr also "had a major drinking problem" (who is now sober) said Sir McCartney, but he still regards the group were "reasonably well adjusted" to fame. DrinkAware pinpoint the common warning signs of alcohol dependence, which affects nine percent of men in the UK and three percent of women.

John Lennon by a mile. Prone to unprovoked outbursts, occasional violence, and biting comments. It got much worse as he got into Yoko and heroin. Much of this was of course related to his dysfunctional upbringing without a dad.

In a 1987 interview, McCartney said that the other Beatles idolised Lennon: "He was like our own little Elvis ... We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest."

Paul McCartney admits he despised being labeled "the cute one" during the Beatles era. "I hated that," McCartney told SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show, agreeing that the term distracted from his musicianship. "That's what happens — just, 'He's the cute one.

How cold was it when The Beatles performed on the roof? ›

While the temperature stood at 45 degrees, a blustery wind whipped around the rooftops that January day.

It was 50 years ago today (January 3rd, 1970) that the Beatles recorded their final song together. Three of the four Beatles — Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — gathered at London's Abbey Road studios to complete Harrison's tune "I Me Mine" for the group's Let It Be soundtrack.

John Lennon smoked until the day he was murdered in 1980 at age 40. George Harrison died as a result lung cancer caused by smoking at age 58 in 2001. Paul McCartney quit smoking cold turkey in the summer of 1981 after he found himself winded while running for help after one of his children was injured in an accident.

Why did the Beatles perform two or three takes of a song at the rooftop concert in January 1969 rather than just play each song once? It wasn't so much a concert as it was a live recording session. Because just like any band, they thought they could do better in the next take.