The lunchtime traffic came to a standstill in Saville Row yesterday lunchtime, after hundreds of Beatles’ fans descended on the street to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s last public performance.
The pavement outside 3 Saville Row, formerly Apple Records, became the site of a nostalgic sing -along on led by street performer’s Steve Stacey and John Clews. The performers kept the gathering crowd of around 200 people entertained for the best part of an hour with a setlist that replicated that of the rooftop show exactly.
In 1969, the Beatles surprised passing pedestrians by playing an impromptu forty-minute gig on the roof of the building. The performance was eventually broken up by the police after several noise complaints but has since come to take on legendary status amongst Beatles fans as it was their last performance before they broke up in April 1970.
The crowd contained people from all over the world, some who had travelled from as far as Chicago to attend the Beatles anniversary walking tour, led by Richard Porter who has been running The London Beatles Walks for over 25 years.
Richard said: “This is very much a special occasion. This is the legacy of that gig. It’s amazing how good they were that day 50 years ago, and for everyone to be here doing what they’re doing, it just brings it home”
Joining him on his tour was Tony Battle, author of the book ‘The Beatles on the Roof’ who said: “This is sacred ground for a lot of people because of what happened that day. The Beatles were very good at surprising people, first through their joyful music and then with stunts like the one that happened here 50 years ago today.”
Acclaimed film director Peter Jackson has been announced as the director of an upcoming Beatles documentary titled ‘Let It Be’ which will document the bands final recording sessions before the release of their album of the same name.
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HeadlineBeatles Fans’ Gather to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Iconic Rooftop Performance
Short HeadlineBeatles Fans' recreate legendary performance on 50th anniversary
StandfirstSaville Row became the site of an impromptu tribute to the fab four.
The lunchtime traffic came to a standstill in Saville Row yesterday lunchtime, after hundreds of Beatles’ fans descended on the street to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s last public performance.
The pavement outside 3 Saville Row, formerly Apple Records, became the site of a nostalgic sing -along on led by street performer’s Steve Stacey and John Clews. The performers kept the gathering crowd of around 200 people entertained for the best part of an hour with a setlist that replicated that of the rooftop show exactly.
In 1969, the Beatles surprised passing pedestrians by playing an impromptu forty-minute gig on the roof of the building. The performance was eventually broken up by the police after several noise complaints but has since come to take on legendary status amongst Beatles fans as it was their last performance before they broke up in April 1970.
The crowd contained people from all over the world, some who had travelled from as far as Chicago to attend the Beatles anniversary walking tour, led by Richard Porter who has been running The London Beatles Walks for over 25 years.
Richard said: “This is very much a special occasion. This is the legacy of that gig. It’s amazing how good they were that day 50 years ago, and for everyone to be here doing what they’re doing, it just brings it home”
Joining him on his tour was Tony Battle, author of the book ‘The Beatles on the Roof’ who said: “This is sacred ground for a lot of people because of what happened that day. The Beatles were very good at surprising people, first through their joyful music and then with stunts like the one that happened here 50 years ago today.”
Acclaimed film director Peter Jackson has been announced as the director of an upcoming Beatles documentary titled ‘Let It Be’ which will document the bands final recording sessions before the release of their album of the same name.
