Why The Beatles' last concert was held on a rooftop: the history of the event and the recording of the album "Let it Be"

More than half a century passed since a landmark event in the history of rock'n'roll. On 30 January 1969, an unusual concert of the Liverpool Four took place. At that time, no one knew that on the roof of a London block of flats, located at 3 Savile Row, The Beatles in the last once perform in front of an audience all together.

The idea for this show originated with the band spontaneouslyThe band members had been hatching the idea of getting together and playing a concert for a long time. The band members had long nurtured the idea of getting together for a concert, and the decision to play on the roof of their headquarters seemed like a great option to The Beatles. They started playing during lunchesso soon a huge crowd gathered on neighbouring rooftops and streets. Everyone wanted to hear the Beatles play.

As it was

The musicians were preparing present the new album Let It Be. The documentary film about the recording of the record was supposed to end with a grand concert performance of the band.

The final shots were going to be shot in London's Palladium and Roundhous halls, then in Egypt, against the backdrop of the pyramids, then in the middle of the sands of the Sahara desert.

The film's director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, slept at all and saw the musicians singing on stage Roman The amphitheatre and the spectator seats are gradually filling up with a flood of people. He even "looked" for a suitable preserved structure in Tunisia.

However, the Beatles, who were constantly fighting at the time, were not up to Michael's grandiose plans. The very appearance of the album lingered. Harrison, for example, stopped coming to rehearsals altogether.

On 22 January, The Beatles finally moved into their own Apple Records studio building, which they had purchased six months earlier. The Beatles finally moved into their own Apple Records studio building, which had been purchased six months earlier. returned back to a normal work schedule. That's when someone came up with the idea to record the final concert on the studio roof without delay, while the fragile truce was still in place.

On this one. semi-spontaneous At the concert, for the first time in the history of the band's performances, the Beatles were positioned in a different way than their fans were used to. Lennon stood in the centre. Harrison stood to his right.

At the keyboards for this concert was Billy Preston, previously invited by George Martin to record "Let It Be". The producer really hoped that the new face would somewhat soften a growing conflict in the band. Preston positioned himself with his instrument between McCartney and Starr.

London winters may not look like polar winters, but on the day of this unusual concert there was a coldAnd it's a good idea to take a look at the roof, especially on a roof with no protection from the wind. Ringo's wife Maureen wore a red insulated coat, and Yoko Ono dressed Lennon up in her own coat.

John bounced on the improvised stage a few times, making sure the structure was solid. Then it turned out that the ultra-sensitive studio microphones were making a lot of noise due to wind gusts. Someone suggested putting ladies' mics on the equipment. tights. Alan Parsons, the sound engineer, was sent to the shop. The same one who would record Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" just three years later.

Parsons recalled:

"When I walked up to the counter and asked for three pairs of women's tights, no matter what size, I was looked at very suspiciously, trying to work out whether I looked more like a bank robber or a transvestite."

Speech started with "Get Back." Then came "Don't Let Me Down", "I've Got a Feeling", "The One After 909". The concert continued with a very fresh "Dig A Pony". Lennon couldn't remember the lyrics by heart, so his assistant, kneeling down, held a scrapbook with the lyrics in front of him. In between songs, Lennon kept complaining that his fingers were completely stiffened.

And below and on the roofs of the neighbouring houses had gathered crowd of the audience. A traffic jam formed in the street. On the cameras of the cameramen who were filming the crowd, most of those gathered expressed delight. But there were also those who were pissed off. This was especially true for drivers of stranded cars and residents of the surrounding buildings.

The sound was really loud. The music that rattled the windows was also heard at the nearby police station. However, the police did not hurry to stop the event. Concert continued 42 minutes. This was despite the fact that the phones at the station were ringing off the hook with calls from outraged residents of Savile Row and surrounding streets.

Police officers are more could not to pretend as if nothing supernatural was going on, and they were about to send a patrol to stop the "outrage". But ten minutes before the patrol arrived at the studio, the station called and warned about the upcoming visit of the "cops".

An act truly gentlemanly. After all, many of those present on the roof of the studio were carrying illegal substances. One witness to the event recalled:

"We had time to get ready and for all those ten minutes there was a friendly cheer coming from all the toilets in the building chorus cistern drains."

When, after negotiations with the arriving patrolmen, the musicians began to remove their guitars, Ringo Starr's wife applauded. McCartney, already on his way down, returned and said into the microphone:

"Thanks, Mo."

And Lennon set the stage for the historic performance with the words:

"I want to thank everyone on behalf of the band. I hope we made it through the audition."

This ironic statement was a reference to the origins of the band's formation, when the musicians unsuccessfully tried to conquer critics at numerous auditions.

These words are heard on the album "Let It Be" as well. And they just so happen to be short-circuited a whole cycle in world rock history called The Beatles.

Let it be so

A year after the concert. comes out the film Let it Be. The documentary tells how The Beatles recorded the album of the same name as the film. The film consists of recordings from the band's rehearsals and video footage shot during the recording of the songs.

All four musicians participated in the filming of "Let it Be", despite the band's disagreement in 1969. Also in the recording of the album and in the filming of participated Billy Preston, the same keyboard player who played with the Beatles on the roof.

At the time of release, the ensemble had already broken up, so none of the Beatles came to the premiere. Despite this, the film was very successful, the band's fans very high appreciated the work. Later, the painting even honoured "Oscar" for best soundtrack.