Plans to hire a helicopter to capture aerial footage were abandoned. Johns and assistant engineer Alan Parsons purchased women's stockings from a local Marks & Spencer store to protect the microphones from the winter wind. The instruments used during the performance were Lennon's stripped-back Epiphone Casino, McCartney's signature Höfner "violin" bass, Harrison's new, custom-made rosewood Fender Telecaster, and Starr's recently acquired Ludwig drum kit, plus a Fender Rhodes electric piano for Preston. Preparation Įvans organised the building of a stage on the Apple rooftop and the setting up of the band's equipment. Consistent with a decision he made during the Twickenham rehearsals, however, Harrison declined to have any of his songs included in the set. In a group discussion at the end of that day, Harrison talked enthusiastically about the upcoming show for the first time and joked about performing for an audience of chimneys. The 29 January audio tapes for Lindsay-Hogg's production capture McCartney pleading with Lennon that a live performance was essential to maintain the Beatles' connection with their audience, and the band members merely needed to overcome their stage fright. Starr was initially determined not to play, and Harrison was reluctant. Peter Jackson's documentary series The Beatles: Get Back shows Johns and Lindsay-Hogg presenting McCartney with the idea and McCartney being excited about it. Mal Evans, the Beatles' road manager, recorded in his diary that the idea came about "after we'd taken a breath of fresh air on the roof after lunch" on 26 January. He recalled that it originated from a lunchtime discussion, when Ringo Starr mentioned that there was a great view of London's West End from the roof and took Johns and Lindsay-Hogg up to see it. In his autobiography Sound Man, audio engineer Glyn Johns said the idea for the concert was his. In Preston's recollection, it was John Lennon who suggested it. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, it is uncertain who thought of a rooftop concert, but the idea was conceived just days before the actual event. Paul McCartney and Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the director of the project, continued to hope that the Beatles would end the recording sessions with a live performance in front of an audience. But we would have had to take all the stuff, so we decided, "Let's get up on the roof." We were wondering where we could go – "Oh, the Palladium or the Sahara". On 22 January, Harrison brought in keyboardist Billy Preston as an additional musician, in the hope that a talented outsider would encourage the band to be tight and focused. Another of Harrison's stipulations was that they move from Twickenham Film Studios to their Apple Corps headquarters and record their new songs in the Apple Studio in the basement. The idea of a large public show was sidelined, however, as one of George Harrison's conditions for returning to the group after he had walked out of the filmed rehearsals on 10 January. In February 2022, Disney released the entire concert sequence as presented in The Beatles: Get Back in IMAX as The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert.Īlthough 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. On 28 January 2022, the audio of the full rooftop performance was released to streaming services under the title Get Back – The Rooftop Performance. The first performance of " I've Got a Feeling" and single takes of " One After 909" and " Dig a Pony" were also featured on the accompanying album. The entire performance was filmed and recorded, and footage was used in the 1970 documentary film Let It Be and the 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. The concert ended with " Get Back", and John Lennon joking, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition." They performed nine takes of five new songs as crowds of onlookers, many on lunch breaks, congregated in the streets and on the rooftops of nearby buildings to listen. It was the final public performance of their career. Joined by guest keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London's office and fashion district.
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