In 2017, Apple recruited the New Zealand-based director Peter Jackson – the creator of the six film versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as the documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, built from restored footage of the first world war – to cut a new feature-length film. What remained in the Beatles’ vaults – although some of it subsequently fell into the hands of bootleggers – was 50 additional hours of rushes and more than twice as much audio, brimming with an immersive sense of who they were and how they worked.Įventually, in preparation for Let It Be’s 50th anniversary, most of this material was collected together.
Such was the finale of four weeks of filming and recording that eventually resulted in an 80-minute feature-length film titled Let It Be, and the album of the same name. Photograph: Ethan A Russell/© Apple Corps Ltd ‘Contrary to myth, they were still closely collaborating’: the Beatles and Yoko Ono at Apple Studios, 24 January 1969. No one knew it was their last public performance, but, in retrospect, they ensured that such a significant moment passed off almost perfectly. And on Thursday 30 January, the four of them – joined by the American keyboard player and singer Billy Preston – played, with a mixture of panache and joyous energy, on the Apple building’s roof. The plan for a televised concert was abandoned, and it was agreed – just about – that the group were now being filmed for a feature-length documentary. Having begun working at Twickenham, the Beatles relocated to a makeshift studio in the basement of 3 Savile Row, the central London address that was the home of their company Apple. Indeed, two days after the longest conversation about Sabratha, Harrison would temporarily walk out of rehearsals, with the deadpan line: “See you round the clubs.” When he returned, it was seemingly on the basis that the idea of a spectacular live performance would be shelved. But whatever the suggested setting was, everything seemed to founder on a mixture of inertia, logistical impossibility and Harrison’s implacable opposition.
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When Lennon suggested they could get a cruise liner for free from P&O, Harrison flatly pointed out that, despite their celebrity, the Beatles had trouble even getting complimentary guitar amps.Īmong an array of other ideas for a concert venue, there were also mentions of the Royal Albert Hall, the Tate Gallery, an airport, an orphanage and the Houses of Parliament. The idea of getting to Libya on a ship, he insisted, “was very expensive and insane”. He feared “being stuck with a bloody big boatload of people for two weeks”. Ringo Starr said he would rather do the show in the UK, but did not rule out the trip: “I’m not saying I’m not going,” he offered, which sounded as if he was open to persuasion.īut George Harrison was not interested. Paul McCartney seemed just as keen: “It does make it like an adventure, doesn’t it?” he said.
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If the four of them had been wondering how to present their performance, here was the most gloriously simple of answers: “God’s the gimmick,” he enthused.
He envisaged the group timing their set so they fell into a carefully picked musical moment just as the sun came up over the Mediterranean. The ship, he said, could be the setting for final dress rehearsals. Over the previous few days, John Lennon had been quiet and withdrawn, but now he seemed to be brimming with enthusiasm.
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