The Beatles sang divinely. The applause often brought the roof down; little do the fans of this rock group knew that these superb singers and musicians also climbed roofs.
At lunchtime on January 30,1969, the Beatles trudged up to the roof of Apple Corps. An unannounced concert of materials they had cobbled together for a new album followed.
.
It was a magical performance. It came to an abrupt end after the cops pulled the plug following neighbours complaint.
Little did they know that they were the last witness of demonstration of the spontaneity of this famous musical group. For the Beatles was presenting their last performance together.
The site of the concert, 3 Savile Row London is set to be the first Beatles Museum. It would showcase never-seen-before memorabilia and archival material.
Perhaps this “museumisation” was only to be expected. Time has a way of absorbing even the most radical acts of art into the establishment.
The works of Banksy, the guerrilla street artist, whose murals have targetted consumer culture and corporate greed, now sell for millions of dollars. The music of the Grateful Dead whose music and “travelling circus” experience was emblematic of the 1960s counterculture movement, became pioneers of merchandising and branding.
The Beatles have long ceased to belong only to the moment that produced them.Their songs have been streamed into millions.
They are being studied by musicologists and enshrined as cultural artefacts. Yet, there is something moving about 3 Savile Row being turned into a museum.
The concert lasted less than an hour. It was interrupted by policemen running up the stairs.
Those same stairs will be climbed up by fans. These devotees of the “Beatlesmania” will be looking for a connection to one of the unforgettable “,you have to be there” moments of music history.
