On January 30, 1969, The Beatles gave their last public performance as a group, making history with an impromptu rooftop concert in London. The event was captured on film and later released as part of the 2021 documentary ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’
The concert was the culmination of a month-long recording session for their album Let It Be, originally titled Get Back. The project was intended to showcase the band's return to their roots, playing live without overdubs or studio effects. However, the sessions were fraught with tension and disagreements, as the band members were growing apart creatively and personally.
Instead of booking a venue for a live show, The Beatles decided to set up their equipment on the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, with guest keyboardist Billy Preston joining them. They started playing around noon, surprising the pedestrians and workers on the street below. Some of them stopped to watch and listen, while others carried on with their business. The band played nine takes of five songs: "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "I've Got A Feeling", "One After 909", and "Dig A Pony". The performance was filmed by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg and his crew, who also recorded the reactions of the crowd and the police.
The concert lasted for about 40 minutes, until the police arrived and asked them to stop, citing noise complaints and traffic disruption. The Beatles complied, but not before John Lennon delivered his famous closing line: "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we've passed the audition." The rooftop concert was the last time The Beatles played together in front of an audience, as they broke up the following year.
The concert footage was edited and included in the documentary film ‘Let It Be,’ released in 1970. The film showed the band's creative process and their difficulties, as well as their final performance. The film was criticized for its negative portrayal of the band and later remastered and re-edited by director Peter Jackson, who used over 50 hours of unseen footage and 140 hours of audio recordings. The result was a six-hour documentary series titled The Beatles: Get Back, which was released on Disney+ in 2021. The series offered a more balanced and positive view of the band's final days and featured the complete rooftop concert in its final episode.
The Beatles’ rooftop concert is one of the most iconic moments in rock ‘n roll history.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]