It was September 20, 1969, and the Beatles gathered in the Apple offices on Savile Row. The meeting was evidently contentious, resulting in John deciding that he would leave the group. Yes, 46 years ago, the Fab Four realized they had come to a parting of the ways.
How do I know this amazing fact? Well, yesterday, on September 20, we went on the Beatles Magical Mystery Walking Tour of London, and our guide, passionate Beatles camp follower and group historian Richard P, told us so. And he knows lots about the Beatles.
In preparation for our trip to Liverpool, we took this opportunity to visit such places as Paul’s current headquarters, the studio where “Hey, Jude” was recorded, along with several other Beatles’ hits, and lots of other major albums, and the Palladium, where the Beatles might be said to have become a phenomenon on October 13, 1963. And right after that, Brian Epstein took an office just next door.
And then there was the building where Apple was headquartered, and the famous rooftop session rocked Savile Row, and the end was set in motion…the gallery where John and Yoko met, and the private club a few yards away where the boys and their peers partied.
And how could you have a Beatles’ tour without a trip to Abbey Road? It might be a suicide mission to try to replicate the iconic view, but many try. The Abbey Road studios were quite close, and it was quite thrilling to be on the actual site. Such memories of youth came with this tour!
Our final tourist destination was near Liverpool Station, at an interesting ‘installation’ called Dennis Severs’ House on Folgate Street.
Absolutely no photos allowed, but what Dennis Severs did is rather amazing. The house is a “still-life drama” of what life would have been like inside for a family of Huguenot silk weavers. Each of the ten rooms of the house is furnished in a different historic style, mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The rooms are arranged as if they are in use and the occupants have only just left. There are items such as half-eaten bread, and different smells and background sounds for each room. The lighting is either what comes through the windows or candlelight. It’s a bit eerie, but hugely evocative. See it if you can.
Along our way, we did have a chance to reacquaint ourselves with various parts of London. Again, gorgeous weather in this amazing city.
I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah! Can’t wait to show you Liverpool. Should have shown you the book I’m writing about the postcards my brother sent to my parents. Didn’t know you were into the lads, June
Hey, June! Yes, I was one of the huddled masses screaming at the Ed Sullivan Show on television February 9, 1964. It was the confirmation of my conversion to the Beatles, though my particular religious conviction wore thin as they became more…cerebral…and as the Summer of Love took over in the States. So much to choose from – thanks to them.
Had I been born in Liverpool, and had my brother been their road manager, well, things would have been different between us.
But you never forget your first love…