The Beatles Did Their Last Concert As A Band 55 Years Ago Today (Jan. 30)

Jan. 30 marks a big day in Beatledom: The Fab Four played their last gig as a band 55 years ago.

And they did it on top of a roof.

On Jan. 30, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr performed their famous rooftop concert on top of the London headquarters of Apple Corps.

The 42-minute concert was intended to be the highlight of their 1970s documentary film, Let It Be, and its soundtrack album, but the complete performance wasnt made available until Peter Jacksons 2021 documentary: The Beatles: Get Back. 

The Beatles had considered other venues, such as the pyramids or the Queen Elizabeth 2, before deciding to perform on the rooftop of Apples Savile Row offices.

Harrison said the decision was pragmatic.

We went on the roof in order to resolve the live concert idea, because it was much simpler than going anywhere else, he said, according to the Beatles webpage. Also nobody had ever done that, so it would be interesting to see what happened when we started playing up there. It was a nice little social study. 

As both Let It Be and Get Back demonstrate, the impromptu concert attracted the attention of fans as well as police officers who attempted to shut down the event.

The Band celebrated the anniversary on its page on X, formerly Twitter.