The Beatles ' rooftop concert - wikipedia The Beatles ' rooftop concert The Beatles ' rooftop concert Aerial view Date 30 January 1969 Venue Apple Corps 3 Savile Row, London, UK 51 ° 30 ′ 37.48 '' N 0 ° 8 ′ 23.13 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 51.5104111 ° N 0.1397583 ° W ﻿ / 51.5104111 ; - 0.1397583 Participants John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Billy Preston Length 42 minutes Producer George Martin Engineers Glyn Johns Alan Parsons The Beatles ' rooftop concert was the final public performance of the English rock band the Beatles. On 30 January 1969, the band, with keyboardist Billy Preston, surprised a central London office and fashion district with an impromptu concert from the roof of the headquarters of the band 's multimedia corporation Apple Corps at 3 Savile Row. In a 42 - minute set, the Beatles played nine takes of five songs before the Metropolitan Police asked them to reduce the volume. Footage from the performance was used in the 1970 documentary film Let It Be. Contents 1 History 2 Set list 3 Legacy 4 Personnel 5 Citations 6 Sources 7 External links History Although the concert was unannounced, the Beatles had planned on performing live during their Get Back sessions earlier in January. According to author Mark Lewisohn, it is uncertain who had the idea for a rooftop concert, but the suggestion was conceived just days before the actual event. George Harrison brought in keyboardist Billy Preston as an additional musician, in the hope that a talented outside observer would encourage the band to be tight and focused. In Preston 's recollection, the idea to perform on the Apple rooftop was John Lennon 's. Ringo Starr remembered : There was a plan to play live somewhere. We were wondering where we could go -- `` Oh, the Palladium or the Sahara ''. But we would have had to take all the stuff, so we decided, `` Let 's get up on the roof. '' In his autobiography Sound Man, recording engineer Glyn Johns claims the idea for the concert was his. The audio was recorded onto two eight - track recorders in the basement studio at Apple by engineer Alan Parsons. Film director Michael Lindsay - Hogg brought in a camera crew to capture several angles of the performance, including reactions from people on the street. When the Beatles first started playing, there was some confusion from spectators watching five storeys below, many of whom were on their lunch break. As the news of the event spread, crowds of onlookers began to congregate in the streets and on the roofs of local buildings. While most responded positively to the concert, the Metropolitan Police grew concerned about noise and traffic issues. Apple employees initially refused to let police inside, but reconsidered when threatened with arrest. As police ascended to the roof, the Beatles realised that the concert would eventually be shut down, but continued to play for several more minutes. Paul McCartney improvised the lyrics of his song `` Get Back '' to reflect the situation : `` You 've been playing on the roofs again, and you know your Momma does n't like it, she 's gon na have you arrested ! '' The concert came to an end with the conclusion of `` Get Back '', with Lennon saying, `` I 'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we 've passed the audition. '' Set list The rooftop concert consisted of nine takes of five Beatles songs : `` Get Back '' ( three takes ) `` Do n't Let Me Down '' ( two takes ) `` I 've Got a Feeling '' ( two takes ) `` One After 909 '' ( one take ) `` Dig a Pony '' ( one take ) The first performance of `` I 've Got a Feeling '' and the recordings of `` One After 909 '' and `` Dig a Pony '' were later used for the album Let It Be. In 1996, a `` rooftop '' version of `` Get Back '', which was the last song of the Beatles ' final live performance, was included in Anthology 3. An edit of the two takes of `` Do n't Let Me Down '' was included on Let It Be... Naked. There was also a brief jam of `` I Want You ( She 's So Heavy ) '' while the cameramen changed film. Legacy This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2016 ) 3 Savile Row, London, the location of the concert The Beatles ' rooftop concert marked the end of an era for many fans. The group did record one more album, Abbey Road, but by September 1969 the Beatles had unofficially disbanded. Several of the rooftop performances, particularly that of `` Dig a Pony '', showed the Beatles once again in top form, if only temporarily. Fans believed the rooftop concert might have been a try - out for a return to live performances and touring. The Rutles ' `` Get Up and Go '' sequence in the film All You Need Is Cash mimics the footage of the rooftop concert, and uses similar camera angles. In January 2009, tribute band the Bootleg Beatles attempted to stage a 40th anniversary concert in the same location, but were refused permission by Westminster City Council due to licensing problems. In The Simpsons fifth season episode `` Homer 's Barbershop Quartet '', the Be Sharps ( Homer, Apu, Barney and Principal Skinner ) perform a rendition of one of their previous hits on a rooftop. George Harrison, who guest - starred in the episode, is shown saying dismissively `` It 's been done ! '' As the song ends and the credits begin, Homer repeats John Lennon 's phrase about passing the audition and everyone laughs, including Barney until he says, `` I do n't get it. '' In the 2007 film Across The Universe, a musical made up entirely of Beatles ' music, Sadie 's band performs a rooftop concert in New York City which mimics the original. It is interrupted and closed down by the New York Police Department. U2 also referenced the concert in their video for `` Where the Streets Have No Name '', which featured a similar rooftop concert in Los Angeles. McCartney played a surprise mini-concert in midtown Manhattan on 15 July 2009 from the top of the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he was recording a performance for Late Show with David Letterman. News of the event spread via Twitter and word of mouth, and nearby street corners were closed off to accommodate fans for the set, which duplicated the original Beatles gig. Personnel John Lennon -- vocals, guitar Paul McCartney -- vocals, bass guitar George Harrison -- vocals, guitar Ringo Starr -- drums Billy Preston -- electric piano Citations Jump up ^ `` 20 Things You Need To Know About The Beatles ' Rooftop Concert ''. mojo4music.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ Lewisohn 1992, pp. 306 -- 307. ^ Jump up to : Lewisohn 1992, p. 307. Jump up ^ Babiuk 2002, p. 240. Jump up ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 321. Jump up ^ Johns, Glyn ( 2015 ). Sound Man. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 129. ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 751657 - 2. Jump up ^ Ryan, Kevin ; Kehew, Brian ( 2006 ). Recording the Beatles : The studio equipment and techniques used to create their classic albums. Curvebender. p. 518. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9785200 - 0 - 7. ^ Jump up to : Perone 2005, p. 5. Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 216. ^ Jump up to : `` Beatles rooftop birthday : It 's 40 years since the fab four 's last ever concert ''. BBC. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2013. Jump up ^ Perone 2005, pp. 5 -- 6. Jump up ^ Lifton, Dave. `` 44 YEARS AGO : THE BEATLES PERFORM LIVE FOR THE LAST TIME, ON A LONDON ROOFTOP ''. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 December 2013. Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 222. Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 219. Jump up ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 334. Jump up ^ Beatles Bible Jump up ^ `` Paul McCartney : ' I Want to Live in Peace ' ''. Life Magazine. 7 November 1969. Jump up ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 331. Jump up ^ Perone 2005, p. 6. Jump up ^ `` Ladies and Gentlemen : The Rutles ! ''. CD Review. 12 ( 1 -- 9 ) : 80. Jump up ^ Banerjee, Subhajit ( 30 January 2009 ). `` The Beatles rooftop concert : It was 40 years ago today ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 December 2013. Jump up ^ Suebsaeng, Asawin ( 30 January 2012 ). `` 8 Videos to Commemorate the Beatles ' Final Concert, 43 Years Later ''. Mother Jones. Retrieved 30 January 2014. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( 2009 ). Roger Ebert 's Movie Yearbook 2010. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7407 - 9218 - 2. Sources Babiuk, Andy ( 2002 ). Beatles Gear : All the Fab Four 's Instruments, from Stage to Studio. San Francisco, CA : Backbeat Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 87930 - 731 - 8. The Beatles ( 2000 ). The Beatles Anthology. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8118 - 3636 - 4. Everett, Walter ( 1999 ). The Beatles as Musicians : Revolver through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 512941 - 0. MacDonald, Ian ( 2005 ). Revolution in the Head : The Beatles ' Records and the Sixties ( 3rd ( 2007 ) ed. ). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 55652 - 733 - 3. Lewisohn, Mark ( 1992 ). The Complete Beatles Chronicle : The Definitive Day - By - Day Guide To the Beatles ' Entire Career ( 2010 ed. ). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 56976 - 534 - 0. Perone, James E ( 2005 ). Woodstock : An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair -- American history through music. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978 - 0 - 313 - 33057 - 5. External links Do n't Let Me Down from the rooftop Let It Be Let It Be ( film ) Let It Be... Naked Songs Side one `` Two of Us '' `` Dig a Pony '' `` Across the Universe '' `` I Me Mine '' `` Dig It '' `` Let It Be '' `` Maggie Mae '' Side two `` I 've Got a Feeling '' `` One After 909 '' `` The Long and Winding Road '' `` For You Blue '' `` Get Back '' Non-album B - side `` Do n't Let Me Down '' `` You Know My Name ( Look Up the Number ) '' Outtakes `` All Things Must Pass '' `` Another Day '' `` The Back Seat of My Car '' `` Gimme Some Truth '' `` Hear Me Lord '' `` Let It Down '' `` Teddy Boy '' `` Watching Rainbows '' Related articles Rooftop concert Break - up of the Beatles Billy Preston Phil Spector Let It Be ( Laibach album ) Kum Back Let It Be ( musical ) Let It Be... Naked The Beatles discography Please Please Me With the Beatles A Hard Day 's Night Beatles for Sale Help ! Rubber Soul Revolver Sgt. 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Question: when did the beatles play their last concert
Answer: On 30 January 1969