<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beatles&#039; rooftop concert</span>

The Beatles' rooftop concert

<p>On 30 January 1969, <a href="/en/The_Beatles" title="The Beatles" class="wl">the Beatles</a> performed an impromptu concert from the rooftop of their <a href="/en/Apple_Corps" title="Apple Corps" class="wl">Apple Corps</a> headquarters at 3 <a href="/en/Savile_Row" title="Savile Row" class="wl">Savile Row</a>, in central London's office and fashion district. Joined by guest keyboardist <a href="/en/Billy_Preston" title="Billy Preston" class="wl">Billy Preston</a>, the band played a 42-minute set before the <a href="/en/Metropolitan_Police" title="Metropolitan Police" class="wl">Metropolitan Police</a> arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Final public performance of the Beatles</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Venue, Date(s), Duration, The Beatles concert...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vevent mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title summary">The Beatles' rooftop concert</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="category">Impromptu concert</span> by <span class="attendee"><a href="/en/The_Beatles" title="The Beatles" class="wl">the Beatles</a></span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d1/The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg/170px-The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="240" data-file-height="320" data-file-type="bitmap" height="227" width="170" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg 2x" alt="The_Beatles_rooftop_concert.jpg"></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Venue</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Apple_Corps" title="Apple Corps" class="wl">Apple Corps</a> headquarters rooftop</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Date(s)</th><td class="infobox-data">30<span>&nbsp;</span>January<span>&nbsp;</span>1969<span style="display:none"><span>&nbsp;</span>(<span class="bday dtstart published updated">1969-01-30</span>)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Duration</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="duration"><span class="min">42</span>:<span class="s">00</span></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-mojo4music.com_The_Beatles_Rooftop_concert_1-0"><a href="#cite_note-mojo4music.com_The_Beatles_Rooftop_concert-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><a href="/en/The_Beatles" title="The Beatles" class="wl">The Beatles</a> concert chronology</th></tr><tr class="noprint plainlist"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">
<ul><li style="display: table-cell; width: 33%;"><a href="/en/The_Beatles'_1966_US_tour" title="The Beatles' 1966 US tour" class="wl">1966 US tour</a></li>
<li style="display: table-cell; width: 33%;"><b>The Beatles' rooftop concert</b></li>
<li style="display: table-cell; width: 33%;"></li></ul>
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<p>Although the concert had been conceived only a few days previously, the Beatles had been planning to return to live performance since they began the recording sessions for their album <i><a href="/en/Let_It_Be_(Beatles_album)" title="Let It Be (Beatles album)" class="wl">Let It Be</a></i> (1970). They performed nine takes of five new songs as crowds of onlookers, many on lunch breaks, congregated in the streets and on the rooftops of nearby buildings to listen. The concert ended with "<a href="/en/Get_Back_(Beatles_song)" title="Get Back (Beatles song)" class="mw-redirect wl">Get Back</a>", with <a href="/en/John_Lennon" title="John Lennon" class="wl">John Lennon</a> joking, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition."<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEverett1999222_2-0"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEverett1999222-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span></p>

<p>The entire performance was filmed and recorded, and footage was used in the 1970 documentary film <i><a href="/en/Let_It_Be_(1970_film)" title="Let It Be (1970 film)" class="wl">Let It Be</a></i> and the 2021 documentary series <i><a href="/en/The_Beatles:_Get_Back" title="The Beatles: Get Back" class="wl">The Beatles: Get Back</a></i>. The first performance of "<a href="/en/I've_Got_a_Feeling" title="I've Got a Feeling" class="wl">I've Got a Feeling</a>" and single takes of "<a href="/en/One_After_909" title="One After 909" class="wl">One After 909</a>" and "<a href="/en/Dig_a_Pony" title="Dig a Pony" class="wl">Dig a Pony</a>" were also featured on the accompanying album. On 28 January 2022, the audio of the full rooftop performance was released to streaming services under the title <i><b>Get Back – The Rooftop Performance</b></i>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-:0_3-0"><a href="#cite_note-:0-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span></p>

<p>In February 2022, <a href="/en/Walt_Disney_Studios_Motion_Pictures" title="Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures" class="wl">Disney</a> released the entire concert sequence as presented in <i><a href="/en/The_Beatles:_Get_Back" title="The Beatles: Get Back" class="wl">The Beatles: Get Back</a></i> in <a href="/en/IMAX" title="IMAX" class="wl">IMAX</a> as <i>The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert</i>. It had a limited theatrical engagement to critical acclaim.</p>



On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London's office and fashion district. Joined by guest keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career. Although the concert had been conceived only a few days previously, the Beatles had been planning to return to live performance since they began the recording sessions for their album Let It Be . They performed nine takes of five new songs as crowds of onlookers, many on lunch breaks, congregated in the streets and on the rooftops of nearby buildings to listen. The concert ended with "Get Back", with John Lennon joking, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition." 