Description
Thousands of Beatles fans visited London's Abbey Road 50 years after the group crossed the famous pedestrian crossing for the cover of their last recorded album.
Related events
- The REDD.37 mixing console used at EMI Abbey Road Studios to record the first Beatles tracks was offered for sale by Vintage King Audio. No price was given. In January 1964, the console had been replaced by the newer REDD.51 model.
- GottaHaveRockAndRoll offered 24 concert contracts from The Beatles' concerts during their 1964 North American tour for auction. Each document was signed by the band's manager Brian Epstein or NEMS employee Bernard Lee.
- The Beatles' classic albums were awarded platinum status after the British Phonographic Industry changed the rules for sales awards. Sgt. Pepper's became triple platinum, while Revolver, Help!, Rubber Soul and The White Album also received platinum status.
- An unpublished series of photographs of The Beatles by Astrid Kirchherr was exhibited at the Victoria Gallery and Museum in Liverpool, documenting their early years, their stay in Tenerife and the filming of “A Hard Day’s Night” in Liverpool in 1964.
- The album "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was voted by the British public as the best album ever to reach No. 1 in a poll held to mark the 50th anniversary of the UK album chart. The Beatles also had "Revolver" at No. 6, "Abbey Road" at No. 8, and "The Beatles" ("White Album") at No. 10 among the top ten.
- John Duff Lowe and Colin Hanton of The Quarrymen unveiled a plaque at the site where the group that later became The Beatles made their first recordings. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded Buddy Holly's “That'll Be The Day” and the Lennon-Harrison song “In Spite Of All The Danger” there as The Quarrymen in 1958.
- A pizza-stained piece of paper signed by three of the four members was sold for $48,000 (£17,441) to an anonymous collector at an auction in Melbourne. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison signed it during the band's 1964 Australian tour at a hotel in Adelaide. Ringo Starr had laryngitis and did not join the tour.
- The Beatles were voted “Favourite Recording Artist of All Time” in a poll conducted by the British music magazine Mojo. They finished ahead of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Queen, and Elton John.
- A two-sided acetate recording of The Beatles featuring live recordings of “Kansas City” and “Some Other Guy” from the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962 was sold at Christie's auction in London for $32,000 (£16,500), which at the time was a record price for a recording.
- Rolling Stone magazine named The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the best album made during the previous 20 years. The next places went to Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, Exile on Main St., The Beatles (The White Album) and Blood on the Tracks.
- The Beatles fans paid $271,180 for memorabilia at an auction in London, England.
- The city of Liverpool named four streets after members of The Beatles: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.