Get Back
Beatles Museum in London
He, he, it is finally going to happen. The Beatles are getting their own museum in London. The museum will be located in the former Apple headquarters on Saville Row, better known for the rooftop where the Beatles gave their final performance in 1969. They sang ‘Get Back,’ there, and that is exactly what is about to happen.
There was, of course, already a Beatles museum. It is located in Liverpool. According to my wife, who knows a thing or two about these things, it is the most boring museum in existence. Nevertheless, three hundred thousand Beatles fans visit the museum every year. Chances are they will also visit the Cavern Club, where the Beatles had their first performances, and the birthplaces of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, both owned by The National Trust. Enduring Beatle-mania reportedly still brings in eighty million pounds a year for Liverpool.
But now London is finally getting its own museum. The location is well chosen. The Apple office building is situated close to the back entrance of the Royal Academy, a museum with excellent exhibitions, and I pass by it very regularly. There are almost always Beatles fans standing there, invariably gazing at the roof. Starting early next year, they will be able to access the roof themselves.
The Beatles’ performance caused quite a commotion on January 30, 1969. Initially, many people wondered where the noise was coming from. However, news of the concert spread quickly. In no time, hundreds of people were staring at the roof.
The police were alerted. The commotion can be clearly seen in the 2021 documentary Get Back by filmmaker Peter Jackson. The police – there was a police station a little further down the road in Saville Row – were quick to arrive to put an end to the ‘nuisance’. A false claim that the elevator was broken earned precious time by holding up the police at the office building’s reception.
In the end, the performance lasted exactly 42 minutes. It would be the last performance by the Beatles, who had not given live performances since 1966, largely because they could not hear their own voices due to the screaming of the fans.
The new Beatles museum has the blessing of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the descendants of John Lennon and George Harrison. Next year, it will give a boost to the ever-increasing Beatles craze, further fuelled by a series of films about the four Beatles expected to be released in 2028.
Let’s see how many visitors the Beatles museum will have had by then. Incidentally, I am particularly curious whether my wife will appreciate the ‘imaginative plans’ – McCartney’s words – for the museum this time.