The Beatles give their final public performance on a London rooftop
On this day · 30 January 1969
On a freezing January lunchtime in 1969, the Fab Four climbed onto an office roof and played their last-ever live show.
On 30 January 1969, the Beatles hauled their gear onto the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in central London and began to play. They had no idea it would be the last time they ever performed together in public.
Joined by keyboardist Billy Preston, the band ran through nine takes of five songs — including “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down” — as bewildered office workers crowded the streets and neighbouring rooftops below. The impromptu 42-minute set ended only when the Metropolitan Police, fielding noise complaints, climbed the stairs and shut it down.
“I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.” — John Lennon
The rooftop gig has since been imitated by everyone from U2 to The Simpsons, but it remains singular: the final live public performance of the most famous band in history, captured on film just over a year before the group’s 1970 split.
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