Screengrab: Twitter/@thebeatles
The photo shoot for one of the most iconic album covers of all time took place 50 years ago today (August 8).
Photographer Iain Macmillan took a mere 6 photos, and the fifth photo in the sequence, chosen by McCartney, was far and away the best. Macmillan was only allowed a total of 10 minutes for the entire shoot while a policeman held off traffic from the area.
To celebrate this occasion, here are several interesting facts about the last album the Beatles recorded.
50 years ago today, @TheBeatles gathered at EMI Studios for one of the most prolific photoshoots of their career. A policeman held up the traffic as photographer Iain Macmillan took six shots of the group walking across the zebra crossing just outside the studio. #AbbeyRoad pic.twitter.com/ROgV1SE9d4
— Abbey Road Studios (@AbbeyRoad) August 8, 2019
Paul’s Demo of “Come and Get It”
Towards the end of the Abbey Road recording sessions, McCartney arrived before the rest of the band and recorded a solo demo of “Come and Get It”. A week and half later, he presented the demo to The Iveys (better known later as Badfinger). Paul would produce and play percussion on what would become Badfinger’s first hit single.
Paul’s demo would remain unreleased until 1996 when it was officially released on The Beatles‘ Anthology 3 collection.
George Benson’s Cover Album
Speaking to the inherent timelessness of The Beatles‘ music, jazz guitarist George Benson recorded The Other Side of Abbey Road a month after Abbey Road‘s release.
The Other Side of Abbey Road takes 10 of Abbey Road‘s 17 tracks (or 13 if you want to count the song cycles of “Mean Mr. Mustard – Polythene Pan – She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” & “Golden Slumbers – Carry That Weight – The End” as one song each) and makes 4 brand new medleys while leaving “Oh! Darling” as a standalone track.
Live Abbey Road Webcam
Clearly a very popular tourist attraction, EarthCam has been displaying live footage from their Abbey Road Cam since 2011.
The video embedded below is from 2013. To see actual live footage from the Abbey Road cross walk CLICK HERE
The Everest LP?
It was suggested that Abbey Road be called Everest, after a brand of cigarettes their engineer smoked.
They were going to travel to Mount Everest for a photo shoot, but in order to keep things moving and get the album released, Paul McCartney suggested they just walk outside the studio for a photo shoot and name it after the recording studio.
One of the working titles for “Abbey Road” was “Everest” after the brand of cigarettes.
— Beatles Facts (@FabFourFacts) September 26, 2010
50th Anniversary Box Set
It appears the recent rumors are true! To commemorate 50 years of one of the all-time great, The Beatles‘ Abbey Road is being reissued with new stereo mixes, previously unreleased session recordings, demos and more!
Arriving everywhere on September 27, the expanded edition of Abbey Road (which can now be pre-ordered at abbeyroad.thebeatles.com) will include the album, two discs worth of demos & alternate takes, a Blu-ray disc and a 12″ 100-page hardcover book with photos and liner notes
