3 Memorable Moments From The Beatles’ Famed Rooftop Concert in 1969

On January 30, 1969, for just shy of 45 minutes, The Beatles delivered what would be the final public performance of their decade-long career. A bittersweet but ultimately very cool moment, the Fab Four took to the roof of Apple Corps headquarters in London, with session musician (and often-labeled Fifth Beatle) Billy Preston in tow. The group performed nine songs. However, they only performed different takes of five new songs that would be found on their final record, Let It Be. The Beatles’ rooftop concert also featured a rendition of “God Save The Queen”.

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Let’s take a look at some memorable moments from that famed final concert from the greatest band of the 20th century.

That First “Don’t Let Me Down” Take

This is one of The Beatles’ best songs of all time, and one of John Lennon’s most impassioned performances. Interestingly enough, “Don’t Let Me Down” would go through quite a few changes before this first public performance of the song. In the weeks leading up to the concert, “Don’t Let Me Down” went through a number of changes before it was completed. Lennon also admittedly struggled with the high notes found in the chorus of the song. Lennon also hoped that the recording of that first take during The Beatles’ rooftop concert would be good enough for the album. Sadly, Lennon forgot the lyrics in the last verse, which led to a second take later.

If you were there or remember this performance, it was around this time that the cops started to show up to shut down the impromptu concert.

That Sole Performance of One of Lennon-McCartney’s Oldest Songs

The Beatles only performed “One After 909” one time during the rooftop concert; no other takes were performed. It’s an absolutely killer performance. And it’s wild to think that this song was one of the earliest pieces that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote together in the early 1960s. Its roots go back even further, as Lennon claimed he started writing the song when he was 17. 

That sole take on the rooftop had so much energy, despite the short runtime of three minutes.

The Final Song and John Lennon’s Memorable Quote

The last song of the famous Beatles rooftop concert was “Get Back”. That song can be found on Let It Be, the band’s final release in 1970. After the concert wrapped, John Lennon took to the mic to deliver his cheeky final sendoff: 

“I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we’ve passed the audition.”

Legendary.

Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images