Did You Know The Beatles Almost Played a Cruise Ship Instead of One of Their Most Famous Shows?

It’s hard to imagine The Beatles being a cruise band, given our modern context of that kind of performance. Nevertheless, the idea was thrown around. Unsurprisingly, the idea of putting the most famous band in the world on a ship with rabid fans with no way out was shot down. Though this wasn’t at the height of their fame, it likely wouldn’t have been a good idea.

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The cruise ship was a counter idea to one of the band’s biggest shows. Find out which concert was nearly at sea and why that venue was not chosen below.

[RELATED: 4 Beatles Songs That Were Inspired by John Lennon’s Personal Struggles]

The Beatles Avoided Cruise Ship Performance

Scheduling your first live appearance after years of not performing is no easy feat. It has to match the intensity of the fans’ longing. The Beatles had some trouble deciding where to hold their comeback. The band um’d and ah’d about it for some time before landing on their final decision. One idea that was floated was a chartered cruise ship to Libya.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney enjoyed the drama of that idea, while George Harrison and Ringo Starr saw the potential for disaster. Their renowned Get Back found-footage film features a discussion of this idea, which would’ve concluded with a performance at an amphitheater in Sabratha. In the end, everyone found the cruise to be complicated and likely expensive.

The Alternative

In comes the alternative. There were many alternative ideas that would’ve likely been equally as cumbersome as the cruise. That amount of grandiosity might’ve worked when the band was in good spirits, but this fracturing group didn’t have the endurance to pull off something like that.

Instead, they went for something arguably haphazard: the rooftop of Apple Corps right at home in London. Fans below could’ve even seen them. The police tried to intervene, but it made history despite its pitfalls. The simplicity of this comeback show is what made it so enticing. Who would’ve thought they would stumble upon The Beatles playing for all to hear on a rooftop?

The cruise would’ve been a major event, but it would’ve likely ended in disaster. The rooftop was perhaps a cop-out at the time—a convenient option—but it quickly made rock history. Even those who aren’t huge fans of the band will know this iconic moment. Revisit it above.

(Credit: Photo by Potter/Express/Getty Images)