The Beatles may have been born in Liverpool, but there is no doubt that their time in London played a key role in their many successes. Over the course of two blogs, we will explore some of the key locations in London that have a connection to the Fab Four.
1. Abbey Road Studios - St. John’s Wood
OBVIOUSLY! It’s like going to the Vatican if you are a Catholic - except better. The magic was mostly made here in 7 years. The studios were opened in 1931 by the English composer Edwin Elgar. The Fabs turned up in 1962, met producer George Martin and boom they were off. Abbey Road was made forever iconic thanks to Ian Macmillan’s iconic album cover which was taken on the 8th August 1969. They band had toyed with the idea of calling it ‘Everest’ and being photographed at the top of the mountain before deciding that was a lot of faff and simply walking outside the studio would suffice. You can walk the famous zebra crossing and get a photo but do be careful not to get run over because it's a busy road and not all commuters are sympathetic to the cause. When you are done playing with the traffic, you can also write a message on the wall and then stand in awe at a building that is without doubt the most famous music studio in the world. Next door to it is a nice shop with lots of t-shirts, vinyl and other paraphernalia. It’s worth remembering that The Beatles were not the only musicians to record here. The full list includes Bond song Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey in 1964, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd in 1973, the soundtrack of Raiders in the Lost Ark in 1981 and so, so much more. Recommended reading is Abbey Road by David Hepworth.
2. 7 Cavendish Avenue - St. John’s Wood - Paul’s house.
This house in London’s leafy suburbs was bought by Paul at the height of Beatlemania in 1965 for £40,000 (roughly 1 million quid today) and is still his London pad to this day. He chose it because of its close proximity to Abbey Road and as a result Paul was always the first at their sessions, often working stuff out as the others arrived. It also meant that the band spent a lot of time here together, and it was here that they wrote songs such as ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ and ‘Penny Lane’. It is believed Macca introduced Mick Jagger to his first joint in the front room. One afternoon Paul answered the door to a man insisting that he was Jesus. Unsure Paul took him to a Beatles session at Abbey Road where it was decided he wasn’t the Messiah and he was politely asked to leave. Paul bought the house for £40,000. A solid investment, as his next door neighbour just put their home on the market for £17 million, so if that’s in your budget and you’re looking for a place with interesting neighbours, this might be just what you’re looking for.
The house also provided the inspiration for the song She Came In Through the Bathroom Window in 1969, when a fan did just that. In the 70s, Paul started Wings here and it was from this house that his iconic multicoloured bus left in 1972 to tour Europe. If you feel self conscious standing outside someone’s house and gawping, don’t worry - people have been doing it here for nearly 60 years.
3. The Beatles Shop - Baker Street
A stone's throw from the old haunts of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, you can find a store dedicated to Fab memorabilia, ideal whether you are searching for a t-shirt, a bag or a record. Its the perfect spot to mingle with other Beatle fans and the staff are always happy to chat all things music too. Of my many, many purchases here, my favourite is a t-shirt with a picture of John Lennon with the slogan ‘Listen to this T Shirt!’ which is a take on his campaign for his Walls and Bridges album in 1974. In all the years I have done Beatle tours only once has a punter recognised where it’s from!
4. Marylebone Station
Back in 1964, at the start of Beatlemania, canny producers decided that the way to capitalise on the band’s unprecedented fame was to make a Beatles film, a documentary style flick which would loosely track the day to day life of popstars, evading their screaming fans. .
The opening of the film takes place here at Marylebone Station in central London, a typically chaotic scene with the boys running from screaming fans into the building. Thousands of real fans, who had somehow found out where the filming was taking place, had to be held back by the police, and a few lucky ones were handpicked to appear as extras in the movie chasing the boys. Many of them got signed photos with the band, which are now worth thousands of pounds, not bad payment for chasing your heroes down a street. The most memorable moment, sees the boys running down this narrow path behind the station. In their hurry George falls down and taking Ringo with him was a complete accident, not in the script. One of the extras in the film was a young model called Patti Boyd, who immediately caught the eye of George. They would be married in 1966, but by 1979 she had left him to marry his best friend Eric Clapton.
Release was scheduled for July 1964, but filing only began in March. They managed to get all the footage they needed in just 7 weeks. The film is a classic and the station concourse has not changed so you can clearly see where they run and stand at the start. Even now, its hard not to hear the title song in your head when you walk around the station. The film and song got its name from a malapropism by Ringo who was prone to getting phrases and sayings slightly wrong. When asked how busy the band had been by a journalist he replied - ‘it’s been a hard day’s night’. John immediately raced home and bought in the song 24 hours later having scribbled the lyrics on the back of one of his sons postcards - the original lyrics on said postcard can be seen in the British Library.
5. Marylebone Town Hall - Baker Street
In 1969, at the Marylebone Registry Office, Linda Eastman broke the hearts of millions of young people around the world, when she married the last bachelor Beatle, Paul McCartney.
Though they tried to keep the details of their wedding secret the big day was far from a quiet event. Thousands of gawkers gathered outside, waiting in the rain for a glimpse of the bride and groom. When Mr and Mrs McCartney finally descended down the steps after the service, they were met with booing and cat calls from the heartbroken teenagers, whose dreams of being Mrs McCartney had been shattered. A dozen policemen, who had been sent to try and prevent any violence, had to rescue Linda’s daughter Heather from a crush and fans had to be held back from trying to throw themselves in front of the car as it pulled away. One particularly unfortunate fan slipped and fell into the mud and was later seen wailing and running down the road followed by a reporter calling out, “cry into the microphone.” For weeks afterwards, teenage girls around the world wore black in mourning.
None of the other Beatles were in attendance. George Harrison had planned to be there, but Sgt Norman Pilcher chose that day to raid his home for drugs and George and his wife Patti were arrested and escorted to the nearest police station to give fingerprints. They were released on bail, but not in time to make it to Paul’s wedding.
John Lennon meanwhile was off with Yoko Ono promoting world peace. Not wanting to be outdone by his songwriting partner, he married Yoko in Gibraltar one week later.
The second Beatle to be married here was Ringo Starr who married Bond girl Barbara Bach in 1981. They’d met on the set of a film they were both in called ‘Caveman’, not the best film of all time, but it has its moments. They got married only a few months after the death of John Lennon, which gave Beatles fans something to celebrate after months of misery. Paul and George both attended, so three Beatles were in the same place for the first time in many years.
Paul McCartney returned here again in 2011 to get married to his third wife Nancy Shevell, on what would have been John Lennon’s birthday, October 9th. Nancy’s dress and Paul’s suit were designed by his daughter Stella McCartney, and the photographer was Mary McCartney, one of his other daughters, and one of Britain’s top photographers. The only other remaining Beatle, Ringo, was there to watch him make his vows for the third and hopefully the last time.
The list of buildings that played a role in the success of The Beatles is too long for just one blog post, so if you want to keep reading, you can find part two here.
If you would like to hear more stories about The Beatles and London’s music scene, why not join our Free Rock n Roll Tour, or you can check out all of our walking tours in London, here.
