On August 20, 1969, The Beatles spent their final day at Abbey Road Studios tweaking an unrecognizable album. They left that day, not exactly knowing it was for the last time
On August 20, 1969, The Beatles spent their final day at Abbey Road Studios putting the final touches on an unrecognizable album. They left that day, not exactly knowing it was for the last time.
The Fab Four’s split had been speeding along like a freight train for years, but the official end to one of the most successful rock groups of all time was imminent in the summer of 1969. Everyone but Paul McCartney had expressed their wish to leave already, but they still had one more album to finish.
The Beatles began working on their final album, Abbey Road, in late February 1969, having already recorded Let It Be, their last album to be released earlier in the year. They reconvened for a handful of dates in April and May, but spent the majority of July in the studio.
The band also recorded throughout most of early August, completing their final tracking session on August 19. The following day, the band began putting an order and preliminary master tape together.
That day, August 20, 1969, The Beatles walked out of Abbey Road Studios, a recording studio they had made famous, for the last time.
“Nobody knew for sure that it was going to be the last album,” producer George Martin, who was often referred to as the Fifth Beatle, recalled in the Anthology documentary. “But everybody felt it was.”
Martin added, “The Beatles had gone through so much and for such a long time. Theyd been incarcerated with each other for nearly a decade, and I was surprised that they had lasted as long as they did.
“I wasnt at all surprised that theyd split up because they all wanted to lead their own lives, and I did, too. It was a release for me as well.”
So, its not surprising that The Beatles overlooked the importance of their last time at Abbey Road. George Harrison wanted to begin recording the mount of songs McCartney and John Lennon had continuously brushed aside. Lennon was less than impressed with the album anyway, simply calling it “competent.”
The Beatles did not work on Abbey Road in the order it appears on the final album. This discrepancy explains why, for example, Mean Mr. Mustard falls directly into Polythene Pam, or why Her Majesty begins with the final chord of Mean Mr. Mustard.
Tape operator John Kurlander meticulously spliced and rearranged the B-side medley according to the Fab Four’s wishes. He also rearranged the tracks against their wishes, which is how Her Majesty ended up as a “throwaway” track at the end of the album. McCartney wanted to throw it out, but Kurlander decided to add it.
When The Beatles left Abbey Road for the final time on August 20, 1969, the album was not in the same order as it is today. The Beatles believed the medley would come at the beginning of the album.
Other notable changes included switching the order of Oh! Darling and Octopuss Garden. Over the following week, the production team made minor tweaks and adjustments, creating the official album fans know and love today. Since these were minor changes, The Beatles could approve of them remotely.
The Beatles’ time at Abbey Road on August 20 might have seemed insignificant, filled with tasked no one cared to complete, but it became one of the most important dates in their history. It was truly the beginning of the end. A month later, Lennon announced his exit from the band and The Beatles stared death in the face.
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