The Beatles London

Though naturally Liverpool will always be the city most associated with The Beatles; from 1963 onwards, London was where they lived, recorded, performed and partied.
The Beatles always wanted to go to London once they first tasted fame and they knew they had to be there to continue their success. Below are the ten most important Beatles London sites,

1.

EMI Abbey Road Studios, 3 Abbey Road, St Johns Wood, NW8

The epicentre for all Beatle fanatics, this was the recording studio where The Beatles recorded nearly all of their 200 or so songs. The group recorded their first proper session at the studios on 4th September 1962. The studio was initially just called the EMI Studios, but an event that happened on the morning of the 8th August 1969, the shooting of the famous Abbey Road cover on the zebra crossing outside the studios, saw the studio change its name to The EMI Abbey Road Studios.  The Abbey Road cover subsequently became an iconic image, reproduced and parodied ever since. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - St Johns Wood

2.

Manchester Square, EMI House, W1

This was the headquarters of EMI records and The Beatles visited it on many occasions throughout the 1960’s.  They often recorded Radio shows here and most famously they shot two iconic album covers for the Please Please Me album in 1963 and later (with much more facial hair growth on show), for the unreleased Get Back album, which then subsequently became the Blue greatest hits compilation cover six years later.  When EMI moved to West London in 1995, they took the famous staircase with them. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Bond Street

3.

3 Savile Row, Mayfair, W1

Another highly important Beatles London site, this was the headquarters of the groups Apple Corps and it’s numerous spin-offs in the late 1960’s.  Each of The Beatles had an office here and the famous Let It Be rooftop concert was held here on 30th January 1969 during their lunch hour.   The infamous “Apple Scruffs” were also always to be found outside this building, hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes, George Harrison wrote a tribute sing to them on his superlative triple album “All Things Must Pass” in 1970. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Piccadilly Circus

4.

94 Baker Street, Marylebone, W1

The Beatles opened up their first Apple shop (Lennon apparently hated the word Boutique), here on the 7th December 1967. The shop was appropriately painted in bright psychedelic paint, but local residents and shopkeepers complained and the building was duly painted over in plain white. The shop was surprisingly not a great success and it closed down on 31st July 1968 after a two-day free giveaway of remaining stock.  The building today now holds an employment bureau. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Baker Street

5.

57 Green Street, Flat L, 4TH Floor, Mayfair, W1.

Once arrived in London, The Beatles initially stayed in hotels, but this small flat in Mayfair was their first and only place where they all lived together. They first moved in early autumn 1963 and though the address was a closely guarded secret, fans soon found out and set up a permanent surveillance outside its door for most of their stay here. By the spring of 1964, The Beatles had moved out, but not before they crossed over the road one night to 6 Green Street to have an all night party with resident DJ Tony Hall and Phil Spector and The Ronettes. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Bond Street

6.

34 Montague Square, Marylebone, W1

The basement and ground floor were leased to Ring Starr from early 1965. He only lived here for a short time, but he kept the lease and rented the flat out to his friend Jimi Hendrix in 1967 and then to John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. John and Yoko shot their infamous naked Two Virgins cover here and it was also here that the police busted John and Yoko on 18th October 1968 for possession of cannabis, found bizarrely in an envelope in a suitcase. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Bond Street

7.

6 Masons Yard (Off Duke Street), Westminster, SW1

This was the home of the Indica Gallery where John Lennon first met Yoko Ono on the 9th November 1966.  John was getting a sneak preview of Yoko’s nine-day conceptual art exhibition call Unfinished Paintings And Objects.  The gallery opened in 1966 with great help from a certain Paul McCartney who invested £5000 of his own money into the project and even helped out with the decorating. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Piccadilly Circus

8.

17 St Annes Court, Soho, W1

The former premises of Trident Studios, The Beatles, looking for new 8 track recording equipment that they couldn’t access at Abbey Road, decided to record Hey Jude here on 31st July 1968.  They subsequently returned to lay down six more songs that later appeared on The White Album and Abbey Road. George Harrison liked it so much, he would return in 1970 to record much of his triple album All Things Must Pass at Trident.  The studio is still here, but is now called The Sound Studio. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Tottenham Court  Road

9.

24 Chapel Street, Belgravia, SW1

Brian Epstein lived here from December 1964 and died here tragically aged only 32 on 27th August 1967. This home was the scene of many show business parties and The Beatles naturally were in attendance on many occasions. On 19th May 1967 selected journalists were invited to meet The Beatles and hear the groups forthcoming Sgt Pepper’s album for the first time. This was the same day when a certain Miss Linda Eastman (the future Mrs Paul McCartney) was in attendance and met Paul for the first time. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Hyde Park Corner

10.

57 Wimpole Street, Marylebone, W1.

Paul McCartney, in the attic of this fine Georgian house, wrote the worlds most played song on the radio, Yesterday.  Paul was living here with his then girlfriend, the actress Jane Asher and her family. Paul stayed from November 1963 to 1966, when then Paul eventually moved out into his own home on 7 Cavendish Avenue near the Abbey Road Studios. Map - Click here Nearest Tube Station - Regent’s Park