Abbey Road has become one of The Beatles’ best loved albums, influencing generations of musicians and producers all over the world. In this book, we celebrate the groundbreaking record and its enduring legacy. On 8th August 1969, John, Paul, George and Ringo strode across the zebra crossing outside their favourite studios to create the cover image for their next album. Little did they know that over five decades later fans would still flock to Abbey Road for the chance to follow in their idols’ footsteps. Discover the stories behind the songs, the creation of that iconic photograph and what made 1969 such a pivotal year in music and history. Abbey Road may have marked the end of the road for The Beatles, but even amid personal and professional tensions, the band carefully crafted a classic.
WELCOME TO ABBEY ROAD
Abbey Road (7th Ed)
STARTING OUT • After Ringo replaced original drummer Pete Best, the new lineup pose for a portrait in 1962
A-SIDE: THE BAND
THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY • In just over seven years, The Beatles went from lovable mop-tops that wanted to hold your hand to musical geniuses that took us all on a magical mystery tour. Even now, decades after they officially went their separate ways, the Fab Four’s worldwide audience remains as captive as ever. We salute the greatest band of all time
THE FAB FOUR… BEATLES GIGS! • Their greatest ‘you shoulda been there’ moments
THE FAB FOUR… BEATLES RIFFS! • The band’s most iconic guitar lines
THE FAB FOUR… BEATLES GUITAR SOLOS! • By George! Sometimes by John or Paul
Beatles Timeline
THE FAB FOUR… BEATLES FILMS! • ‘Yellow Submarine’… denied!
JOHN LENNON • Peacenik. Agent provocateur. Angry young man. The Beatles legend has a thousand faces, but the real John Lennon is right there in his songs
PAUL McCARTNEY • Songwriting god, Sixties survivor and spokesman for the greatest band on Earth, Paul McCartney has spent half a century as a man on the run
GEORGE HARRISON • The Beatles guitarist was a quiet revolutionary and forced his way into the spotlight with some of the band’s most perfect songs
RINGO STARR • Far from a spare part, the drummer was The Beatles’ blue-collar hero and underrated engine-room
THE FIFTH MAN • The key individuals in the Fab Four’s orbit who have all, at some time or other, been dubbed ‘the fifth Beatle’
THE IDEAS FACTORY • Abbey Road was The Beatles’ creative playground, and the backdrop to their dizzy rise and bitter fall. Here’s how a recording studio became so much more…
OUR WORLD • Performing All You Need Is Love at Abbey Road for the first live international satellite television broadcast in 1967
A-SIDE: ABBEY ROAD
END OF THE ROAD • The Beatles’ last stand was perhaps their finest hour. Here’s how John, Paul, George and Ringo came together, one final time, for the classic Abbey Road album…
SIDE ONE: TRACK BY TRACK
AT THE ASHRAM • Several Abbey Road tracks were written during the band’s stay at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (centre) in 1968
SIDE TWO: TRACK BY TRACK
THE ALBUM COVER • One summer’s morning in 1969, The Beatles stepped from the kerbside of Abbey Road into pop-art immortality. This is the inside story of rock’s most iconic album sleeve…
ABBEY ROAD’S ROCKY RECEPTION • Mixed reviews, dysfunctional bandmates and a whole heap of internal strife. Yet time has eventually proved kind to Abbey Road…
AFTER ABBEY ROAD • Fallouts, money troubles and personal strife: how The Beatles survived a crisis to create a masterpiece in their final hour
LET IT BE • On 30th January 1969, The Beatles perform their last live concert from the roof of the Apple building
THE LEGACY OF ABBEY ROAD • Greeted by mixed reviews...