Savile Row Beatles tribute runs into obstacles

Update (2/3/09)

Two more YouTube vids. First, Créme Tangerine playing in Seattle.

And we got this report from Dennis Scott of the WannaBeatles on their tribute in Nashville:

"It was incredible. A packed turnout, an enthusiastic crowd, including people on the street looking up at the roof, English costumed Bobbies, A visit from the Mayor, and money raised on behalf on MENC: the National Association of Music Educators. We even had some "Good Day Sunshine."

You can see pictures from the WannaBeatles Nashville tribute here.

Richard Porter on the top of 3 Savile Row, the former headquarters of Apple, on Jan. 30, 2009, 40 years to the day of the Beatles' rooftop concert.

Update (2/2/09)

Richard Porter has sent us this exclusive account of his London walking tour last Friday when he was able to go up to the Apple rooftop for the first time. The event was covered by CNN and MSNBC. Here's his account. (This account, with more pictures, is available at our Examiner.com page.) :

Up On the Roof
The 40th anniversary of the Beatles Rooftop Concert celebrated on a Special London Beatles Walk.
Beatles fans got a big surprise when they turned up for a special Beatles walking tour on 30th January - they were allowed on the roof of 3 Savile Row!
That day was the 40th anniversary of the Beatles playing their last ever live performance on the roof of their Apple headquarters. It was the climax of the film 'Let It Be'. The original idea of the film was that the Beatles would be perform a huge concert which would be filmed and recorded for posterity. Rehearsals, which were also filmed, began at Twickenham Film Studios in early January 1969. However there was no agreement on where to do the concert, and an exasperated George Harrison walked out, telling the others he would see them 'around the clubs'.
George finally came back after negotiations and filming and recording reverted to the Apple Studio in the basement of 3 Savile Row. However Paul McCartney wanted some sort of climax for the film and also wanted to play live. It was therefore suggested they should get on the roof of 3 Savile Row and play a few songs. It was to be their last ever live performance.
Initially the Bootleg Beatles, Britain's leading Beatles soundalike band, were due to play on the roof for 40th the anniversary, but Westminster Council wouldn't give them a license over fears of the safety of the building, which has been unoccupied for several years.
Even though the Bootleg Beatles gig had been cancelled I thought there should be some sort of commemoration. Members of the British Beatles Fan Club had decided to go down to Savile Row anyway and have a party so I asked them whether they would like to do a special tour that day. We planned to arrive in Savile Row around noon - the same time the Beatles played on the roof.
A few days before the walk I got hold of the phone number for the Kier Group, that now own 3 Savile Row, as I wanted to find out why the Bootleg Beatles concert was cancelled. I was put through to Leigh Thomas, the site manager there. During our conversation I mentioned by special tour and asked whether we could have access to the roof. I've been doing Beatles tours for 20 years and never been up on the roof on a tour, so I was sure he was going to say no. But I was wrong, he said yes! He said that as long as not too many people turned up we could all go and see the roof. I was amazed - but also had a dilemma, I wanted to publicise the special addition, but wanted to make sure numbers were manageable on the tour. I therefore made it a surprise for the people that turned up.
Just before the event I was called by CNN, who wanted to cover the tour. It was going to be a very special day!
I arrived in good time for the 10.45am start of the tour. Eventually about 25 people turned up, less than the maximum of 30 that Leigh said could get on the roof. I was very relieved. We were met by the CNN crew and I told the people on the tour that we were actually going on the roof. That announcement received some gasps of surprise.
We arrived at Savile Row around 11.30am and I gave a talk outside about the history of Apple and the build up to the rooftop concert. We were then met by Leigh Thomas who led the first group into the building, along with the CNN crew. We decided only a few could go up at once as the roof is relatively small.
3 Savile Row is currently being redeveloped as an office building and has been gutted. For that reason we couldn't really stop and look through the building as some rooms were unsafe. However I did put my head around the door of what used to be John and Yoko's 'Bag One' office on the ground floor, and the former press office on the first floor.
Due to the renovation work going on there is no working elevator in the building so we had to go up many rather dark flights of stairs to the roof. All the while I was being interviewed by CNN about my reactions of being there on such an anniversary. Eventually we saw daylight ahead of us and made our way on to the roof. Although I'd been up a few times before, it still took my breath away to see the very familiar surroundings up there, although notice many changes too. For instance the door to the roof is now facing Savile Row, where before it was on the side. The wall around the door is now tiled, whereas in 1969 it was brick. One very familiar thing still there was the glass structure on the roof of No. 2 Savile Row, which can be seen very clearly in Let It Be. One thing that I noticed straight away is that the area where the Beatles were playing is very small. The film crew must have been right on the edge of the building to get them all in shot. I also thought of the Rutles send up of the rooftop concert when 'Ron Nasty' kicks a technician over the edge!
Luckily when we were on the roof it was a bright, sunny day and we were sheltered from the wind, unlike the Beatles 40 years earlier.
While I was on the roof quite a crowd had gathered by the doorway, as fans had gone to Savile Row independently to celebrate the anniversary. Some people waiting outside spotted Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones walk by! A surreal moment on a Beatles anniversary, though the Stones did rehearse at Apple for their Hyde Park concert.
While inside the building I was shown a green plaque to commemorate the concert, which the Kier Group will put on the building as soon as they get planning permission from the council. A big unveiling is planned, to which Paul and Ringo will be invited.
As only a few people were allowed on the roof at any one time I had to go up and down the steps many times to collect all the people on the tour and must have spent and hour and a half either on the roof or in the building. Finally it was time to go and I completed the tour by going to Abbey Road. We then went to Richoux, Paul McCartney's favourite restaurant in St John's Wood, to celebrate with a few friends. It was a great way to end a wonderful day.
Richard Porter
Richard does Beatles London walks five days a week for London Walks. He is also available for private tours. For more info please see http://www.beatlesinlondon.com He is also the owner of the Beatles Coffee Shop, http://www.beatlescoffeehop.com which is part of St John's Wood underground station, the nearest to Abbey Road. The shop sells food and drink as well as a large range of official Beatles merchandise.

Two members of the Bootleg Beatles perform "One After 909" on the rooftop last Friday.

Update (2/1/09)

More on the rooftop tributes: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report on the outcome of the Seattle even attended by Ken Mansfield, who we interviewed. The P-I says Alan White of Yes, who also played on the Lennon "Imagine" sessions, was in attendance. And the UK Telegraph has a story on the London rooftop show that didn't happen, though their story puts the blame squarely on the authorities and not safety concerns of the building.

Update (1/31/09)

No. 3 Savile Row, where the rooftop concert took place originally, wasn't supposed to be the scene of anything Friday, but those on Richard Porter's London Beatle walk tour got a surprise: They were allowed on the roof of the now abandoned building, as this report from CNN shows. "Everyone that came on my tour got on the roof. The event was covered by CNN and NBC," Porter told us via email. Contrary to the CNN report, he said only people on his tour got to go on the roof. Other tributes were held in California, Florida, Arizona and, at right and in the slide show at the bottom, Ontario, Canada.
Here's NBC6.net's report on Anthology's rooftop tribute in Florida.

Update (1/29/09)

The rooftop tribute concert envisioned for the original site of top of Apple headquarters on Savile Row with the Bootleg Beatles isn't happening. The authorities stopped it, but it wasn't like the scene in "Let It Be." "There was a combination of things. Because it was all set up, actually, all ready to go," Ken Mansfield, former U.S. manager for Apple Records, told us on the phone. But, he says, "the building is not structurally safe anymore. It's closed down." As we've mentioned, Mansfield will be on the roof at noon Sunday with Crème Tangerine at the Copacabana Café, Pike Place Market, 1520½ Pike Place, Seattle, Wash.

By the way, BBC Radio 2's audio documentary "I Hope We Passed the Audition" is online. As usual, these stay up for only a limited time.

Update (1/28/09)

Although the Bootleg Beatles musical tribute to the 40th anniversary of the rooftop concert isn't happening as originally planned this weekend on Savile Row, there are other tributes taking place. In Seattle at noon Sunday, Crème Tangerine will be recreating the concert on the rooftop balcony of the Copacabana Café in the Pike Place Market, 1520½ Pike Place, Seattle, Wash. Special guest for the show will be former U.S. manager of Apple Records Ken Mansfield, author of "The White Book: The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider's Look at an Era," who was on the Apple rooftop for the original concert. Following the concert, Mansfield will talk about working with the Beatles and take questions from the audience.

Also paying tribute are Nashville's the WannaBeatles, who will perform on the roof of Rippy's nightclub, 429 Broadway in downtown Nashville at noon Friday. Admission's free, but a portion of the proceeds from donations and the sale of WannaBeatles merchandise will benefit the MENC: National Association for Music Education, an organization that advances education by encouraging the study and making of music.

Update (1/25/09)

Any thoughts of a formal celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apple rooftop concert are, for all purposes, dead. The Bootleg Beatles, who were supposed to play the concert, have posted a note on their website indicating it won't happen. Here's part of it, courtesy of Richard Porter of http://www.beatlesinlondon.com, who sent it to us:

"Number 3, Savile Row stands empty, awaiting new corporate tenants. The landlords, Kier Group, granted their permission, The Express Group offered to host a party and make a charitable donation to PeaceOneDay, and Westminster Council granted the appropriate temporary license.
"The performance itself was to be broadcast live across the nation, enabling millions of fans to enjoy a loving recreation of the original event. But, Westminster had second thoughts. Onerous and extensive demands and conditions were placed upon the band and, with huge disappointment all round, the performance has had to be scrapped."

As we've reported previously, an alternate celebration will be held at the 3 Savile Row site, though not on the rooftop.

And there's also the BBC Radio 2 special on the rooftop concert on Tuesday. Normally, BBC shows are archived online for a limited period of time, so, us overseas listeners will be able to hear it. Good deal. BBC specials are always in-depth and worth a listen.

Update (1/24/09)

The latest on the Savile Row rooftop concert tribute: Richard Porter of http://www.beatlesinlondon.com and http://www.beatlescoffeeshop.com sent us this:

Hi Steve,
BBC Radio 2 is broadcasting a documentary on the rooftop anniversary on Tuesday. Full details are at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00h3450. I've been contacted by GMTV (a national breakfast TV show) who want to cover the anniversary on their show. They would like fans to be in Savile Row between 7am to 8.30am on Friday. Early I know, but they want to do something live. If anyone is interested in coming along, they can contact me at richard@beatlesinlondon.com for more details.
All the best,
Richard Porter

(1/23/2009) Update (1/23/09)

Richard Porter of Beatles In London.com updated us on the Savile Row rooftop tribute concert situation. He says he's been asked to do a special Beatles walking tour that day. It will start at 10.45 am outside the Dominion Theatre, by the exit of Totthenham Court Road Underground Station and follow the route of his Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour'. It will get to Savile Row before noon."We hope fans will bring along guitars so we can have a sing-a-long in the street," he said. "We will be going for a celebration drink after the tour," he adds.

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