34 Montagu Square, Marylebone, London

1965 - 1966

The groundfloor and basement of this property was owned by Ringo Starr, who lived here from early 1965. After the birth of his son, Zak, Ringo and his wife moved out and he let the property to Paul McCartney. McCartney used it as a demo studio and a base close to the Abbey Road Studios less than two miles away.

1966 - 1967  The flat was then leased to Jimi Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler and their girlfriends, soon after Hendrix's arrival in the UK in the autumn of 1966. Parts of Hendrix's first album 'Are You Experienced' were written here. Depending on which story you believe, he was evicted by Starr for either throwing white wash on the walls, or painting the walls black!

1968 - 1969

Following the break up of John Lennon's marriage to Cynthia, he moved into the property in July 1968. Throughout this period John completed work with the rest of the group on the White Album.  It was in the basement that the notorious naked Two Virgins LP cover was photographed and then on 18th October ’68 the police raided the flat discovering small amounts of cannabis leading to his and Yoko Ono's arrest.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono leaving Marylebone Magistrates Court after being charged with cannabis possession and obstructing police. Lennon later pleaded guilty and took sole responsibility fearing Ono's deportation, and was fined £150. 

Plaque unveiled on October 23rd 2010

Mark Lewisohn, Beatles historian, speaking to the BBC:- 

"The period in 1968 when John and Yoko lived at 34 Montagu Square was full of incident and interest, and it's fitting that John's occupancy should be marked in the month he would have turned 70.

"With two other Beatles and Jimi Hendrix also living here in the space of three eventful years, it's hard to think of any other London flat that better embodies the enduring fascination with that period."

David Bowie

Manchester Square, Marylebone, London

  

                                          1966                                                                2011

The Beatles

   Abbey Road

Abbey Road - The Beatles 
The final studio album by the band, recorded at the EMI studios in 1969 (the studios were renamed 'Abbey Road Studios' in 1970). The front cover (above) is the only original UK released Beatles album without the name of the band or album title. The cover design, a photograph of the band traversing a zebra crossing outside the studios, was based on sketches by Paul McCartney. 
The photograph was taken around 11:30am on Friday August 8th 1969.   


Photographer Iain Macmillan recalls the shoot:- 

"I remember we hired a policeman to hold up the traffic while I was up on a step ladder taking the pictures,the whole idea, I must say, was Paul McCartney's. A few days before the shoot, he drew a sketch of how he imagined the cover, which we executed almost exactly that day.

I took a couple of shots of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road one way, we then let some of the traffic go by and then they walked across the road the other way, and I took a few more shots. The one eventually chosen for the cover was number five of six. It was the only one that had their legs in a perfect 'V' formation, which is what I wanted stylistically."

The white Volkswagen Beetle on the left belonged to residents of the flats opposite who were away on holiday, the number plate (LMW 281F) was repeatedly stolen following the albums release. The man standing on the pavement on the right was Paul Cole an American tourist unaware he had been photographed until he saw the album cover some months later. The men in white further up the road on the left, were decorators subsequently identified as Alan Flanagan, Steve Millwood and Derek Seagrove.

Abbey Road, St John's Wood, London (Nov 2nd 2011)

I'm captured taking this photograph on The Abbey Road Webcam (below)

'The Crossing' live streaming webcam: here

                   August 8th 1969                                                         November 2nd 2011

The Abbey Road sign, is often stolen and is subsequently replaced infrequently, when it is replaced it doesn't take long for it to be adorned with graffiti, before going missing again...