UK NEWS

MANY ABBEY RETURNS

40 YEARS GO TODAY: The famous cover photo is recreated yesterday

Saturday August 8,2009

By Natalie Chalk

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BEATLEMANIA was back yesterday as thousands of fans descended on a zebra crossing to mark the 40th anniversary of the iconic cover shot for Abbey Road.

The fans broke into renditions of Here Comes The Sun, one of the favourite songs on the album, as they waited for the clocks to hit 11.35am.

This was exactly the time the photo of the four Beatles walking in file across the north London zebra crossing near Abbey Road Studios was taken on August 8, 1969.

The crowd brought traffic to a standstill. All that got through was a replica of John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls-Royce.

The organiser, Richard Porter, who owns the Beatles Coffee Shop near the studios where the Fab Four recorded 90 per cent of their material, said he was thrilled by the numbers of diehard fans who had turned up.

He said: “This is completely manic compared to previous years, I’m overwhelmed. There are hundreds, if not thousands, here.

“People were here from the early morning and the roads have been blocked for ages. I think the police were taken aback.

“I had fans from all over the world at the shop and we’ve got TV crews from 15 different countries.”

Tribute act Sgt Pepper’s Only Dart Board Band recreated the famous pose of The Beatles walking across the zebra crossing. “It’s just so easy to copy,” said Richard.

Martin Dimery, a former teacher who is John Lennon in the tribute band, said: “We were expecting a couple of people to be around and a couple of photos but we did not expect all these people and worldwide media. It is incredible.

“The Beatles pushed pop music beyond what anybody might expect it to achieve. Because of that so many people all over the world remember their tunes. You can see the effect not just on Oasis but the other Britpop bands.”

The street is a site of pilgrimage for Beatles fans who just want to walk in their idols’ footsteps, much to the annoyance of locals.

Beatles road manager Tony Bramwell said: “Other than Paul and Ringo, I’m the only person alive who was here on that day. It’s nice to see The Beatles are still No 1.”

At the time, he said, the cover was “just a photo” and the session only took minutes.

He said he expected the two surviving Beatles would be watching TV coverage and have not tired of the image. “Who could get bored of being a Beatle?” he added.

Tschale Haas, 50, from Frankfurt, Germany, was in a Sgt Pepper jacket for the day. He said: “I’ve been a fan since I was four because my older brother listened to them. At the age of 10 I bought my first single. Three days later they split up.”

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