there are places I remember all my life
Well, where to even start.
Yesterday, Jen Hanks arrived from the States on her way to France and Elizabeth B. arrived from France to visit for a couple days, so we had a couple more Chapman kids around. I went to my classes (but not seminars; there was some communication difficulties, as well as me-waking-up-on-time difficulties), and then went to Leicester Square and met up with Jen. We walked around central for a while: went to the National Gallery for a little bit, walked through Trafalgar and up to Big Ben and then back down along the Thames by the Eye and back to Leicester where we had dinner at Garfunkel’s. After coming back to Wood Green for a while we went to a pub in Southgate and met up with Rachel and Elizabeth, and Manuel came later, so it was a group of some of the best Chapman kids ever and we met some of the Brits from Rachel’s dorm as well and hung out until they closed. Jen and Elizabeth went back to stay at Rachel’s but we all had plans to meet up the next morning to go on one of the Beatles walking tours.
However, when this morning arrived, I had a message from Jen saying that she wasn’t going because she needed sleep, and then when I texted Rachel before we left, she said her and Elizabeth had just woken up, so it ended up being just Manuel and myself, which was a significantly smaller group than we had planned on, but that’s life I guess.
In any case, today was the 40th anniversary of the Beatles rooftop concert, their last public performance ever, so we knew today was a “special tour,” but I didn’t really know what that meant besides the fact that it was on a Friday when it’s usually on Sundays/Wednesdays/Thursdays and that we were supposed to reach the building they played on top of at about the same time they performed.
After the tour group met up outside the designated tube station and our guide Richard collected our 5 quid, he told us exactly why this tour was special. Not only was this the anniversary of the rooftop sessions, but he had gotten permission from the current owners of the building to let the members of the tour group up on the roof. Apparently it is incredibly rare that people are let onto the roof, so everyone was indescribably excited. Before then, however, we had other a few other random Beatles-related sites to see as well (there’s also a restroom where John filmed a comedy sketch for a TV show, but I can’t be bothered to upload that).
our tour guide, Richard, making what I’m sure is the best facial expression of his life. Richard is known international for being a Beatles expert, and has met Paul McCartney on a couple occasions, as well as George Martin. Apparently his tours have been featured in dozens of newspapers and news stations around the world. He knows his stuff.
Paul McCartney’s offices. His is the arched window on the 3rd floor. This is where I’ll be living from now on.
the studio where Hey Jude was recorded, among other amazing songs.
such as these.
SoHo’s Carnaby Street, the center of mod fashion in the ’60s. (Are you a mod or a rocker? I’m a mocker)
where Paul met Linda (at a Hendrix show)
Number 3 Savile Row
Since the rooftop is not big enough to hold everyone on the tour, we had to take turns going up in small groups. Manuel and I were in the first group, with only a couple other people and a few news cameramen/anchormen from CNN and CBS. We climbed the 98 steps up through the center of the gutted out building, which once housed Apple Corps (and was home to Lord Nelson long before that as well — I’ve noticed you can relate about as many things to Lord Nelson as you can to the Beatles) and is now being renovated to become a modern office building, which I find rather depressing.
I think that there have been many moments in the past few weeks for which words have been inadequate, but this was on a completely different level for me. It wasn’t the grave of Isaac Newton, or the Magna Carta, or something else that dates back hundreds of years. It was much more personal than that. I was a little overwhelmed by the knowledge that I was standing in the exact same spot, on the exact same day, at the exact same time that John, Paul, George, and Ringo had performed for the last time 40 years earlier. It’s one of the most famous concerts in history, and I feel like it was not only the culmination of everything that the band was, but it also seemed like one of the few times that they actually seemed to be having fun together before the end. Right before we went up, Richard told us that he’s been doing these tours for about 20 years, which he calculated to be roughly 3,000 tours, and none of the groups have ever been allowed onto the roof, and now that it’s being renovated, I’m sure they never will be again. So, precious few people have stood on that roof since the Beatles took the stage, and I was one of them. I think most people realize the history behind such a show, but I don’t know that anyone but the most dedicated fans understand what it feels like (you know who you are). Does that sound patronizing? I don’t care, it was among the best 15 minutes of my life.
John & Yoko’s room
Also, the news guys from CNN, who had been recording footage throughout our whole tour, and from NBC both interviewed me about being on the roof. I haven’t been able to find anything from CBS, so who knows what happened with that guy; he was a weird one anyway. Howeverrrr, the fine people at CNN had their video up by this evening, and even though they spelled my name wrong, I am now officially an interviewee of CNN(.com): http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/01/30/boulden.uk.beatles.cnn?iref=videosearch
Since there were so many people who had to wait to take their turn on the roof, we were sitting around Savile Row for quite some time, so we went to Starbucks and back and sat on the curb, watching the posh people of Savile Row go about their day and answering the questions of passersby as to why there was such a crowd in front of the building. Apparently there was supposed to be a Beatles cover band playing on the roof, which some people showed up for, but it had been cancelled due to health & safety issues (I think they were afraid of the gutted building being rocked to the ground). Not that I care, since it meant I was able to go up there.
After everyone had finally finished, we headed to the tube station to head straight to the end of our tour at Abbey Road. I think we skipped a stop or two in the middle since Savile Row took up so much time, but to be honest I couldn’t care less at that point. On the way down to the tube in Piccadilly Circus, Richard pointed out the theatre at which the Beatles gave their Royal Command Performance in ‘63, as well as the building where the premieres for all 4 of their films were held.
As if my poor little Beatlemaniac heart hadn’t had enough for one day, we arrived at St. John’s Wood and walked the road down the site of one of the most iconic album covers and pop culture images of all time. Richard gave us some more factoids about the street and the naming of the album, and the photo shoot, and the Paul is dead hoax, and the recording of Across the Universe as well as recreations of the Abbey Road shot and other tidbits about the studio itself. After that, he left us to our own devices, with everyone braving the traffic in an attempt to get an Abbey Road photo of their own.
there’s graffiti covering the wall in front of Abbey Road Studios. Richard said that they repaint this wall multiple times a year. But apparently everyone wants to make their mark. I’m also pretty sure that 75% of the messages written say “all you need is love.”
my stride is not nearly long enough.
My mind boggles at today. I’m not ashamed to admit that I skipped class for this
Manuel and I went to eat at a Pizzeria in SoHo aferwards, and went to Camden later tonight to meet up with Jen, Rachel, and Elizabeth again, but they ended up wanting to go to a bar/club/whatever that cost 8 pounds to get in, and we didn’t want to pay that much, so we just came back to Wood Green. However…….I don’t think I could have handled anything else today. And I planned on going to sleep early and now it hasn’t happened. Again. Good night….sleep pretty darling, do not cry, and I will sing a lullaby.
