An official museum dedicated to The Beatles is set to open on the site of their last public gig.
The doors of 3 Savile Row in the heart of London are opening to the public for the first time next year, giving fans a chance to see where Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison recorded their final album Let It Be and performed their last gig.
The museum, titled The Beatles at 3 Savile Row, will feature seven floors of memorabilia and never-before-seen archival material, as well as rotating exhibitions, a gift shop, and a recreation of the basement studio where they made Let It Be.
Afterwards, fans will be able to head up to the roof and relive the band’s last-ever public gig – as seen in Peter Jackson’s documentary Get Back – at the exact spot where it happened in January 1969.
In a statement, McCartney said, “There are so many special memories within the walls, not to mention the rooftop. The team have put together some really impressive plans and I’m excited for people to see it when it’s ready.”
Starr added, “Wow… It’s like coming home.”
McCartney told BBC News that he wanted Beatles fans to have an official attraction in London.
“Tourists come to England and they can go to Abbey Road (Studios zebra crossing), but they can’t go inside (and) it snares up the traffic and the drivers get really annoyed,” he explained. “So I thought this was a terrific idea.”
The Mayfair building served as the band’s headquarters between 1968 and 1972, and they continued to use it as a base for their company, Apple Corps, after their 1970 split. They sold the seven-storey mansion in 1976.
Giving fans an idea of what to expect, the musician added, “Well, you go in on the ground floor, and there’s memorabilia and stuff like that. Then you work your way up through the building, and (see) various things that happened here and there, until you get to the top, where you go out on the roof and pretend to be a Beatle.”
Two Beatles tourist attractions operate in their hometown of Liverpool, however, they were not officially licensed by the Fab Four.
The Beatles at 3 Savile Row will open in 2027.
