Beatles London Walk

Our most excellent Great Britain adventure is physically over, but lives on in blog. We are now safely back in the U. S. of A. after a 3 ½ week whirlwind of England evolution travel adventure. We started with the British Musical Experience, which gave us an overview of music in the 60s and how the Beatles both influenced it and were influenced by it. From there, we visited Liverpool to understand where the Beatles came from, where they were born and raised and got their start. By the early 60s, they had outgrown their hometown and moved to London, where there was more opportunity. London was the place to be. London had the recording studios and was the center of British entertainment.

London was a happening place in the 60s. It has since been dubbed ‘Swinging London.’ After the devastation of WWII in the 30s and 40s, the rebuilding and economic hardships of the 50s, the 60s were a time of cultural growth and individualism. There was a change in attitude from the austerity and negativity of a war-torn country to the optimism and vibrancy of youth and the modern, hip music reflected that. The younger generation was ready for a positive, energetic change, and the Beatles delivered.

We covered a lot of Beatles’ ground in London. As in Liverpool, it was surreal to know we were walking where the Beatles walked. It seemed a little less amazing to me at this point, however, because they were already famous. In Liverpool, there was the wonder of how it all happened. How a bunch of normal kids from a normal town could come together and grow into something so big. In London, they were already adults. As adults and celebrities with a voice that could be heard, they had a hand in shaping London’s music, art, and fashion scenes. 

As evidence of their impact on fashion and art, I recall visiting Abbey Road. What a crazy place! It’s a wonder there are any Beatles’ fans left, as I’d expect them to all be killed trying to reenact the famous Abbey Road album cover. This album cover shows how the Beatles had progressed from the identical, clean-cut, suit-wearing boys of Brian Epstein’s influence, to their more individualistic and self-expressive mindset of the late 60s. They were no longer dressing to be successful, but instead, since they had already come into their own, were dressing as they pleased and influencing not only Londoners, but fans all over the world. Prior to Abbey Road, their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was also cutting edge artistically and reflected their involvement and leadership in the psychedelic experience. I was surprised to learn that psychedelic means “soul-manifesting,” which accurately sums up their search for enlightenment with mind-altering drugs and religious dabblings.

They became adults, as their homes and offices we saw revealed. This gave them the ego and courage to form opinions and use their famous platform to speak on issues they felt strongly about. They questioned the Vietnam war, society, and authority. One of my favorite Beatles’ quotes was when they were performing at the London Palladium, which we saw, and Lennon had the nerve to say (with the queen in attendance), “For our last number I’d like to ask your help: Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewellery…” He was great at those little jabs, as well as the bigger ones like “Give Peace a Chance” and his Two Virgins album (which I must admit I don’t quite get) that was made while living in Ringo’s impressive Montagu Square apartment.

3 Savile Row was a rather sad site to visit knowing that it was the location of the Beatles’ last performance in public. The building held the offices of The Beatles’ Apple Corps and the rooftop concert was included in their last film “Let It Be.” I found it surprising that neighbors would call the police on a free Beatles’ serenade, but our guide put that in perspective when he pointed out that the police listened till the end before dispersing the crowd. “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition” was Lennon’s fitting closing comment that day on their success story. It was the end of the 60s and the Beatles had been together over a decade. It seems a shame to me that such a successful group should come to an end when they still seemed able to write #1 songs and fans still wanted more, but realistically they had an unbelievable run that continued with individual success afterwards.