In 1969, the Beatles performed their final live show on the rooftop of Apple Corps rooftop. Yet, new photographs raise doubts about the authenticity of Paul McCartney’s famed performance.
In a recent interview with Harvard University’s Lampoon Magazine, John Beckett, whom The Beatles hired to photograph the event, claims McCartney never once touched a bass guitar, despite what the original photographs lead fans to believe.
“The pictures are misleading. McCartney never once touched his bass guitar during the entire performance, let alone his amp.” Beckett told Lampoon reporter George Starkey, “I kept the original negatives!”
Beckett, who was 19 at the time, was the apprentice of famous London photographer Jack Bles. Beckett recounted to The Bengal’s Purr that McCartney held his hands so that an Apple Corps assistant could cut out a picture of his world-recognized Höfner bass guitar and attach it to the photographs from Beckett.
Beckett remarked, “It was quite disheartening,” later adding that he hadn’t seen McCartney at the rehearsal hours prior.
During an interview, McCartney’s publicist told The Bengal’s Purr, “McCartney does not take kindly to the false lies and negative press he is receiving,” she later added, “News agencies and anyone who spreads the false lies should expect to see McCartney’s lawyers in court, especially in the coming days.”
The Estates of John Lennon and George Harrison have all released a joint statement backing up Beckett’s claims. The news leads us to ask if this is a misunderstanding or if McCartney has undoubtedly become the “Fool on the Hill.”
