The untold story of the Beatles last concert
Was it John, Paul or George who decided that the Beatles' last concert would be played 50 years ago at San Francisco's now-demolished Candlestick Park?
One thing is certain: it wasn't Ringo Starr.
According to Starr, John Lennon was the most insistent. "There was a big talk at Candlestick Park that this had got to end," the affable drummer said later. "But I never felt 100 per cent certain 'til we got back to London.
"John wanted to give up more than the others. He said that he'd had enough." If so, it was Paul McCartney who realised how momentous an occasion this final scheduled appearance would be. ( They later appeared unannounced on the roof of their London Apple Corps headquarters in January 1969 to perform the five songs which appear in the movie, Get Back.)
McCartney asked their press officer Tony Barrow to record the Candlestick concert on his hand-held audio cassette recorder. Sadly Barrow forgot to flip the tape over after the initial 30 minutes – so there is no full recording of McCartney singing the final song, Little Richard's Long Tall Sally.
By: Steve Meacham
Source: The Age
