Celebrating 40 Years Since Beatles’ Performance on Rooftop

It was 40 years ago today (January 30th), Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They’ve been going in and out of style, but they’re guaranteed to raise a smile. So may I introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band!

Or rather, Ken Mansfield, the former U.S. manager of The Beatles’ Apple Records, and Crème Tangerine, Seattle’s favorite  Beatles cover band. Together, they celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ famous last performance, known as “the rooftop concert.” To celebrate the historic event, Crème Tangerine performed the same songs played by the Beatles 40 years earlier (and in the same order) on top of the Copacabana Café in the Pike Place Market, which was voted “Best Rooftop Balcony in Seattle” by Seattle Weekly. After the performance, Mansfield, a trusted insider of the Fab Four, who stood beside Yoko Ono feet away from The Beatles during their performance, led a question and answer session for Seattle audience.

The impromptu concert was the last time The Beatles would play together in public, a memory forever immortalized in documentaries and in the memories of those happening to walk by below. With songs from their last album, “Get Back” and “Let It Be,” this performance was perhaps among their most remembered.

While Crème Tangerine does not focus on the personalities or look of The Beatles, they certainly can play the beloved music, and do so for thousands of fans every year. They released their debut album, “Crème Tangerine,” in 2007, and will release their latest record, “The Abbey Road Project” in 2009.