All four Beatles attends Pattie Harrison’s birthday party

In January 1970, George Harrison purchased Friar Park, a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England. On March 12, he and his wife Pattie moved in, along with Chris O’Dell, an Apple Corps employee then working for George.

O’Dell suggested hosting a housewarming party, which also served to celebrate Pattie’s 26th birthday. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and their wives attended, marking what is believed to be the last occasion on which all four Beatles were present together in the same place.

Since October 1969, Paul had largely withdrawn from Apple Corps, working in seclusion on his first solo album and keeping the project as secret as possible. This gathering was likely one of the few times he saw any of the other Beatles during that six-month period. Peter Brown was also present, and he and Paul briefly discussed the new album and its release and promotion. This conversation continued in the following days to define the details. Paul and Peter Brown met at Apple headquarters on March 23.

The party was a great success. Ringo and Maureen, Paul and Linda, John and Yoko, Derek and Joan, Neil and Susie Aspinall, Klaus and Christine Voormann, and Peter Brown were all there. I think Mary and Peter Frampton were there, too, along with several other people I can’t remember. Pattie and George gave tours through the house, and I took on the job of making sure that everybody’s glasses were full and the food trays were constantly replenished. As I flitted around the room, taking part in bits and pieces of conversation, I couldn’t help thinking that I had reached a new high. I was on the inside now, George and Pattie’s friend, living with them at Friar Park, and one of the invited guests at their private party.

Chris O’Dell – From “Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved” by Chris O’Dell, 2010

As always, Mal was in evidence, supping on wine and hors d’oeuvres and joining his friends on an eerie tour of Sir Frank’s secret caves beneath the property. Flashlights in hand, the partygoers made their way through the dark, rocky tunnels. At one point, someone laughed and said, “This is a real magical mystery tour.” The gathering at Friar Park that night proved to be a convivial one—a great success, indeed. But for Mal and the Beatles, it was also the last. John, Paul, George, and Ringo would never be under the same roof together again.

From “Living the Beatles Legend: The untold story of Mal Evans” by Kenneth Womack, 2023

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