Master session
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The "Get Back / Let It Be" sessions
January 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Location
Recording studio: Twickenham Film Studios, London, UK
Timeline
Session Jan 14, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 9
Article Jan 15, 1969 • George Harrison rejoins The Beatles
Session Jan 16, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 10
Article January 17-19, 1969 • Installation of Apple recording studio at 3 Savile Row
Album Jan 17, 1969 • "Yellow Submarine (Mono)" by The Beatles released in the UK
Next session Jan 20, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 11
On January 10, 1969, George Harrison walked out of the “Get Back” sessions at Twickenham Film Studios, no longer able to endure the growing tensions within the group. A meeting between the four Beatles on January 12 failed to resolve the issues, as George left early without committing to rejoining.
On January 15, the four Beatles met again. George outlined his conditions for returning: the planned live TV special would have to be scrapped, and rehearsals for the new album relocated from Twickenham to Apple’s basement studio, then under construction by Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas. Despite these demands, George agreed to continue being filmed while making the new album. The other Beatles accepted George’s terms.
This day, January 16, marked the official end of the Twickenham sessions. Mal Evans, Kevin Harrington, and Glyn Johns dismantled the set and prepared to relocate equipment to Apple Studios. While the Beatles were not scheduled to attend, Paul McCartney came in and recorded a piano demo of “Oh! Darling,” a track that would be released on the “Abbey Road” album. The demo, engineered by Glyn Johns, was featured in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary “The Beatles: Get Back“.
George Harrison then visited Twickenham to meet with Glyn Johns. Together, they traveled to Apple Corps’ headquarters at 3 Savile Row to inspect the basement studio that Magic Alex had been constructing. However, they discovered the facilities were woefully inadequate, plagued by severe levels of distortion and hiss. Realizing the studio was unfit for The Beatles’ needs, Johns contacted George Martin for assistance. EMI agreed to lend Apple the necessary equipment, ensuring the band could continue their work in a functional recording environment. The installation was done in the following days and The Beatles restarted their rehearsals in the new location on January 20.
Session activities
The performances are sequentially numbered using the nomenclature from the book "Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image" by Doug Sulpy. DDSI 2.01 is, for example, the first performance from January 2nd, while DDSI 31.65 is the sixty-fifth performance from January 31st. This numbering is at times different from the DDSI numbers used on the bootleg collection "A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions", likely because "Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image" was updated since the release of this collection.
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Recording
Paul McCartney : Piano, Vocals
Staff
Musicians
- Paul McCartney : Piano, Vocals
Production staff
- Mal Evans : Road manager
- Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
- Kevin Harrington : Roadie
