LONDON - Thousands of Beatles faithful are swarming the most iconic pedestrian
crossing in London today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of one of
the greatest images in rock 'n' roll history. At approximately 11:35 am on August 8,
1969 the Beatles made their epic crossing of Abbey Road, for the cover photo of their epic album of the same title.
Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan was allowed just 10 minutes standing on a stepladder in the middle of the road to capture John, Paul, George and Ringo walking across the now famous zebra crossing.
Meanwhile, no further progress has been made to bring The Beatles catalog to iTunes, a monumental event that many Apple faithful believed would have been a done deal by now. The last report surfaced in November of 2008 when Paul McCartney indicated that the negotiation process had stalled. A spokeswoman from EMI Records confirmed the delays in a statement to the press.
"We have been working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps. to make the Beatles' legendary recording catalog available to fans in digital form. Unfortunately the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon." - SMH
When chatter about a Beatles iTunes deal hit fever pitch in October of 2008, Bloomingdale's even featured an ultimate collector's Beatles box set containing a black, numbered 120G iPod
etched with the Beatles' logo on the front and an Abbey Road silhouette on
the back. There were only 2,500 of
these box sets available for a hefty $795 each with a unique number etched in.
Though Twitter is ablaze with Abbey Road as a trending topic, none of the tweets focus on The Beatles coming to iTunes. For now the status remains hurry up and wait.
Many are making a virtual visit to the Abbey Road crossing via a live web cam featured on the website Visit Abbey Road. Modern technology that allows anyone to peer in on the crosswalk from virtually anywhere on earth.
Happy 40th Anniversary "Abbey Road". It's simply amazing to see so many people "come together" over you.
Who cares? The music is old. If you like them, you have the CDs. Why is so much made about a band that no one really cares about anymore?
Posted by: Mac | August 09, 2009 at 09:23 PM
The Beatles have totally lost out on iTunes. If they ever agree to sell the Beatles catalog online sales will be good but not great as many, and I might venture to guess a majority of, people that want the Beatles music on iPods or other players or computers have already ripped it or got it from the web someplace. Before they shut down the Russian site allofmp3.com they where selling every song ever recorded by the Beatles and had been for several years. The Beatles (I use "the Beatles" as an entity not as the members or heirs of the actual band) have waited to long to cash in. I realize that the former members and their heirs are all fabulously wealthy so the money should not be of a concern to them. But their total lack of respect of their fans by refusing to release legal digital copies for sale is despicable. Are they really so conceded to think in this digital age that even loyal fans will wait forever just because they are the Beatles?
Posted by: kirasaw | August 09, 2009 at 08:08 PM
I noticed that on Amazon "remastered" versions of the Abbey Road, Rubber Soul, Let It Be and other Beatles CDs are on pre-sale for $12.99. The listed release date is September 9th.
Posted by: Phil Holmer | August 08, 2009 at 11:54 PM