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On August 8, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr stepped out of what was then called EMI Studios to have their photograph taken for their new album cover.
Photographer Iain MacMillan was given just 10 minutes to take the iconic snap of The Beatles walking across Abbey Road’s zebra crossing, as he stood on a step-ladder while a policeman held up traffic.
Macca then selected what became the Abbey Road album cover out of six photographs taken that day.
Over half a century on and fans are still recreating the shot near St John’s Wood Underground station all day, every day.
And now Queen guitarist Sir Brian May, who turns 76 today, has done the same on a recent visit to what is now called Abbey Road Studios.
Sir Brian held an album launch for his remastered Star Fleet Project on Monday, inside the famous Beatles Studio No 2, where the Fab Four recorded their later records. The rock legend previously spoke with Express.co.uk about the influence The Beatles had on Queen.
He said at the time: “The Beatles were our bible. Absolutely at every stage in their career and their music development, they were models. And they still are to me, I must say. I love all those albums. To me, they are the greatest. They are the pinnacle of writing, performance and ethos of rock music. They broke down so many barriers, they changed the world many times. I will always love The Beatles without any reservation.”
“I feel like they’ve been underrepresented in the world as it is today. The kids today don’t know The Beatles as much as they ought to. The Beatles should be woven into people’s lives in the way Queen music is these days.”
On his interactions with The Beatles over the years, Sir Brian said: “I’ve met Paul a few times, done a few things. He’s a great guy and an animal campaigner as I am. Yeah, I wish I saw more of him really but life doesn’t always let you do this stuff. Met Ringo a couple of times just briefly. Kinda just socially because Freddie was quite close to Ringo at one time. But I never had an in-depth conversation with him.”
As for John Lennon, who was killed at just 40-years-old in 1980, the Queen guitarist said: “Never met [him], very sadly. I wish I had, I would have loved to have done. What a wonderful talent and a wonderful voice. Incredible.”
The 76-year-old also has fond memories of working alongside George Harrison at the Water Rats Charity Ball on November 29, 1992. Sir Brian remembered: “He played one of my guitars which is nice! I love George, I love his playing. I think he’s still underrated. Wonderful!”
