Beatles Fans "Come Together" at Abbey Road to Mark 40th Anniversary

Fans of the Fab 4 flocked to London's Abbey Road in droves to mark the 40^th anniversary of the famous Beatle album cover photo. In a modern recreation of Beatlemania, hundreds of fans mobbed the intersection causing traffic gridlock and completely disrupting business in the area.

EMI's Abbey Road Studios, the place where the Beatles recorded their final 1969 album, are located at the southeastern end, at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood. The Beatles named the album after the studio.

The album's cover, designed by Apples creative director Kosh and taken by photographer Ian MacMillan, contains a shot of the 4 band members walking across the intersection located just outside the studio entrance. McCartney is bare-footed and out of step with the other 3 Beatles. The fact has often been cited as evidence in the "Paul is Dead" rumours, which were in circulation at the time. The photograph has since become one of the most famous and imitated covers in recording history.

The album was initially going to be called Everest. But the name was changed to Abbey Road at the last minute and the photo was hurriedly shot on August 6, 1969.

The album itself, the Beatles' final studio outing, was released September 26, 1969 - though Let It Be, recorded prior to Abbey Road, was the last album released before the Beatles' breakup in 1970.

Many critics have regarded Abbey Road as one of The Beatles' most well constructed. efforts. But ironically, the band was near the break up point at the time the album was being recorded. Producer George Martin has said that one side of the album was to please John and the other side was to please Paul. The perceived tightness probably had as much to do with the efforts of producer George Martin's as with the efforts of the Beatles themselves.

Rolling Stone magazine named Abbey Road the 14th greatest album of all time in its list of the 500 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time.

Since the album was released, thousands of Beatle fans make the pilgrimage to the site each year much to the annoyance of local residents. The site has become so popular it has even become part of the British tourism circuit. The Abbey Road street sign is now mounted high on the building on the corner. It has frequently been stolen or defaced with graffiti. Dozens of people are involved in accidents each year re-enacting the iconic photo. Some have resulted in deaths.

But Beatles fans and curiosity seekers continue to make the journey each year to see this piece of musical history.