Abbey Road, home of the Beatles recordings and remasters, now a famous tourist site

Members of a Beatles tribute band recreate the famous Abbey Road album cover on
the 40th anniversary of the album cover photo shoot on August 8, 2009 (AP photo)

Today, 9-9-09, marks the release of the newly remastered recordings of The Beatles in stereo and mono. What better place to remaster the Beatles recordings than at the historic Abbey Road studios in London where the original music was recorded back in the 1960s!

Aside from sites in the Beatles' hometown of  Liverpool, the most famous site linked with the Beatles in London is Abbey Road Studios and the famous Abbey Road crossing featured on the Beatles album, Abbey Road.

Beatles fans of all ages flock to the busy London street from all over the world to recreate their own version of the Abbey Road album cover where John, Paul, George and Ringo crossed the street in unison. Some fans even take it to the extreme and remove their shoes like the barefoot Paul McCartney on the cover.

The Beatles' idea for an album cover taken one summer day back in August 1969 unknowingly created one of the most popular tourist destinations in music history. While fans and critics marveled at the unique, yet simplistic cover, the truth is the idea for the cover happened by accident. While The Beatles, especially Paul, would have preferred to shoot a monumental cover like in front of the Egyptian pyramids or in the Himalayas, for example, the group could never get their act together, especially with the absence of their original manager, Brian Epstein, who died in 1967.

As Ringo explained on a recent HBO special, without being able to coordinate anything extravagant, The Beatles just threw up their hands and said, "let's just go outside and take the picture," having no idea that the cover would inspire millions of fans to make a special pilgrimage to the exact same crossing decades later.

Today, Beatles fans come from all over the world to Abbey Road and risk their safety trying to pose in the middle of a busy street for a picture. Abbey Road is located in St. Johns Wood in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. Fans who can't come in person to Abbey Road can always check out what's happening on the street through the Abbey Road webcam.

After taking a picture at the famous street crossing, you can visit the Beatles Coffee Shop in London a few blocks away. The shop is run by Richard Porter, who conducts the London Beatles Walking Tour.