Beatles Rooftop concert celebrated in Seattle-Beatles Day declared by Governor

The anniversary of the Beatles legendary rooftop concert will be celebrated this Friday January 29, 2010, with former U.S. manager of Apple Records, Ken Mansfield, and Beatles cover band Crème Tangerine at Pike Place Market in Seattle at Pike Place Market.

In 2009, Crème Tangerine gave a blockbuster performance as thousands of fans filled the streets of Pike Place Market during their lunch hour. Seattle fans were the only city in the world to experience an actual rooftop tribute in honor of the 40th anniversary, which was January 30, 1969.

This year’s performance will be at the same place, on the rooftop balcony of the Copacabana Café in the Pike Place Market in Seattle at noon. They will perform the songs from that famous concert, such as “Get Back”, and John Lennon’s “Don’t Let Me Down”, and “One After 909.” This location was voted “Best Rooftop Balcony in Seattle” by Seattle Weekly readers. Mansfield will talk about his work with the Beatles and lead a Q&A session.

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has proclaimed the day “Crème Tangerine Seattle Beatles Rooftop Day” for the State of Washington in honor of the event.

Ken Mansfield was there on that cold winter day on top of the London rooftop. In a brief interview before last year’s show we asked him to share what he remembered from that day. He laughed and said his biggest memory was how cold it was. He said, “It was so exciting, it was a handful of people, it was just us; we locked the doors downstairs and we knew we were doing something special. I was the American guy, and they gave me a very privileged spot in their family and treated me so wonderful.

“I was sitting against the chimney with Yoko, and Ringo’s wife, Maureen; we were trying to keep warm. We were just huddling together about five feet from the band. George’s fingers would get cold and I had some cigarettes between my fingers, so he would take his fingers and thread them between my fingers to keep warm. So sometimes I was just three feet from George. In the pictures you see I’m in a white trench coat, and I’m going to wear one today.”

The legendary impromptu concert would be the last time the Beatles performed together in public, greatly surprising the London lunch crowd walking on the streets below, who didn’t realize they were witnessing a historic moment. The concert would be immortalized in the documentary Let It Be.

Mansfield has authored three books, “The Beatles, the Bible and Bodega Bay” and “The White Book”. His latest book is entitled “Between Wyomings.’

Crème Tangerine of Seattle consists of five talented musicians who perform Beatles music at many events year-round. They released a CD “Crème Tangerine” in 2007 and “The Abbey Road Project” in 2009.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is being highlighted at this year’s rooftop celebration. For more information contact Kevin Murphy at 206-349-6091.