Friday 8th May in the UK and Monday 18th May in the USA marks the 50th anniversary since the release of ‘Let It Be’ in each country respectively. The album was the last to be released by The Beatles after Paul McCartney announced his departure from the group in April 1970.

Featuring all time classics such as, ‘The Long and Winding Road,’ ‘Get Back,’ and ‘Let It Be,’ the album was actually recorded prior to the ‘Abbey Road’ album sessions, in early 1969. Work did continue on ‘Let It Be’ after ‘Abbey Road’ was released, however debate amongst Beatles’ fans still continues about what should be considered as the final Beatles album.

The idea behind ‘Let It Be’ was to ultimately capture the band ‘live in studio’ without adding any post-production effects. However, this changed when producer, Phil Spector, was brought in to reproduce the tracks and put the final touches on the album, ending The Beatles’ time as a recording powerhouse.

On 13 May 1970, the ‘Let It Be’ documentary film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, premiered in New York City. The documentary captures the ‘Let It Be’ sessions of January 1969 and won an Oscar for Original Song Score and also a GRAMMY for Best Original Score. News surfaced early in 2019 that the film would be re-released to coincide with the 50th anniversary, yet Beatles fans across the world are still in anticipation when an official announcement made in March 2020 stated that Peter Jackson’s reproduction, featuring hours of unseen footage and audio from the sessions, will be finally released on 4th September 2020, entitled ‘The Beatles: Get Back’.