Revisiting "Let It Be" - The Lost Beatles Album

With The Beatles: Get Back making it onto Disney+ next month, I figured it'd be high time that I throw my hat into the ring over a recreation that many Beatles fans have done for years - what would Let It Be have been like had it been released as Get Back, as originally intended? I'm not the first to ponder this, nor will I be the last. I've done this a few times myself, but have never been satisfied with the results, so hopefully, this will be the recreation that sticks with me the most!

To those who may be wondering why Let It Be is a controversial album among fans, I'll try to explain as best as I can while keeping things succinct.

The Beatles performing their final concert on the rooftop of Savile Row, January 30, 1969.

It began back on August 27, 1967 - why this particular date? Because that was the day that the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, died of drug overdose (whether or not it was a suicide or accident remains a mystery; it doesn't change the story before or after). His death marked the beginning of the end of the Beatles. The following year, they went to India to practice Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and while they were there, wrote many songs that would form the basis of their follow-up to Sgt. Pepper, The White Album. When they went to record the songs, however, there was no longer a group mentality; each Beatle wanted to do their own thing while the other three were practically sidemen.

This was when Paul McCartney suggested that they write, rehearse and record an album as quickly as possible much like the old days, so they could recapture what they had lost over the past few years. All live with no overdubs was the mentality for what was going to be called Get Back. While it was a good idea in theory, unfortunately, it was not so great in practice as George Harrison did not want to do Paul's songs and vice-versa, while John Lennon wanted nothing to do with the project at all. Ringo Starr just played along for the miserable ride. The sessions throughout January 1969 ended with their final live performance on the 30th - "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "I've Got a Feeling", "One After 909" and "Dig a Pony" - and definitive takes of "Two of Us", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" on the 31st.

Glyn Johns had been brought in to compile the album together, being given the simple task of presenting the Beatles with their pants down, as John Lennon put it. I'll present the track listings below, but as it turned out, Glyn Johns' first version of Get Back was the Beatles naked from the waist down! The project was temporarily halted so the Beatles could return to work on their superior work, Abbey Road, before another version of Get Back was compiled, dropping "Teddy Boy" and including "I Me Mine" and "Across the Universe". While it was marginally better, it didn't meet the Beatles' standard either, leaving everyone wondering if Get Back would ever get released at all.

This was where Phil Spector came in to finish what Glyn Johns could not, but he abandoned the notion of "no overdubs" and included orchestration overdubs over "Across the Universe", "I Me Mine", "Let It Be" and, most infamously, "The Long and Winding Road". Paul was furious over the treatment given to the latter, especially as it was without his consent, and announced the Beatles' breakup that April, one month before it finally came out as Let It Be and received harsh reviews from critics. Come 2003, Paul had commissioned a new version of the album subtitled Naked that stripped away Spector's orchestrations, and it was viewed as superior to the original Let It Be album, although not by a whole lot. Was it even possible to make the Beatles' final(ish) album coherent? Could anyone achieve what Glyn Johns could not?

As I'm about to explain, all four track listings were fatally flawed in some way or another.

Get Back, Version 1 (May 1969)

Side A - "One After 909" / "Rocker" / "Save the Last Dance for Me" / "Don't Let Me Down" / "Dig a Pony" / "I've Got a Feeling" / "Get Back"

Side B  - "For You Blue" / "Teddy Boy" / "Two of Us" / "Maggie Mae" / "Dig It" / "Let It Be" / "The Long and Winding Road" / "Get Back (reprise)"

Only "One After 909" is taken from the rooftop concert, while the rest of the tracks were studio versions. This was perhaps not what the Beatles had in mind about being shown with their pants down; "Two of Us" and "The Long and Winding Road" were far rougher compared to the polished performances recorded on January 31, and Glyn Johns even included an aimless jam called "Rocker" and a sloppy rendition of the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me". It's a mess all around and it feels like there was no thought whatsoever into arranging the album.

Get Back, Version 2 (January 1970)

Side A - "One After 909" / "Rocker" / "Save the Last Dance for Me" / "Don't Let Me Down" / "Dig a Pony" / "I've Got a Feeling" / "Get Back" / "Let It Be"

Side B - "For You Blue" / "Two of Us" / "Maggie Mae" / "Dig It" / "The Long and Winding Road" / "I Me Mine" / "Across the Universe" / "Get Back (reprise)"

"Let It Be" is moved onto the end of Side A, and "Teddy Boy" is deleted in favor of "I Me Mine" and "Across the Universe", both featured in the movie while "Teddy Boy" was not. Some chatter was also removed to improve the pacing of the album. Although slightly better, clearly this album's weakness was inescapable, and one wonders why Glyn Johns insisted on keeping "Rocker/Save the Last Dance for Me" since it was never used for the final album.

Let It Be (May 1970)

Side A - "Two of Us" / "Dig a Pony" / "Across the Universe" / "I Me Mine" / "Dig It" / "Let It Be" / "Maggie Mae"

Side B - "I've Got a Feeling" / "One After 909" / "The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue" / "Get Back"

Phil Spector might have used better takes, but the album's cohesion is a mess all around. Not only do we alternate between acoustic and electric tracks, but he left off "Don't Let Me Down" altogether, which is just insanity. Not only that, both sides are unbalanced; Side A runs at 19 minutes and Side B almost 16 minutes! Even if we tacked on "Don't Let Me Down" towards the end of Side B to have evenly timed sides, it would still sound sloppy and all over the place. There doesn't seem to be any cohesion whatsoever.

Let It Be... Naked (November 2003)

"Get Back" / "Dig a Pony" / "For You Blue" / "The Long and Winding Road" / "Two of Us" / "I've Got a Feeling" / "One After 909" / "Don't Let Me Down" / "I Me Mine" / "Across the Universe" / "Let It Be"

This is perhaps the best sounding version of Get Back/Let It Be, but even then, we lost "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae", which were very much part of the original album's running as far back as the first Glyn Johns mix. Studio and live chatter were also removed, and some songs fade out too quickly, making them sound abrupt and unnatural.

And now, here's my reconstruction of Get Back, for which I've decided to keep the final Let It Be title.

Let It Be (May 1969; October 2021)

Side A - "One After 909" / "Dig a Pony" / "I've Got a Feeling" / "Not Guilty" / "Don't Let Me Down" / "Get Back"

Side B - "Dig It" / "Let It Be" / "All Things Must Pass" / "Maggie Mae" / "Two of Us" / "For You Blue" / "The Long and Winding Road" / "Across the Universe"

I've taken some cues from all four track listings; both of the Glyn Johns mixes start with "One After 909", the oldest Beatles song recorded for the sessions, having been written some time between 1957 and 1960, and was even considered for a single release in 1963. This would be a good thing to set the tone for the "back to basics" approach of the album, so it's our opening track.

Also on both Glyn Johns mixes, "Dig a Pony" and "I've Got a Feeling" are played back to back. This is the same sequence used for the rooftop concert, although the latter was the second take rather than the first as heard on Let It Be, but whatever. Similarly, I've chosen to end Side A with "Get Back" per the first Glyn Johns mix, preceding that with "Don't Let Me Down", not dissimilar to the sequencing of "Ask Me Why" and the title track on their debut, Please Please Me.

So that's all of Side A completed... except we're one track short. I'm sure most people would include "I Me Mine" or "For You Blue" to flesh it out further, but I've made a decision that would probably baffle some people. I've decided to insert "Not Guilty" in between "I've Got a Feeling" and "Don't Let Me Down" for three reasons - one, to maintain the electric vibe of Side A; two, I wanted to keep all recordings pre-February 1969; and three, I think it would've fit in better than "I Me Mine", recorded January 1970. This may not seem believable, but they did include "Across the Universe", recorded February 1968, so why not include a track that was recorded in August 1968? Is this something any 60s band would've pulled on us? I think they would have.

So Side A is comprised of all five songs recorded on the rooftop concert - even "Not Guilty" was miraculously performed - but how do we begin Side B? Side A of Let It Be ended with "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae", with the title track inserted in between. Not a bad sequence, although the jokey performance of "Maggie Mae" seems to disregard the serious tone of "Let It Be", but is there a way around it?

Insert anachronism number two; "All Things Must Pass". Specifically, the demo version as found on Early Takes Volume 1, because neither the Anthology 3 nor bootlegged versions sound that great to begin with. I'd include either of them, but I want to make it sound as polished as I can. With some editing, it runs at a pretty similar length, and it fits right in between "Let It Be" and "Maggie Mae". I view "All Things Must Pass" as an amen response to "Let It Be" before jumping into "Maggie Mae". Think of it as being similar to the "Love You To"/"Here, There and Everywhere"/"Yellow Submarine" sequence on Revolver. And like Revolver, it gives George three vocal spots - "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" were considered the best songs on Abbey Road, so I think giving George a third song would've further proved that, showing that he deserved to stand alongside John and Paul as a songwriter.

Speaking of which, the "For You Blue"/"The Long and Winding Road" sequence is taken directly from Let It Be... Naked, with "Two of Us" being the link between "Maggie Mae" and "For You Blue". The first Glyn Johns mix ends with "The Long and Winding Road" while the second mix ends with "Across the Universe" - in both cases, we exclude the reprise of "Get Back".

Here's the tracks I've chosen to exclude:

• "Rocker/Save the Last Dance for Me" - They're superfluous and would have added nothing of value to the album.
• "Teddy Boy" - It was dropped after the first version of Get Back, and not to mention that I wanted to avoid having too many McCartney-penned tracks.
• "I Me Mine" - As mentioned, I preferred "Not Guilty" to it. Plus, it was recorded in January 1970, a year since the project was first started. Yes, I know it was included for the final album because rehearsals were in the original film, but again, I am sticking to 1968-69 recordings. Maybe "I Me Mine" could be included for a theoretical follow-up to Abbey Road?

Overall, my version of Let It Be runs at about 44 and a half minutes with Side B a bit longer than Side A, but to me, it feels coherent with one side giving us a final taste of the Beatles as a live band, and the other being a studio performance. Maybe it's not quite what the Beatles were envisioning back in 1969, but I did try to maintain George Martin's mentality when it comes to sequencing the albums as best as I could, and I think it came out very nicely.

How to Assemble Get Back/Let It Be

"One After 909" - Primarily sourced from Let It Be... Naked with opening ambience taken from the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition and the closing ambience from Let It Be.

"Dig a Pony" - Naked version with opening and closing ambience from Let It Be.

"I've Got a Feeling" - Let It Be version with no edits. This is whole first take on the rooftop while the Naked version is a composite edit of both performances.

"Not Guilty" - Take 102 from the 2018 deluxe edition of The White Album, with opening ambience taken from the bootleg As Nature Intended to create a faux live performance. I've cut about thirty seconds' worth of the ending guitar to keep it a similar length to the rest of the live tracks, around three to four minutes.

"Don't Let Me Down" - Naked version with opening and closing ambience from the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition.

"Get Back" - I've utilized the Anthology 3 version because I feel it sounds different enough from the single version, especially the coda. I've included opening and closing ambience from Let It Be, which restores John's "I hope we passed the audition" quip at the end. All six tracks are crossfaded together to make one continuous live performance.

"Dig It" - A unique mix that starts off with the "Morning Camera" dialogue from an alternate take of "Two of Us" before jumping into the album version - with John's "dig it" outro made twice the length - that crossfades into "Can You Dig It", being cut down so it's just under two minutes. Like the original Let It Be, the closing dialogue leads right into...

"Let It Be" - Naked version with closing dialogue from the first take found on Anthology 3 - "I think that was rather grand. I'd take one home with me."

"All Things Must Pass" - Early Takes Volume 1 version cut down to 3:30 so it could run at a similar length to several rehearsals; the 2021 re-release of All Things Must Pass cuts it short for some reason. As stated before, the 1969 versions are not that great sounding, so let's pretend that it was recorded during on January 31, with John sitting it out. The quiet laughter at the end leads right into...

"Maggie Mae" - Let It Be version with no edits.

"Two of Us" - Naked version with extended outro sourced from Let It Be. Closing dialogue is sourced from the 1969 Glyn Johns mix found on the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition.

"For You Blue" - Take 4 with opening dialogue sourced from the 1969 Glyn John mix, both from the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. I'm sure most would choose the Naked mix, but I wanted as few overdubs as possible. The opening dialogue from the first take of "Let It Be" from Anthology 3 is added onto the end - "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?" "Yeah." "Okay." "This'll... this is gonna knock you out, boy."

"The Long and Winding Road" - Naked version with no edits.

"Across the Universe" - The 1970 Glyn Johns mix with the opening dialogue cut, sourced from the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. This version includes Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease's backing vocals, otherwise mixed down, to make it sound less sparse.

Sources

The Beatles - Anthology 3 (1996)

The Beatles - As Nature Intended (1994; bootleg)

The Beatles - Let It Be 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (2021 remaster)

The Beatles - Let It Be... Naked (2013 remaster)

The Beatles - The White Album 50th Anniversary Edition (2018 remaster)

George Harrison - Early Takes Volume 1 (2012)

Chapter 80: We Are the World (July 13 and 14, 1985)

 July 13, 1985

Wembley Stadium - 7:00 to 8:45 EDT (12:00 to 13:45 BST)

Diana and Prince Charles attending Live Aid, 13 July 1985.

"It's 12 noon in London, 7 AM in Philadelphia, and around the world, it's time for Live Aid! Sixteen hours of live music in aid of famine relief in Africa," announced Richard Skinner. "Wembley welcomes their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales!"

The crowd cheered as Prince Charles and his wife Diana Spencer appeared amongst them in the stands, accompanied by the Coldstream Guards playing to mark their arrival, before taking their seats. Bob Geldof stood by the prince's left as the latter greeted the crowd with a wave.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Salute!" announced Tommy Vance.

The Coldstream Guards kicked off the Wembley show with the first six bars to "God Save the Queen". They'd been performing for the British Army for two hundred years, and it seemed fitting that they be the ones to kick off the show.

"And now, to start off sixteen hours of Live Aid," Vance announced again, "would you welcome, Status Quo!"

Status Quo (7:01 EDT; 12:01 BST) fittingly kicked off Live Aid with a cover version of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over the World", following that up with "Caroline" and "Don't Waste My Time". They were soon followed up by the Style Council (7:19 EDT; 12:19 BST - "You're the Best Thing", "Big Boss Groove", "Internationalists" and "Walls Come Tumbling Down!") and the Boomtown Rats (7:44 EDT; 12: 44 BST - "I Don't Like Mondays", "Drag Me Down" and "Rat Trap").

Def Leppard (8:01 EDT; 13:01 BST) kicked off the second hour of Live Aid with "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages", both from their most recent album Pyromania[1]. Following up on them was Ultravox (8:17 EDT; 13:17 BST) with "Reap the Wild Wind", "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes", "One Small Day" and "Vienna".

Wembley Stadium (London) and John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) - 8:45 to 17:00 EDT (13:45 to 22:00 BST)

George Segal and Marilyn McCoo introducing Live Aid to American audiences.

"Live from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, USA!" announced George Segal. "And live from Wembley Stadium in London, England! The Live Aid concert! Welcome to the worldwide Live Aid concert! I'm George Segal in Philadelphia, and I'm here to welcome you to something more than a television show. As of this moment, we're being seen in sixty nations throughout the world, we can be seen on 85 percent of all the television sets on the planet, and we can be heard on 75 percent of all the radios on the planet! We welcome you to a massive, totally unprecedented coming together of all the peoples of our world in support of our neighbors in Africa."

"We've come together today to make a simple and powerful statement," added Marilyn McCoo, "that all men are our brothers, that all women are our sisters, and especially that all children are our children. When one of us suffers as millions today are suffering in Africa, then we all suffer. And as this is the custom in families everywhere, we extend our helping hand. We lift them up until they can stand on their own. And we don't do this because we feel guilt and certainly not because we feel pity. We do it simply because that's the kind of people that we are."

"And so, for the next sixteen hours, we'll all be enjoying what can only be characterized as the hottest acts in music today."

"And they are Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tom Petty, Sting with Phil Collins and the Who, Bryan Adams... you know who Bryan Adams is?"

"I know who he is."

"Oh, alright. Alright. Eric Clapton, the Beach Boys, Wham!, and much more."

"They're all performing free; not only for African famine relief, but also in support of an even larger purpose. Ending hunger in our world forever. But right now, we're going live to London!"

Joan Baez performing at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

The last performer in London just before the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid kicked off was Spandau Ballet (8:46 EDT; 13:45 BST) with "Only When You Leave", "Virgin" and "True". The first artists to play at Philadelphia were Bernard Watson (8:51 EDT; 13:51 BST - "All I Really Want to Do" and "Interview") and Joan Baez (9:01 EDT; 14:01 BST - "Amazing Grace" and "We Are the World"), the latter of whom kicked off hour three of Live Aid. Elvis Costello (9:07 EDT; 14:07 BST) was the next artist performing at London, singing a cover of the Beatles' "All You Need is Love". At the same time, Bruce Springsteen (9:10 EDT; 14:10 BST) played "Born to Run" and "Dancing in the Dark" at Philadelphia[2]. For the next hour and a half, the following artists and their respective setlists were as follows:

Nik Kershaw - 9:22 EDT / 14:22 BST (London)

"Wide Boy"

"Don Quixote"

"The Riddle"

"Wouldn't It Be Good"

Four Tops - 9:32 EDT / 14:32 BST (Philadelphia)

"Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"

"Bernadette"

"It's the Same Old Song"

"Reach Out I'll Be There"

"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"

Billy Ocean - 9:45 EDT / 14:45 BST (Philadelphia)

"Caribbean Queen"

"Loverboy"

Sade - 9:53 EDT / 14:53 BST (London)

"Why Can't We Live Together"

"Your Love Is King"

"Is It a Crime?"

Black Sabbath - 9:55 EDT / 14:55 BST (Philadelphia)

"Children of the Grave"

"Iron Man"

"Paranoid"

Run–D.M.C. - 10:12 EDT / 15:12 BST (Philadelphia)

"Jam Master Jay"

"King of Rock"

Sting and Phil Collins - 10:18 EDT / 15:18 BST (London)

"Roxanne" (Sting)

"Driven to Tears" (Sting)

"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins)

"Message in a Bottle" (Sting)

"In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins)

"Long Long Way to Go" (both)

"Every Breath You Take" (both)

Rick Springfield - 10:27 EDT / 15:27 BST (Philadelphia)

"Love Somebody"

"State of the Heart"

"Human Touch"

REO Speedwagon - 10:47 EDT / 15:47 (Philadelphia)

"Can't Fight This Feeling"

"Roll with the Changes”

Howard Jones - 10:49 EDT / 15:49 BST (London)

"Hide and Seek"

David Gilmour performing at Live Aid with the rest of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters at Wembley Stadium.

Kicking off the fifth hour of Live Aid was Pink Floyd (11:03 EDT; 16:03 BST), reuniting with Roger Waters for the first time since 1978[3]. Their setlist began with "Speak to Me" and "Breathe", along with the reprise of the latter before transitioning to "Money", all from The Dark Side of the Moon. Before they began their next song, Roger Waters addressed the crowd.

"It's actually quite emotional to be standing up here with these three guys again, after all these years - standing to be counted with the rest of you," he said as they began to play "Wish You Were Here". "Anyway, we're doing this for the people who're not here - and particularly, of course, for Syd."[4]

Concluding Pink Floyd's setlist was "Comfortably Numb" from Roger Waters' The Wall. David Gilmour was especially receptive to this, as Waters had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to play the song live with Pink Floyd. The next two artists playing at Philadelphia were Crosby, Stills and Nash (11:12 EDT; 16:12 BST - "Southern Cross", "Teach Your Children" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes") and Judas Priest (11:29 EDT; 16:29 BST - "Living After Midnight", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"), while the next London artist was Paul Young (11:40 EDT; 16:40 BST), performing the the intro of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", "Come Back and Stay", "That's the Way Love Is" as part of a duet with Alison Moyet, and "Everytime You Go Away". For the next hour and a half, the following performances were made:

Bryan Adams - 12:01 EDT / 17:01 BST (Philadelphia)

"Kids Wanna Rock"

"Summer of '69"

"Tears Are Not Enough"

"Cuts Like a Knife"

U2 - 12:19 EDT / 17:19 BST (London)

"Sunday Bloody Sunday"

"Bad" (w/snippets of "Satellite of Love", "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Walk on the Wild Side")

The Beach Boys - 12:39 EDT / 17:39 BST (Philadelphia)[5]

"California Girls"

"Help Me, Rhonda"

"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

"Good Vibrations"

"Surfin' U.S.A."

Dire Straits - 13:00 EDT / 18:00 BST (London)

"Money for Nothing" (with Sting)

"Sultans of Swing"

George Thorogood and the Destroyers - 13:26 EDT / 18:26 BST (Philadelphia)

"Who Do You Love?" (with Bo Diddley)

"The Sky Is Crying"

"Madison Blues" (with Albert Collins)

Freddie Mercury and Brian May performing at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.

Smile (13:41 EDT; 18:41 BST) would go on to mark one of the most iconic performances of Live Aid, first beginning with the ballad portion of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the guitar solo transitioning towards "Radio Ga Ga". After a brief vocal improvisation between Freddie Mercury and the crowd, Smile played "Hammer to Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Will Rock You" before concluding with "We Are the Champions".

Simple Minds - 14:05 EDT / 19:05 BST (Philadelphia)

"Ghost Dancing"

"Don't You (Forget About Me)"

"Promised You a Miracle"

David Bowie - 14:23 EDT / 19:23 BST (London)

"TVC 15"

"Rebel Rebel"

"Modern Love"

"Heroes"

Pretenders - 14:41 EDT / 19:41 BST (Philadelphia)

"Time the Avenger"

"Message of Love"

"Stop Your Sobbing"

"Back on the Chain Gang"

"Middle of the Road"

The Who - 14:59 EDT / 19:59 BST (London)

"My Generation"

"Pinball Wizard"

"Love, Reign o'er Me"

"Won't Get Fooled Again"

Santana with Pat Metheny - 15:21 EDT / 20:21 BST (Philadelphia)

"Brotherhood"

"Primera Invasion"

"Open Invitation"

"By the Pool"

"Right Now"

After The Who (with Phil Collins on drums) had finished up their set list, Bob Geldof walked on stage to introduce the next artist.

"This could be the most important performance of the entire concert, let alone the entirety of rock music history," he said. "So, please let me introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years..." He paused for dramatic effect; there was some scattered chuckling at the reference Geldof had just made, but they were drowned out by unstoppable clapping and screaming the moment he said their name...

"THE BEATLES!"

Paul McCartney performing with the Beatles at Live Aid at Wembley.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr walked onto the stage, clutching their guitars and (in Ringo's case) drumsticks, a sense of excitement and anxiety shared amongst them. Despite this sense of nervousness, at 15:25 Eastern Time, 20:25 British Summer Time, they kicked off their setlist with "Come Together", with the outro being accompanied by the guitar introduction to "Revolution", transitioning into "Back in the U.S.S.R.". The crowd was beside itself with excitement the whole time, which, to the Beatles, was a good sign that their performance was going well.

The next song of the Beatles' setlist was George's vocal spot "Something". Backstage, the Beatles' families were watching the performance on the television set. Olivia had the biggest smile out of the Beatles' wives; although the song had been written back when George was married to Pattie Boyd, it didn't make the song any less resonant to her.

Back on the stage, Paul had put down his bass guitar and sat at the piano to perform the next number. "This song's a little something that we played twenty years ago," he told the crowd as he played the first chords. "Since this little number came out, God knows how many people have performed it, and I think you can guess what it is by the first lyric... Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."

For the rest of the song, the crowd sang along with Paul. They cheered again as "Yesterday" drew to a close, and John picked up the acoustic guitar to perform the next song.

"This little number is dedicated to all the people we've met over the years, including those who are no longer with us," he said. "I would also like to dedicate it to a few very special people, wherever you are and even if you're not watching..."

Aunt Mimi was at home watching Live Aid on television and smiled; even though John wasn't here with her right now, she knew exactly who he was referring to. As did Madeline, watching the performance with the rest of the Beatles' families as John sang "In My Life".

"In my life... I love you more..." As the song drew to a close, the crowd once again began cheering loudly as the number of donations to support Ethiopia began to triplicate.

"For those who've not done anything yet," called John, "let's come together and donate what we can to help all the people of Ethiopia in their fight against famine!"

"Just standing here and playing with the guys," added Paul, "it's an amazing feeling, especially in fighting a cause that we all wished did not exist."

"This is a big deal, what we're doing right now," said George. "The world's watching us and they need to contribute to Live Aid."

"Peace and love, wherever you are!" finished Ringo. "Come on, everybody! Let's bring the house down!"

That was when the Beatles began the last song in their set, "With a Little Help from My Friends". Once again, the crowd was singing along, even during the extended outro to the song that transitioned towards "The End".

"And in the end... the love you take... is equal to the love you make..."

If the crowd wasn't in a frenzy before, they certainly were now! All four Beatles walked to the front of the stage together, arm in arm, and bowed before the crowd before leaving the stage again, feeling a strong sense of satisfaction with their performance. Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, Ashford & Simpson (15:57 EDT; 20:57 BST) performed "Solid" and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", the latter of which was performed with Teddy Pendergrass.

Elton John performing at Live Aid at Wembley.

There was one hour left to go at Wembley, beginning with Elton John (16:00 EDT; 21:00 BST) whose setlist consisted of "I'm Still Standing", "Bennie and the Jets", "Rocket Man", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", the latter two of which were duets with Kiki Dee and Wham! (George Michael on lead vocals), respectively.[6] Back at Philadelphia, Madonna (16:27 EDT; 21:27 BST) performed "Holiday", "Into the Groove" and "Love Makes the World Go Round", the latter of which was with Thompson Twins and Nile Rodgers.

With just fifteen minutes left for the Wembley performance, Freddie Mercury and Brian May (16:48 EDT; 21:48 BST) returned to the stage to perform "Is This the World We Created...?".

"Thank you very much," said Freddie after the song came to an end. "And now a man with glasses will return to the stage, and I think you can tell who he is! Ah, there he is now!"

"Thank you, Freddie," said John Lennon as he walked onto the stage again and to the piano. "There's still time left to donate, so let's fight against poverty not just in Ethiopia, but in the entire world! Every action is needed so we can... Well, you know what this next number's about, don't you?"

And that was when John began to play "Imagine" before transitioning to "Give Peace a Chance", being backed by David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Alison Moyet and Roger Waters.[7] The Wembley Stadium portion of Live Aid came to a close with Band Aid singing "Do They Know It's Christmas?", a song composed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure telling listeners about the Ethiopia famine.

"Thank you, everybody!" called Bob as the performance came to an end. "That's the end of our show, you've been a fantastic audience! Thank you, and good night! Over to you, Philadelphia!"

July 13 and 14, 1985

John F. Kennedy Stadium - 17:00 to 23:00 EDT (22:00 to 4:00 BST)

Tom Petty performing with Mudcrutch at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

The remaining six hours of Live Aid at JFK Stadium began with Tom Petty and Mudcrutch (17:02 EDT; 22:02 BST) by performing "American Girl", "The Waiting", "Rebels" and "Refugee". They were followed up by Kenny Loggins (17:30 EDT; 22:30 BST) with "Footloose" and The Cars (17:39 EDT; 22:39 BST) with "You Might Think", "Drive", "Just What I Needed" and "Heartbeat City". The following two hours went as follows:

Neil Young - 18:06 EDT / 23:06 BST

"Sugar Mountain"

"The Needle and the Damage Done"

"Helpless"

"Nothing Is Perfect (In God's Perfect Plan)"

"Powderfinger"

The Power Station - 18:42 EDT / 23:42 BST

"Murderess"

"Get It On"

Thompson Twins - 19:21 EDT / 0:21 BST

"Hold Me Now"

"Revolution" (with Madonna, Steve Stevens and Nile Rodgers)

Eric Clapton - 19:38 EDT / 0:38 BST

"White Room"

"She's Waiting"

"Layla"

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page playing with the Yardbirds at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

Badfinger (20:00 EDT; 1:00 BST) made a surprise appearance at Live Aid; Mike Gibbins and Pete Ham had lived in America over the past decade, and the latter called up Tom Evans and Joey Molland about a one-off reunion for Live Aid, to which he found surprising agreement from both of them as well as Mike Gibbins, who had also played with Crosby, Stills and Nash and Eric Clapton. Badfinger performed "No Matter What" and "Without You" for their brief appearance at Live Aid[8]. Although it was intended to be a one-off reunion, Badfinger would perform for other charity concerts until Gibbins' death in 2005, their last performance being at Live 8 that same year.

Shortly following Badfinger was the Yardbirds (20:10 EDT; 1:10 BST) performing "Rock and Roll", "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway to Heaven"[9]. Marvin Gaye (20:39 EDT; 1:39 BST) came next with "What's Going On" and his newest hit, "Dodging a Silver Bullet"[10].

Duran Duran - 20:46 EDT / 1:46 BST

"A View to a Kill"

"Union of the Snake"

"Save a Prayer"

"The Reflex"

Patti LaBelle - 21:20 EDT / 2:20 BST

"New Attitude"

"Imagine"

"Forever Young"

"Stir It Up"

"Over the Rainbow"

"Why Can't I Get It Over"

Hall & Oates - 21:50 EDT / 2:50 BST

"Out of Touch"

"Maneater"

"Get Ready" (with Eddie Kendricks)

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (with David Ruffin)

"The Way You Do the Things You Do"

"My Girl" (with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin)

Ronnie Wood, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards performing at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

For the final hour of Live Aid, Mick Jagger (22:15 EDT; 3:15 BST) performed "Lonely at the Top", "Just Another Night", "Miss You", "State of Shock" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)", the latter two of which were with Tina Turner. Fellow Rolling Stone members Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood played with Bob Dylan (22:39 EDT; 3:39 BST) for "Ballad of Hollis Brown", "When the Ship Comes In" and "Blowin' in the Wind". Live Aid concluded with USA for Africa performing "We Are the World".

Outside of JFK and Wembley Stadiums, various other countries were pitching in to help the cause, such as Australia (Oz for Africa), Japan (Off Course, Eikichi Yazawa, Motoharu Sano and Meiko Nakahara), the Netherlands (B.B. King) and West Germany (Band für Afrika), with Cliff Richard even making a performance in the United Kingdom with "A World of Difference". Deep Purple was originally going to perform via satellite from Switzerland, but they pulled out as Ritchie Blackmore wanted nothing to do with the performance.

END OF PHASE THREE

Footnotes

1. Adam Ant played "Vive Le Rock". He later criticized Live Aid and regretted performing it. "It was the end of rock 'n' roll," he commented. In addition, as Rick Allen didn't lose his arm in his car accident in TTL, Def Leppard is able to perform, accepting Bob Geldof's invitation, which also happened in OTL, but they declined as they were waiting for Allen to recover.
2. The Hooters played "And We Danced" and "All You Zombies". In addition, Bruce Springsteen had declined to take part in Live Aid despite his popularity at the time, although he would come to regret this decision.
3. Bryan Ferry played "Sensation", "Boys and Girls", "Slave to Love" and "Jealous Guy" with David Gilmour on guitar. Pink Floyd's setlist is the exact same as that from when they performed at Live 8 in 2008.
4. Roger Waters' quote at Live 8 taken verbatim.
5. A one-off reunion with Dennis Wilson, who is still living by 1985.
6. Elton John's final song in his setlist was a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness".
7. Paul McCartney played "Let It Be". In addition, Pete Townshend played alongside David Bowie, Bob Geldof and Alison Moyet for the performance.
8. Phil Collins played "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight" after flying out to Philadelphia to play a short solo set there, having also played alongside Eric Clapton for his solo set.
9. Phil Collins played drums for Led Zeppelin shortly after playing his solo set in Philadelphia.
10. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom".

Author's Comments

And so concludes Phase Three of Strawberry Peppers, as well as the first draft altogether! After a period of over thirty months and eighty chapters, I never imagined I'd get this done, as writer's block and unintentional abandonment are very much the bane of every alternate universe writer, I'd imagine. Still, hopefully I managed to do this finale justice and ended things on a strong note. I did have to gloss over some performances by listing who performed what, sticking mostly to what happened in OTL, with changes made to accommodate the butterflies that have occurred in the past twenty years. The Beatles' performance, of course, was the piece de resistance, hence it has the most focus out of the performances listed.

The first draft may be over, but there's still a few more posts to go, beginning with a standalone post showing my own version of Let It Be that'll come out this Friday. After that will be a new 1985 album for the Clash as part of an Extra Scene (remember those?) along with an information post about the DC Appleverse. Following that will be part four of An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers, focusing on the 1984-2009 period, and then what I have in mind for The Second Coming. Make sure to keep an eye out for those!