The Beatles’ final film Let It Be had its British première on this day, with simultaneous screenings in the north and south of England. None of the group attended either.
The southern event was held at the London Pavilion, with guests including Richard Lester, Mary Hopkin, Spike Milligan, Lulu, Simon Dee and EMI boss Sir Joseph Lockwood. Several members of The Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac also attended, as did around 50 Hare Krishna followers.
Although The Beatles didn’t attend, two notable figures from their past were present. Cynthia Lennon and Jane Asher were among the invited guests, two years after they split from John Lennon and Paul McCartney respectively.
Let It Be ran at the 1,004-seat London Pavilion until 23 June. In its first week on release it was screened 41 times with box office receipts of £6,229.
The northern première took place, aptly, in Liverpool, at a relatively quiet private screening at the Gaumont Cinema. Both this and the London showing began at 8.45pm. Let It Be went on general release the following day.
I wonder why Jane attended the premiere? Was it out of curiosity, or was it a middle finger to Paul who had just left the band?
That’s a good question and I myself have always wondered why Jane came to the premiere of “Let it Be”, given that she has never publicly talked about her relationship with Paul.
Another headscratcher is why Cynthia was at the premiere as well, given that she should have known that she was going to see John and Yoko together on the silver screen. It does not surprise me that none of The Beatles turned up to either premiere, since their breakup had only recently been announced.
I won tickets for the Liverpool Premiere of Let it Be with a competition on Radio City. Sadly I lost my ticket stub several years ago and if anyone has one for sale please let me know.