The “Get Back / Let It Be” sessions officially kicked off on January 2, 1969, fueled by Paul McCartney’s renewed passion for live performance. Seeking to recapture the band’s energy, Paul pushed for a television special that would document The Beatles in their natural element: rehearsing for a grand return to the stage.

While initial plans from late 1968 involving the Roundhouse in London fell through, Apple Films head Denis O’Dell proposed a pivot to Twickenham Film Studios. Since the space was already booked for Ringo’s film The Magic Christian, it became the designated spot for director Michael Lindsay-Hogg to film the band’s creative evolution—footage intended to promote an upcoming live concert.

“In a nutshell, Paul wanted to make – it was time for another Beatle movie or something, and Paul wanted us to go on the road or do something. As usual, George and I were going, ‘Oh, we don’t want to do it, f**k,’ and all that. He set it up and there was all discussions about where to go and all that. I would just tag along and I had Yoko by then…Paul had this idea that we were going to rehearse or… see it all was more like Simon and Garfunkel, like looking for perfection all the time. And so he has these ideas that we’ll rehearse and then make the album… And we put down a few tracks and nobody was in it at all. It was a dreadful, dreadful feeling in Twickenham Studio, and being filmed all the time. I just wanted them to go away, and we’d be there, eight in the morning. You couldn’t make music at eight in the morning or ten or whatever it was, in a strange place with people filming you and colored lights.”  – John Lennon, 1970.

The timeline was incredibly compressed. With George returning from the U.S. just before Christmas and Ringo scheduled to start his movie in February, the group had only a few weeks to write and master an entire album of brand-new material. On that first morning at Twickenham, the stage was set by 9:30 a.m., though the band members trickled in later. John and Yoko arrived first around 11 a.m. alongside George, followed shortly by Ringo. Paul, hindered by public transport, didn’t join the group until 12:30 p.m.

Before Paul’s arrival, the others engaged in light jamming, touching on early versions of “Don’t Let Me Down” and songs like “All Things Must Pass” and “Let It Down,” which George would later make famous as a solo artist. Once the quartet was complete, the atmosphere turned into a mix of disciplined focus and loose improvisation. They spent the bulk of the day refining three core tracks: “Don’t Let Me Down,” “I’ve Got A Feeling,” and “Two Of Us.” These rehearsals were interspersed with a sprawling array of covers by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Bob Dylan, as well as various original fragments. By the time they packed up, it was evident that those three central songs would form the backbone of the project in the weeks ahead.

The Day 1 Playlist The session was prolific, featuring numerous takes of core songs alongside spontaneous covers:‘Don’t Let Me Down’ (15 versions)

‘All Things Must Pass’ (two versions)

‘Dig A Pony’

‘Let It Down’ (Harrison; two versions)

‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’ (Chuck Berry)

‘Johnny B Goode’ (Chuck Berry)

‘A Case Of The Blues’ (John Lennon)

‘Child Of Nature’ (John Lennon)

‘Revolution’

‘I Shall Be Released’ (Bob Dylan)

‘Sun King’ (five versions)

‘Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues’ (Buddy Holly)

‘Speak To Me’ (Jackie Lomax)

‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ (20 versions)

‘Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)’ (Bob Dylan)

‘Well… Alright’ (Buddy Holly)

‘Two Of Us’ (nine versions)

Untitled (John Lennon)

Jam 1

Jam 2

Untitled (Paul McCartney)