[AdamJoshua]

Beatles lore portrays the London Metropolitan Police as the prototypical blue meanies who forcibly halted one of the greatest musical moments of the 1960s. To a certain extent, this is true. But the bobbies actually cut the band some slack — and did them a serious solid.

The West End Central Police Station is located at 27 Savile Row — mere feet from Apple headquarters. The authorities obviously must have heard the loud rock music wafting down the street. Windows rattled, floors shook, and horns blared from the resulting traffic jams. If they wanted to, the police could have walked over and shut things down before the first song was over. Instead, they let the concert continue for 42 minutes. It was only when the noise complaints began to flood in from stuffy local businesses that they felt compelled to act.

Even then, they gave the Beatles and Co. ample warning to get rid of certain illicit substances that might have been on the scene. "Before the raid, someone called from the Savile Row police station saying, 'You've got 10 minutes.'" recalled one Apple employee. "So we knew they were coming and everyone was ready for it. ... When the police raided the building, there was a whole chorus of toilets being flushed." Crisis averted.