The 1969 album intended as The Beatles "last hurrah" is not only regarded by many as their most tightly constructed, but is also the LP which finalised the group's status as the most iconic UK rock band of the 1960s.
Titled Abbey Road after the legendary London recording studio in which The Beatles recorded it and most of their classic works, the album became yet another in the Fab Four's canon whose artwork is as famous as the music etched into its vinyl.
Like The Beatles' landmark 1967 psychedelic opus Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - whose sleeve inspired one of the biggest music memorabilia sales of all time the hand painted Sgt Pepper's drum skin brought $1.1m in 2008 - Abbey Road has also made its legacy felt at auction.
This happened on January 1, when the suit worn by Lennon on Abbey Road's iconic zebra crossing cover was auctioned by Braswell Galleries in Connecticut, US. In the end, Lennon's suit sold for $46,000 (£29,697).
 A street paved with memories: The Beatles on Abbey Road in 1969 |
In fact, so perennial is the influence of The Beatles on London's Abbey Road that the British government has designated its zebra crossing as "a site of national importance." In other words, the crossing is now protected and cannot be removed or altered without a government review.
How does a rock band go about producing an album as iconic as the Abbey Road LP? Well, you can see for yourself in our Video of the Week (above): a mini-documentary on the making of The Beatles last-ever album proper.
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