There’s an old adage that says, “The star that burns twice as bright burns half as long”, and while it’s absolutely true in an astrophysical sense, there’s an element of reality to the statement when referring to the careers of famous musical acts. Given the insane level of fame and success that The Beatles had virtually from the start of their career, they always held the potential to implode just as quickly as they rose to stardom, and the idiom would not bode well for the band’s hopes of lasting in the long run.

That being said, over a period of just seven years, they had the most remarkable career, which saw them release 12 studio albums and reach number one in the US and UK charts, a combined total of 32 times. Very few complaints could be had by the band for their achievements in such a short space of time, and while they all managed to keep their legacies intact by embarking on illustrious solo careers after the band split in 1970, the Beatles are still regarded as being one of the greatest musical phenomena to have ever walked the earth.

Fans of the band, whether they were around to witness their rise in the ‘60s or if they learnt about them in the years following, can hardly complain about the incredible volume of work that the Beatles left behind either. While the group may have all been at odds with one another by the end of their existence and feeling disenchanted by the pressure associated with being the biggest group in the world, they would still acknowledge their own importance and the significance they held to their fans.

Despite not being the last album they released as a band, with Let It Be being their swan song in 1970, 1969’s Abbey Road was the final album the foursome recorded together, and its sprawling mixture of songs in varying styles felt like a far more appropriate send-off for the band to have had given how it merged the disparate directions each member was going in.