Reverse Culture Shock

I’m glad that Abbey Road studios will be intact for tourists, now that the building they’re in got *listed* status. That will protect the Beatles’ old studios from drastic changes at the hands of a new owner.

Nearly nine years ago, I lived on Abbey Road for six months, in a tiny studio with a futon. I saw a constant flow of tourists writing their names on the wall of the studio, and standing in the crosswalk, posing for photos while recreating the Beatles’ album cover pose.

And even though Abbey Road is a long and busy street, I never saw a car or a taxi honk at the people posing in the street, even though the tourists invariably delayed traffic.

So I’m not surprised that the Culture Minister made it harder for the studios to fall into the clutches of a real estate developer wanting to change them, or even Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was said to be interested in buying the complex.

The studios are more valuable to London just as they are.