At 11.35 a.m. on August 8, 1969, the Fab Four were photographed walking in a line on the crossing near their recording studios in Abbey Road, North London. The photo was used on the cover of the Abbey Road album, propelling the hitherto humble black-and white crossing to superstar status in the until-then unglamorous world of pedestrian safety.

The picture prompted bizarre rumours that Paul McCartney was dead – some Sixties/hippie nonsense to do with him being barefoot and out of step with the others. Ever since the album came out Beatles fans from around the world have come together at the site to walk across the road in the manner of their idols.

The urge to do this is so strong that even McCartney (now Sir Paul) was photographed on the crossing 49 years after the photo shoot. Looking very much alive at 76, he crossed the road as he made his way to perform for a star-studded audience at the studios, though this time he wore sandals.

When I was there tourists and music fans were snapping each other as they used the crossing, perhaps imagining they were their favourite Beatle – that was a thing, way back then. It was all very good-natured and fun, though I daresay people living nearby, not to mention drivers forced to stop, get a bit fed up with it all.

If the crossing is the most famous in the world – it was given Grade II listed status in 2010 – then Abbey Road Studios probably qualify as the most celebrated recording facility. They opened in 1931, and long before the Beatles came along music greats such as Sir Edward Elgar, Yehudi Menuhin, Igor Stravinsky and Glenn Miller recorded there. Besides the Beatles, who made most of their records at Abbey Road, the many other pop and rock legends that used the studios include Pink Floyd, Adele, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Oasis and Ed Sheeran.

Meanwhile, the success of the Abbey Road album endures after half a century. In January, Nielsen Music reported that it was the US’s biggest-selling vinyl album of the 2010s, having shifted more than 558,000 copies following the release of an elaborate 50th anniversary box set in September. The album, the last one the Beatles recorded, includes classics such as Something, Come Together and Oh! Darling. A new Here Comes the Sun video was released to mark the anniversary.

Sir Paul maintains his links with the studios – in addition to that invitation-only concert attended by the likes of Kylie Minogue, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp, he put the finishing touches to his most recent album, Egypt Station, there.

The front wall and gateposts of the complex are covered with graffiti scrawled by fans. The studios are not normally open to the public – it’s very much a busy working building – though a rare exception was made in August 2018 when a number of lectures about their history were held in Studio Two – the one used by the Beatles and many other music legends.

Studio One – described on the Abbey Road website as the world’s largest purpose-built  recording studio – can accommodate a full symphony orchestra and was used to record film soundtracks including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars and Harry Potter films, the James Bond movie Skyfall, and Gravity.

There’s a gift shop selling memorabilia such as vinyl, T-shirts, a copy of Beatles producer Sir George Martin’s orchestral score for Yesterday, shot glasses and a Yellow Submarine edition of Monopoly.

A few streets away from the studios is Sir Paul’s London home, 17 Cavendish Avenue, a three-storey Regency townhouse he bought for £40,000 in 1965 that is now worth millions. A high wall and gate prevent prying eyes from seeing much. I noticed a few paint marks on the wall – I expect any graffiti daubed here is swiftly removed to avoid drawing attention to the house and its famous resident.

Verdict: A not-to-be-missed place of pilgrimage for Beatles fans.

Updated March 2020