• Beatles get scrambled in 'Abbey Road' cover made of breakfast food

    By Courtney Garcia, NBC News
    The classic cover of The Beatles’ album “Abbey Road” received a tasty makeover in this new, edible rendition created completely out of breakfast foods.

    Paul Baker/Frank PR

    The Beatles stroll across Abbey Road in a version of the famed album cover created with breakfast foods.


    Food sculptor Paul Baker was commissioned by the Beefeater Grill UK restaurant chain to recreate the iconic photo with cuisine from the eatery’s menu. The resulting art is made with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, croissants, crumpets, hash browns, toast, fresh and dried fruit, and, of course, cereal. 

    “To celebrate our breakfast menu, we wanted to do something to mark an amazing year for Great Britain," spokesman Sam Vaughan said. "And what is more British than The Beatles crossing Abbey Road? After a 'Hard Day’s Night,' a hearty breakfast is the best way to start the day and we hope that the variety we offer at Beefeater Grill will keep our customers coming back for more!”

    In addition to promoting the restaurant, the appetizing canvas also serves to honor the 50th anniversary of the first time The Beatles recorded at Abbey Road Studios.

    According to UK newspaper The Sun, it took a total of four days and three assistants for Baker to put the piece together, and he paid such close attention to detail that he even took into consideration Paul McCartney’s strict vegetarian diet.

    “It was a challenge to find the best way to create Paul McCartney – we wanted to stick to his vegetarian preferences,” Baker said. “After trying out a few different things, we decided mushrooms were the best way to go.”

    From the looks of things, the rest of the guys were built with heartier proteins: John Lennon out of eggs, Ringo Starr with bacon and George Harrison with sausages.

    The artwork, dubbed “Let it Bean,” is not the first food-concocted painting Baker’s made. His other works of art include Prince William and Kate Middleton kissing on the Buckingham Palace balcony; Winston Churchill holding up the peace sign; and the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

    Slideshow: Quirks of art: Creators who work in madcap media

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  • Photo up for auction shows Beatles going 'wrong way' on Abbey Road

    The shot, which features the Beatles walking the wrong way, is expected to fetch thousands at auction. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By Kurt Schlosser, NBC News

    When the Beatles had to "Get Back" across Abbey Road, who knew that they were being photographed going in the opposite direction from that shown on their 1969 album cover?

    Capitol Records

    The actual album cover for the Beatles' "Abbey Road."

    A rare image now headed for auction is one of just six taken during a 10-minute photoshoot of the Fab Four outside Abbey Road studios in St. John's Wood, northwest London. The photo is expected to fetch up to $14,000 when it's offered on May 22.

    In the original image, John Lennon (in his white suit) leads the group from left to right in a crosswalk. A Volkswagen Beetle sits in the background. Ringo Starr follows Lennon. Behind him is a barefoot Paul McCartney and George Harrison brings up the rear. (Want to read more than you ever cared to about why McCartney being barefoot and out of step with the others is actually a clue to his covered-up 1966 death? Do an Internet search of “Paul is dead.”)

    In the image up for sale, Lennon leads his bandmates from right to left. Aside from posture and spacing differences, the biggest treat for hardcore fans is that McCartney is seen wearing sandals on his feet.

    According to The Guardian website, a police officer held up traffic as the late photographer Iain Macmillan shot the band from a ladder in the street. The Guardian quotes Sarah Wheeler of Bloomsbury Auctions in London: "The photo has been called an icon of the 1960s. I think the reason it became so popular is its simplicity. It's a very simple, stylised shot and is a shot people can relate to."


    On The Sun website, Wheeler says Macmillan "was the chosen photographer for the shot because he was friends with Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney drew a sketch of what he wanted the front cover of 'Abbey Road' to look like."

    The photo up for auction is one of 25 chromogenic prints made at the time and is being offered by a private music memorabilia collector.

    News of the photo comes just a day after Rolling Stone reported that Ringo Starr, who often took candid photos of the band, says he doesn't know the location of his numerous unreleased photographs.

    Do you own a great piece of rock 'n' roll memorabilia? Tell us about it on Facebook.

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