Rock Stars and Rooftop Gigs: From the Beatles to Bon Jovi

Provided you have a head for heights, a rooftop is a great place to work. We’ve worked on rooftops all over East Anglia and love the different perspective you get on the world. When we’re up on a roof, we quietly get on with our work – but rock stars love being the centre of attention. Here are a few of the most famous rooftop gigs.

The Beatles, Apple Studios

The final gig the Beatles ever played was on the rooftop of the Apple Studios in Savile Row, London. Take a look at this footage of the concert as the Metropolitan Police arrive to tell them to keep the noise down.

Jefferson Airplane, The Schuyler Hotel

The Beatles may be the most famous rooftop concert, but they didn’t invent the idea. Sixties alt-rockers Jefferson Starship were filmed by Jean-Luc Godard playing on the roof of the Schuyler Hotel in Manhattan one month before and may have been the inspiration behind the Fab Four’s gig.

Kasabian, Skylight West

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, Kasabian played on the roof of a New York skyscraper known as Skylight West. The NYPD showed up to tell them to turn it down. The organiser of the concert turned the music up, prompting a second visit from a very unamused police officer.

Bon Jovi, The O2 Arena

Bon Jovi was the first act to play live on the roof of the 02 Arena in London. In June 2010, they took up a month long residency at the building formerly known as the Millennium Dome and kicked it off with a medley of their hits performed from the roof.

Guerrilla gigging is the fashionable new term for gigs put on in unusual or illegally accessed places. Rooftops are particularly popular places for guerrilla gigs because of their rock and roll pedigree and because they make it harder for the police to come and shut the gig down.  

If you are planning on hosting a rooftop gig, then make sure that your roof can support the weight of the band, the instruments and the crowd. We can install you a roof terrace that will allow any wannabe rock stars in your family to shout it from the rooftops. Call us on 01603 418818.

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