The Beatles From Us To You
July 30, 1968: Beatles London Boutique Closes
In late 1967, The Beatles and Apple Corp, Ltd. opened one of its first non-musical ventures: a retail store “where beautiful people can buy beautiful things,” as Paul McCartney put it. The shop at 94 Baker St. had a four-story mural designed by a Dutch art collective "The Fool", who also created some clothing and accessories. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="297"] The exterior of the Apple boutique, run by the Beatles' Apple Corps, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, London, on the day of its launch, 5th December 1967. The facades of the building have recently been decorated with a psychedelic mural designed by Dutch art collective, The Fool. (Photo by E. Milsom/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)[/caption] It was coined a "boutique" which John Lennon insisted should not be used, and opened on December 7, 1967 with Lennon, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce of Cream, The Who’s Keith Moon, A Hard Day’s Night and Help! director Richard Lester, and singer Cilla Black. It immediately became a disastrous investment due to shoplifting and employee theft. The mural was painted without the permission by the city council, and eventually was painted over in May, 1968. As its losses continued to pile up, the store was closed after a seven months and its remaining inventory was given away free to the public on its final day. Here's a news clip of the grand opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfTKRf-LxUM