The Mad Day Out - St Pancras Gardens Fountain - Pancras Road, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 32.122 W 000° 07.834
30U E 699002 N 5713265
On the 28th July, 1968 The Beatles took a group of cameramen to several locations around London that became known as 'The Mad Day Out'. This fountain was at location five - St Pancras Gardens.
Waymark Code: WMFBT4
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/25/2012
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member Web-ling
Views: 4

The Beatle's Bible website [visit link] tells us:

"In the early summer of 1968, Paul McCartney telephoned esteemed war photographer Don McCullin to ask him to spend a day photographing The Beatles. The group was in need of new publicity images, and wanted to get away from the recording studio temporarily.

The chosen day was 28 July 1968. The Beatles and McCullin were joined by five others with cameras - Ronald Fitzgibbon, Stephen Goldblatt, Tom Murray, Tony Bramwell and Mal Evans - plus Yoko Ono, McCartney's girlfriend Francie Schwartz, and Gary Evans, Mal's six-year-old son.

There were seven key locations around London in what became known as the Mad Day Out."

The same website [visit link] also tells us about location 5:

"After striking numerous poses on a traffic island in Old Street, north London, The Beatles travelled to St Pancras Old Church and Gardens near Regent's Park, where some of the best-known photographs of the Mad Day Out were taken.

Firstly, photographer Don McCullin snapped the group as they stood on a small grass knoll to the left of the entrance steps and gates. A nearby flower bed was arranged in a circular array saying "1869 to 1968 NDFS".

The second location was a bench to the north of the knoll, just south of the central monument marked on the map below. Mal Evans' son Gary sat on the bench next to John Lennon and Ringo Starr, while Paul McCartney and George Harrison stood behind.

A little further along the path, south east of the monument, was a drinking fountain. The Beatles were photographed here spitting water at the camera lenses.

The fourth location was next to the mausoleum of architect Sir John Soane (1753–1837), which was situated at the eastern part of the gardens. They sat on the grass by the tomb, next to a sign stating: "Please keep off the grass".

North of Sir John's grave was St Pancras Coroner's Court, where they accompanied an elderly man reading a newspaper on a bench. Harrison and Starr sat next to him, and Lennon and McCartney stood behind, but the man appeared oblivious to The Beatles and the photographers capturing the moment.

Location six in the gardens was in a flowerbed north of the monument, situated against the perimeter railings. The Beatles stood with St Pancras Hospital in the background, and were largely camouflaged by the towering hollyhocks.

They then walked to a bench immediately to the north of the monument, directly opposite the bench in location two.

The eighth location was in the church's imposing arched doorway, where formal portrait shots were taken. While this took place, a crowd of people stood and stared from behind the railings which separated the church from the gardens. Photographer Don McCullin directed The Beatles to mingle with the crowd, resulting in an image which was used in 1973 for the gatefold sleeve of the 1962-1966 (Red Album) and 1967-1970 (Blue Album) compilations."

A photo of The Beatles at the fountain can be seen here.

Location:
St Pancras Gardens


Type of location: Beatles history

Connection to The Beatles:
The Mad Day Out publicity shoot in 1968.


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