divide up any future albums with four songs apiece and — in a clear attack on McCartney — that they stop putting sub-standard tracks on LP's for the sake of popularity.

Then astonishing everyone, he suggested they do a Christmas record for the fans.

Rebuffed with silence, it is now clear Lennon left the meeting deeply disturbed about what he should do next.

A last-minute bombshell from Lennon

Always impetuous, he held his fire until September 20.

Then, just six days before Abbey Road's release date, he dropped a bombshell — he wanted out. The Beatles were over.

Incredibly, the four agreed it must remain a secret. There were too many business deals yet to be finalised.

Oblivious to all the drama, the fans devoured the record as it hit the shops.

Sales for Abbey Roadwere bigger than any previous Beatles album. It was just what Apple Corps needed.

It would take another six months for the split to be made public.

In the wake of the break-up, fans would finally hear the fruits of the fractured Let it Be sessions, but in truth, Abbey Road would be the Beatles' final artistic statement.

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It's a record with many charms, but the words of the final song recorded by the band, The End, hold a special poignancy: "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make".

It was a sentiment that seemed to sum up both the band and the decade it had soundtracked so exquisitely — with all its turmoil, triumphs, heartaches and contradictions.

The dream, however, was over.