From The Beatles to machetes and firebombings – the unhappy demise of Abbey Road

Abbey Road will ceaselessly be synonymous with The Beatles and their iconic album cowl depicting them crossing the North London avenue on a zebra crossing.

John, Paul, George and Ringo are maybe essentially the most celebrated artists in a protracted line of family names to file within the well-known studios.

Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Oasis, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, and Adele, to call however a number of, have all produced much-loved albums there, nevertheless it was the ‘Fab Four’ who made Abbey Road a mecca for music followers.

In current months, nonetheless, the London landmark has grow to be a dwelling “nightmare” for close by residents as males armed with “shotguns”, “knives” and “molotov cocktails” descended on the sought-after avenue.

Trouble first started when a brand new restaurant opened on the nook of Abbey Road and Belgrave Gardens, lower than a 10-minute stroll from the place The Beatles recorded their eleventh studio album, named after the street itself.

Monak, self-described as a pan-Asian “chic eatery” and cocktail bar, was owned by and attracted “horrible people” in line with one resident of Belgrave Gardens who didn’t need to be named.

The resident, who had lived on the plush west London avenue for 5 years mentioned the locals have been repeatedly disturbed by “people screaming” outdoors the restaurant, which she branded “the tackiest place”, in addition to folks on “drugs” or by individuals who had an excessive amount of to drink.

She instructed Express.co.uk there could be “awful” disturbances “practically every night” till the early hours. 

She added: “Friday and Saturday was really bad, like till two in the morning there’d be people screaming. 

“I mean we would be scared to walk down our own road because we felt unsafe.”

Criticising the earlier occupiers of the prime hospitality location, the girl famous that when Monak opened the difficulty emanating from the positioning worsened.

She mentioned: “It went from bad to intolerable”.

However, the delinquent behaviour of the clientele turned out to be the least of the residents’ considerations.

In May 2022, locals have been terrified after somebody fired a shotgun on the restaurant late at evening.

An aged Belgrave Gardens resident, Doreen, who mentioned she had lived on the street for 50 years instructed this web site: “We all heard the shots.”

She additionally slammed the “terrible crowd” the nightspot attracted.

James, who mentioned he lived on the identical avenue as Doreen however had just for “a year and a bit”, claimed the venue was the “scourge of the community.”

According to native news outlet the Ham and High, the Metropolitan Police discovered “shotgun pellets” on the ground subsequent to the broken entrance door. Both Doreen and James additionally believed the weapon concerned was a shotgun.

However, that was not the tip of the ordeal for locals as in April this yr males entered the restaurant, threatening clients and workers with knives and firebombing the premises.

James, whose lodging overlooks the restaurant, mentioned that the lads, who reportedly have been wielding machetes, entered the venue and “started screaming at the customers”. 

In a terrifying twist, one of many males “started pouring all the gasoline around and lit it up” whereas there have been nonetheless “a couple” of shoppers nonetheless within the constructing who began “scrambling out”.

In response to the incidents, the Met utilized to Westminster City Council to evaluation Monak’s licence and greater than 200 residents and enterprise house owners signed a petition to demand it loses it altogether.

All three residents this web site spoke to, in addition to plenty of the encompassing companies, had signed the petition.

The proprietor of Bruno’s Deli, which faces Monak, described the place merely as “disgusting”.

Monak is now “temporarily closed”. The first resident who didn’t wished to be named hopes it doesn’t re-emerge.

She mentioned: “It’s a nightmare, I hope they never reopen.”