Constables John, Paul, George, and Ringo Reporting For Duty

Needing to sneak into a packed venue for a 1963 concert, the Beatles got in with a little help from their friends: the Birmingham City Police.

From the West Midlands Police Flickr account, posted on January 11, 2010:

“On the day that John Lennon would have been 72 years-old, our photo of the day shows him and the rest of the Beatles with Birmingham Police officers.

The picture was taken outside the Birmingham Hippodrome in 1963 when the Beatles were smuggled into the venue in the back of a police van.

PC Kerim Blakeman, father of serving Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman (@kerryblakeman on Twitter) who provided the picture, is stood behind Paul McCartney.”

We’ll assume this wasn’t the inspiration for “Piggies” or “I Am the Walrus.”