Police officer who pulled the plug on the Beatles' last concert regrets nothing

Ray Dagg was just 19 when he became the police officer who forced the Beatles to end their last live performance ever. Now, more than 50 years later, he’s finally opening up about the moment in music history in his first TV interview.

London Metropolitan PC Ray Dagg was 19 at the time. To his colleagues he was known as Police Constable 574C but to the legions of fans who have now watched the docuseries on Disney+, he’s the London cop who pulled the plug on the last live gig of one of the greatest bands in history.

Apple Records staff later told Dagg there was only one way filmmaker Peter Jackson would know if they had the right guy: there had to be a gap in his front teeth.

Indeed, when he smiles, there it is. And these days, at age 72, it’s hard not to smile. In his first TV interview since the docuseries was released, Dagg told CTV News about the hundreds of messages he’s received from all corners of the world, including Canada. Most people who’ve written have praised his composure and patience when dealing with staff who he says were clearly trying to kill time while the Beatles recorded as many songs as they could on the rooftop. Then there are the five per cent who write to Dagg and who ultimately get blocked. “I hope karma visits you, you bastard, stopping a genius band like that,” one person wrote.

Dagg had been on the job for six months, mostly waving traffic, when he walked into the police station that day. “The sergeant said to me: ‘Before you go anywhere on your beat go and shut that noise down because it’s not just the noise, it’s the people in the street, thousands,’” recalls Dagg. He says fans had also gathered on neighbouring rooftops to get a glimpse of the Beatles and it was dangerous.