Even Stevens Season 3 Episode 5

"Band on the Roof" is an allusion to a Beatles song and their bandmate Paul McCartney also rerecorded it. The song is called 'Band on the Run'.

Louis: What's livin' if you never pull your shorts down and slide on the ice, Ren?

Louis claims to have heard this quote from his uncle, but it actually originated on the classic TV comedy series M*A*S*H (1972-83). On that show, the recurring character Dr. Sidney Freenman (played by Allan Arbus), an army pyschatrist, once said, "Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice."

Tawny: So did U2!

In March 1987, U2 had just released their album The Joshua Tree which would top the U.S. charts for nine weeks and they were rapidly becoming the world's hottest rock band. On the 27th of that month, the group went to downtown Los Angeles to shoot a video for their song "Where the Streets Have No Name" on the rooftop of a store. When radio stations broadcast the news of the video shoot, thousands and thousands of people rushed to the scene, causing the police to shut down the production. But before they could do that, the band started into the song and performed it for the cameras and for the waiting crowd below. The video of this event, which features footage of a stern police official telling the crew that there would be no filming that day, helped to contribute to U2's image as a "people's" band and the song became the third hit single from the album.

Twitty: You know what dude, that's not a bad idea, 'cause the Beatles did a free concert on the roof once!

On January 30, 1969, the Beatles were beginning to fall apart as a group, but they were working on a film project about the making of a new album. On that day they took some equipment up to the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters building at 3 Savile Row in London and with Billy Preston assisting them on keyboards, they played a brief set of five songs, one of them twice. This was the last time the group ever played live together and it was the first time they'd played live since the end of their last American tour in San Francisco on August 29, 1966. Their audience consisted of startled passers-by on the street below. A neighboring bank called the police to complain about the noise, and the impromptu concert was shut down after 42 minutes. The event was filmed and put into the movie Let It Be. It was released in May 1970, as was the Beatles album of the same name.