Everest (cigarette) Mount Everest for the album cover. The group, however, did not want to undertake the long trip and travel to Mount Everest for the photo shoot. Paul McCartney drew a sketch with four little stick men crossing the zebra crossing on Abbey Road. The group liked the idea and McCartney suggested they just go outside, take the photo there and name the album after the street. On 8 August 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan took the iconic album cover photograph of the group walking on the zebra crossing outside the studio. In 2009, contraband cigarettes worth 3.1 million US Dollars were
Abbey Road Studios February 2010, EMI stated it planned to keep the studio and was looking for an investor to help finance a "revitalization" project. Meanwhile, the British government declared Abbey Road Studios a Grade II listed building which protected it from major alteration. The following December, the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road was listed on the National Heritage List. Paul McCartney, speaking to BBC "Newsnight" on 16 February 2010, said there had been efforts to save Abbey Road by "a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time," although he did not name them or include himself