The Beatles perform in Japan for the first time at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in June 1966. Photo: IC

Classic Beatles album Abbey Road is back at No.1 in Britain half a century after its first release, with the band breaking their own record for the longest gap between stints at the top of the charts.

The band's final studio album with its instantly recognizable zebra-crossing cover came out in September 1969, six days after John Lennon told his bandmates he was leaving the group.

It was the UK's best-selling album for 17 weeks, and on Friday a special 50th-anniversary edition featuring unheard material took the top spot once again.

"It's hard to believe that Abbey Road still holds up after all these years. But then again it's a bloody cool album," tweeted band member Paul McCartney.

With 49 years and 252 days since its last reign, the album has had the longest gap between UK No.1 - a record previously held by the Fab Four's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Two years ago a 50th-anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper, which Rolling Stone magazine has named the greatest album of all time, topped the charts again after 49 years and 125 days.

The album, which features songs including "Come Together" and "Here Comes the Sun," was also the week's best-selling vinyl, shifting around 9,000 physical copies.