5 days until the start of the Get Back sessions
The momentum for the Beatles was real with just four days left in 1968, with the music papers announcing more and more year-end superlatives in issues dated December 28.
Melody Maker’s chart poll landed the Beatles on top for the year based on a points system, propelled by the singles “Hello Goodbye,” “Lady Madonna” and “Hey Jude” and the Magical Mystery Tour EP. NME splashed photos from the Mercury Theater portion of the Mad Day Out photo session as the “Best 1968 pics from Camera Press.”
In the US, Billboard said the Beatles’ double LP earned gold album status from the Recording Industry Association of America – their 13th such honor – after one week of sales for the record.
Billboard also reported Apple was on track to build a half-million dollar studio in Beverly Hills in tandem with production company Campbell, Silver, Cosby Corp (the Cosby was comedian Bill), the parent company of Tetragrammaton Records. Roy Silver, CSC’s president, was slated to meet with Apple Records exec Ron Kass in January 1969 to finalize the deal, which was first broached as the companies worked out their deal for Tetragrammaton to distribute Two Virgins in North America.
Ground will be broken in March on the $3 million CSC entertainment complex which will take about 14 months to complete. …
CSC will build and operate the recording studio, with the Beatles and other Apple acts utilizing the facilities as a West Coast base.
By 1971, Tetragrammaton had filed for bankruptcy and the Beatles were no more.
This was the season for 1969 predictions, too, like these from Don Short in the December 28, 1968, Daily Mirror. In a column headlined “New Year Circular,” Short predicted John Lennon and Yoko Ono would marry in May while Paul McCartney and Jane Asher would reconcile in October.
December brought a much darker prophecy: The Beatles would split up.
They May Be Parted 
