Beatles’ Abbey Road shoot negatives found after 42 years – and they could sell for £50,000
Beatles’ Abbey Road shoot negatives found after 42 years – and they could sell for £50,000
ORIGINAL negatives from the Beatles’ famous Abbey Road photoshoot have been discovered after 42 years.
The four snaps had been locked in a drawer since being given to a close pal of Iain Macmillan, the photographer hired to take the pictures in 1969.
Following his recent death, the friend’s family found them in the drawer — and are now selling them at auction where they could fetch around £50,000.
The negatives, which were rejected as the picture to grace the Abbey Road album cover, show John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr walking both ways over the zebra crossing on the North London street.
Two show Paul wearing flip flops. In the one chosen, he is barefoot.
They also show a black London taxi and a red double-decker Routemaster in the background approaching the crossing.
Darren Julien, of the US auction house selling the images, said: “I guess that most people would have assumed that these negatives had been lost to the world as they hadn’t been seen for more than 40 years.
“His family knew he had them but he never wanted to get rid of them while he was alive.
“They are now being sold by his daughter as part of his estate.
“We are expecting a great deal of interest in these as Abbey Road has become one of the most historic moments in not just the Beatles’ history but also rock and roll history.”
The Abbey Road shoot was staged on August 8, 1969, while the Beatles were putting the finishing touches to the album at the nearby EMI studios.
Paul McCartney came up with the idea for the picture and gave Macmillan a sketch of how he wanted it to look.
The photographer, who was recommended to the band by Yoko Ono, stood on a step ladder for the shoot that took just ten minutes.
The shoot featured John Lennon dressed in a white suit leading the band over the zebra crossing next to Abbey Road.
The location has become something of a mecca for Beatles fans, and thousands of tourists have their photograph taken there every year.
In 2010 the crossing was given Grade II listed status so it can be preserved for the future.
The colour negatives that measure 3in by 2.5in are being sold at auction in Los Angeles on December 1.
Earlier this year, a single first edition print of one of the photos that were rejected for the album cover sold at auction in London for 20,000 pounds.
