Rarely seen Beatles photos now available in new book
Most Beatles fans know that the Beatles perfected their craft in Hamburg in 1960, where they met Astrid Kirchherr, a budding photographer who became close friends with the band, eventually becoming engaged to their original bassist, Stu Sutcliffe. Astrid took the first iconic and best known photographs of the Beatles during those years in Hamburg.
Beatles fans may not know, however, that some four years later, Astrid, accompanied by photojournalist Max Schele, visited John, Paul, George, and Ringo in London during the making of A Hard Day's Night. The rarely seen photographs taken that period are now available in a new book, Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time.
In the the years between Hamburg and the period of the photos included in this new book, the Beatles had conquered the world. By this time the Beatles were shut-off from the outside world and closely guarded from the mainstream media, but Astrid's close friendship allowed for unrivaled access and led to a unique collection of photographs which focus on the Beatles in private as well as public moments. The images present rare, unguarded moments that give us a unique opportunity to see The Beatles as they really were, not as they were presented to us by the media and by their promoters.
Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time documents also documents the Liverpool of 1964, and the music scene of Liverpool energized by the success of the Beatles, capturing the rhythm and texture of the seaport city where the strains of pop music history were transformed by the Mersey Beat and the greatest band of all time.
In these photos, Ringo fans will enjoy the unusual sight of the Beatles' drummer playing the guitar in the Mayfair flat he shared with George Harrison. Many candid shots of the Beatles on the set of A Hard Day's Night are included. Pattie Boyd (the future Mrs. George Harrison) and Maureen Cox (the future Mrs. Ringo Starr) are very present in many photos. There are also photos of Ringo with his parents, and George with his family. Always content to stay quietly in the background, a shot of Brian Epstein with A Hard Day's Night producer Walter Shenson is a particularly rare opportunity for Beatles fans to see the workings of the group behind-the-scenes.
A photograph of Frank Hessy's music shop in Liverpool vividly conveys the fever created by the Beatles' success, as a throng of John Lennon and Paul McCartney wannabes crowds into the shop to buy guitars. Revealing, poignant, and at times downright funny, the photographs in Yesterday document not only a pivotal chapter in the mythic story of the Beatles, but also a defining era in their hometown of Liverpool.
A wonderful idea for a holiday gift for your favorite Beatles fan, Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time offers a rare glance of the Beatles, as seen through an insider's eyes. This intimate look at the Beatles during the heyday of Beatlemania, by a photographer who is herself part of their legend, documents an important chapter of their mythic story.
More information:
• Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time
Published November 19, 2007
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