Beatles’ backwards Abbey Road snap set to fetch £10k at auction
The picture was one of just six taken during a hurried 10-minute photoshoot for the Fab Four’s Abbey Road album in 1969.
The one used for the cover has become one of the most famous images in pop and shows the group crossing from left to right.
But the photo that has now emerged has them walking from right to left - and with Paul McCartney wearing leather flipflops.
On the actual album cover he was barefoot.
A white VW Beetle car parked half on the kerb and half on the road remained in the background for all six photos.
The 18in by 18in picture is one of 25 prints made from the original frame and has been owned by a private music memorabilia collector.
He has now decided to sell the print, and London-based Bloomsbury auctions have put a conservative estimate of £10,000 on it.
Sarah Wheeler, a music specialist from Bloomsbury, said: “Iain Macmillan was the chosen photographer for the shot because he was friends with Yoko Ono.
“Paul McCartney drew a sketch of what he wanted the front cover of Abbey Road to look like.
“Macmillan had 10 minutes to do the shoot and he took six photographs of the Beatles walking backwards and forwards across the zebra crossing.
“He was standing up a ladder to take the pictures. In the one we have Paul McCartney is wearing sandals and in the image that was finally used he is barefoot.
“The photo has been called an icon of the 1960s. I think the reason it became so popular is its simplicity. It’s a very simple, stylised shot and is a shot people can relate to.
“The Beatles walked forwards and backwards three times and by pure chance a VW Beetle is in the background. That car is now in a museum.
“Although there were 25 chromogenic prints of frame two made at the time, it is still very rare for one to come on the market.”
The image has been signed by Macmillan, who died in 2006. It has also been editioned three of 25 in silver pen in the margin.
The Abbey Road photos show John Lennon in a white suit leading Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison over the zebra crossing next to the North London recording studios.
The spot in St John’s Wood has become a mecca for Beatles fans and the crossing was given Grade II listed status in 2010 to preserve it for the future.
The auction will take place on May 22.
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