On the morning of Thursday, September 12, 1963, noted fashion photographer Norman Parkinson was to photograph a young pop group from Liverpool. Earlier that year, the band had exploded onto the scene – releasing the first of eleven (out of twelve) studio albums that would reach number one on the charts. That band was The Beatles. The album had been ‘Please Please Me’, it was still number one and it would stay at number one for thirty weeks. Parkinson, already established as Britain’s most famous photographer, had a date with its new greatest band.
Revealing, insightful and funny this collection of photos captures The Beatles near the start of their spectacular career. Their creativity is plain to see in these photos which have become some of the most important in the extensive Beatles catalogue.
Now, ACC Editions, in collaboration with The Norman Parkinson Archive and Iconic Images, presents this historic meeting between a new music group and one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. Covering nearly 30 rolls of film, these images of The Beatles at the President Hotel in Bloomsbury and famed Abbey Road Studios, offer a rare insight of the making of an iconic band.