Abbey Road outtake photograph sells for £16,000

A photograph showing The Beatles walking back to Abbey Road has sold for £16,000 ($25,000) at auction.

The photograph by Iain Macmillan was taken on 8 August 1969, as one of six shots taken for the Abbey Road album artwork.

Macmillan was given just 10 minutes to photograph The Beatles as they walked across the famous zebra crossing. For four of the six photographs McCartney walked barefoot; for the other two he wore sandals.

Picture two from the Abbey Road photography session

The outtake was expected to sell for £9,000, but fetched nearly double at Bloomsbury Auctions.

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.

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.

Sarah Wheeler
Bloomsbury Auctions

See the complete set of photographs from the Abbey Road cover shoot.

Last updated: 22 September 2021
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