Beatles Abbey Road images go under the hammer

A collection of rare photographs taken during the photoshoot for the Beatles Abbey Road album cover are to go up for auction.

The set of six snaps, including the pictures used on the front and back cover, along with four rare outtakes, will go under the hammer at Bloomsbury Auctions on November 21.

Head of photography at Bloomsbury Auctions Sarah Wheeler says: “They are incredibly rare. I’ve spoken to other music dealers and no one has been able to find a complete set on the market for 10 years.”

They were taken by Iain Macmillan, a friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, on August 8 1969. Paul McCartney chose shot number five to be the album cover.

The set has an auction estimate of between £50,000 - £70,000.

Earlier this year it was revealed that Westminster City Council bosses were considering assigning security staff to the famous street due to tourist visits. The crossing became a Grade II listed building in 2010 after English Heritage ruled its cultural importance meant it should be protected.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.