Fans during the Beatles’ 1963 UK Autumn Tour. Scan from “It Was Thirty Years Ago Today” by Terence Spencer.
Paul at Australia House, London, 22 April 1964. Photo by Terence Spencer. Scan from “It Was Thirty Years Ago Today” by Terence Spencer.
A Beatles Christmas Show at the Finsbury Park Astoria, December 1963. Photo by Terence Spencer. Scan from “The British Invasion: The Music, the Times, the Era” by Barry Miles
The Beatles receive gold and silver records at EMI House in honour of their record sales, 18 November 1963. Photo by Terence Spencer.
Terence Spencer: ”Here’s John on his own backstage in Coventry. I caught him totally off guard by calling out his name. If you look closely you can see he’s got a camera around his neck. You can see the strap over his shoulder. To stop some of the boredom they all got cameras like my Nikon 35mm and I taught them how to photograph properly. They couldn’t go out and buy the cameras themselves, of course, they couldn’t step foot outside. But they got their road manager to buy them and soon they all became avid picture-takers. They’d snap anything - each other, friends, myself. And because I’d leave my cameras lying around they would often pick them up and have a go on them too.”
Terence Spencer: “John and Ringo are checking out the front stage area before their series of Christmas shows at the Astoria in London. I was crouched down on the side of the stage to get the shot. John is wearing sunglasses even though we’re inside and it’s quite dark. The shows ran from Christmas Eve to January 11. They were spectacular. Girls were screaming - they were actually having orgasms and the medics had to be on standby because some girls would lose consciousness with all the excitement. I’d never seen anything like it!”
Paul at the front door of the George V Hotel in Paris, January 1964. Photo by Terence Spencer. How come I never noticed that man behind the door before?
