A batch of previously unseen photos of legendary pop combo The Beatles will be unveiled for the first time ever at an exhibition in Norwich.
The city’s St Giles’ Street Gallery has secured a world scoop by obtaining never-seen-before images of the most famous band ever recording their most famous album nearly 40 years ago.
Taken at London’s Abbey Road Studios in 1967, the photos include the Fab Four relaxing during the recording of the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band LP and eating lunch with producer George Martin.
They were taken by Sunday Times photographer Frank Herrmann hours before the band posed for the cover of Sgt Pepper, and were previously thought to have been lost.
But thanks to modern technology, the shots, which show the group happily drinking tea, chatting and taking a break from recording, have been restored from the original contact sheets.
The gallery will exhibit the 24 original black and white prints from June 1 to September 1, as well as a selection of Mr Herrmann’s photos which were used in the limited-edition Summer of Love book.
Photographer David Koppel, who founded the gallery and whose friendship with Mr Herrmann helped secure the exhibition, said: “The photos are really amazing and there’s been a huge amount of interest in them already. My favourite is the one where George (Harrison) is pouring a cup of tea, which shows all the four Beatles and George Martin.”
The images of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and George Martin were taken when Mr Herrmann visited Abbey Road studios on March 30.
Twelve of those images were made into original artwork for the Summer of Love book, but the rest remain unseen.
Books and prints will be available for sale for the duration of the exhibition.
The gallery was founded after exhibiting successfully in its former incarnation, Frames of Norwich. The building was formerly the St Giles Post Office which closed in 2004 as part of a cull of branches across Norfolk.
The gallery is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 6pm, admission free.
For more information, go to www.sgsgallery.com