11spring 2012

Reprinted from Archive Zones, Spring 2012 Issue No. 81 © FOCAL International

The Beatles Book Magazine…Now a unique photo archive

Almost 50 years ago, a young publisher Sean O’Mahony launched The Beatles Book Magazine – the only fanzine officially authorized by John, Paul, George and Ringo and still the most famous and widely read fan magazine ever published. A mixture of exclusive photos, interviews and articles, it chronicled every step of the group’s remarkable career. Now Sean and his daughter have created an online photo archive The Beatles Book Photo Library, showcasing this extraordinary historical collection, much of which has never been seen before. Sean’s daughter and library manager, Jo Adams, gives us an insight into how it all began…

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Shooting Help, Austria 1965

It was late 1962 and my father had just started his first music magazine, Beat Monthly in which he ran a series of features on a new group called The Beatles. Convinced they were set to be the ‘Next BigThing’, he was keen to start a magazine exclusively about them. This was a time before lawyers and agents…my father picked up the phone, called their manager Brian Epstein and suggested the idea. Epstein consulted with the band, and in May 1963, my father had his first meeting with the Fab Four. He recalls some early scepticism, Paul said ‘how on earth are you going to fill it?, but the band agreed and signed the deal that would change his life forever.

Built into the deal was unique access (in the early days the group were happy to be photographed anywhere doing

anything!) and Beatles Book photographers followed them everywhere – from dressing rooms to tour buses, film sets to the recording studio – and even (and most exclusively) visited them at home. And alongside the photos, ran interviews and articles about the band.

Some of my father’s early memories include the first ever Beatles Book shoot in Margate in the summer of 1963 (Rock and Roll!) where they were topping the bill at the Winter Gardens, their first appearances on Ready Steady Go!, their first US tour, and on location filming A Hard Day’s Night.

The first Beatles Book Magazine appeared in August 1963 with a print run of 110,000. Sales rose to a peak of 330,000 between

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in the magazine for more information. And if I need more details, there’s always my father, who has a wealth of knowledge and some extraordinary stories about his days with the Beatles.

We’ve uploaded about a quarter of the collection so far, but it should give users a flavour of the variety of the images. Once complete, the library will be a photo diary of The Beatles’ career. What started as a simple pop fanzine has now become an important historical archive recording key moments of one of the most exciting and enduring pop phenomena ever.

Jo Adams joadams1@btinternet.com

1964 and 1967 as Beatlemania reached its height, but even in the later years, rarely dipped below a quarter of a million. It was undoubtedly the biggest-selling fanzine of the decade with a global readership.

Fans were kept right up to date as their idols performed on numerous television shows, embarked on their first world tour, filmed Help on the Austrian ski slopes and of course recorded some of their most seminal albums, most notably Sergeant Pepper in 1967.

The final issueThen, by the 77th issue in December 1969, my father (who as the Editor went by the pseudonym Johnny Dean) decided to call it a day. He’s

quite candid about his reasons: “By this stage the Beatles were impossible to contact individually, never together in any one place and generally reluctant to be photographed”. They had in fact only performed live once together since August 1966 – the famous set on top of the Apple Corps Building in Savile Row in Jan ’69. They split the following year.

Over the next few years however, my father received thousands of requests from around the world for back issues that did not exist. So, in 1976, he decided to republish the entire 77 issues on a monthly basis, each wrapped within eight pages of new Beatles pictures and information. The magazine instantly achieved a circulation of 30,000. When re-issues came to an end, demand was still so great that he continued with a mixture of photos, news of ongoing Beatle activity, and new insights. The magazine finally folded in 2003, nearly 40 years after it began, testament to the enduring appeal of four lads from Liverpool who revolutionised pop music as we know it.

With the 50th anniversary of the magazine fast approaching, my father (now retired) decided it was time to create an official photo archive and together we have created the Beatles Book Photo Library.

Scanning and uploading all the images has been a long but fascinating process. All photographs are grouped into sessions and it’s a simple matter to cross reference to the articles

To view this unique online library of Beatles images – which once completed will be one of the largest in the world, visit www.beatlesbookphotolibrary.com

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Swimming in hotel pool, Margate, 1963

Paul with Dusty Springfield backstage at ABC studios, Teddington, 1964

George with E-type Jaguar, 1964

John poolside at his Weybridge mansion, 1967

Reprinted from Archive Zones, Spring 2012 Issue No. 81 © FOCAL International