The Beatles’ Abbey Road album unused cover shot have sold for £180,000 ($283,400) by Bloomsbury Auctions in London.
The shots were taken on August 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillan, a close friend of John Lennon. Six photos were taken in all, and were rejected by Sir Paul McCartney before he selected the winning picture, were sold to a foreign buyer at an auction in London on Friday (21Nov14).
Sarah Wheeler, of Bloomsbury Auctions, says, “Iain MacMillan was hired to shoot the album art but he only had 10 minutes. People are still going to Abbey Road to recreate his photo. The out-takes are incredibly rare. This is the first time they’ve been sold as a set.”
Also sold was the photo that became the back cover of the album – a road sign with a blurred person in the foreground.
