A rare photograph showing The Beatles walking ‘backwards’ across Abbey Road is set to fetch up to £9,000 at auction.
The snap, taken by late photographer Iain Macmillan, shows the band walking right to left across the zebra crossing outside the London studio where they made their 1969 album – the opposite direction to the picture which made it onto the sleeve.
There are other notable differences, including the fact Paul McCartney is wearing sandals rather than walking with bare feet. The cigarette he’s holding on the album version is also missing.
The print is among a set of 25 being sold by a private collector. Sarah Wheeler of Bloomsbury Auctions in London explained the shot was composed in ten minutes while Macmillan was up a ladder.
She told The Guardian: “The photo has been called an icon of the 1960s. I think the reason it became so popular is its simplicity. It’s a very simple, stylised shot and is a shot people can relate to.”
The photo is going under the hammer on May 22.
Beatles artefacts regularly fetch big prices at auctions – last year a document showing how the Fab Four refused to play to segregated crowds was sold for $23,000 (£14,407).