The Beatles

When Beatlemania exploded, Whitaker was along for the wild ride. He was backstage, he was in the studio, he went to the boys’ homes, he became their friend. Robert Whitaker fashioned many of the iconic Beatles images, and all his pictures of the band were taken in the period that Beatles fans most like to remember: when they were fab, when they changed our culture.

It was with The Beatles and especially John Lennon, with whom he became close friends, that Bob created his most famous and enduring work. One of his first outings was photographing The Beatles during their triumphant second American tour, including the historic Shea Stadium concert in New York. He spent the next two years traveling with the Beatles and shooting them at work, at rest and at play, on their tours, at home, in the recording studio, during private moments, and in formal photo-sessions.

Bob photographed The Beatles on many occasions including:

* The Southern Cross Hotel. Melbourne, Australia. June 1964.
* Gretna Green. 19th October 1964.
* Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland. 20th October 1964.
* The Four Seasons Hotel Perthshire on the banks of Loch Earn., Scotland. 21st October 1964
* EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London. 4th November 1964
* Studio in Farrigdon, London, Late 1964.
* Another Beatles Christmas show, Hammersmith Odeon, December 1964.

* Hullabaloo, 2nd February 1965.
* Making of Help! In studio and at Cliveden House April/May 1965.
* Twickenham Film Studios. 30th April 1965.
* John Lennon at Home, Weybridge, Surrey, UK. May 1965
* Shea Stadium, New York, USA. 15th August 1965
* Ed Sullivan Show
* Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada. 17th August 1965
* Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, USA. 19th August 1965.
* Comiskey Park, Chicago, 20th August 1965.
* Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota, USA. 21st August 1965
* Zak Starkey born, Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, Hammersmith, London. 13th September 1965.
* John Lennon, RAVE magazine. October 1965.
* Marquee Studios, London. October 1965.
* The Music of Lennon & McCartney. Granada TV Studios, Manchester. 1st November 1965
* West Hampstead Studios in London’s Sherriff Road. November 1965.
* Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London. 20th November 1965
* Twickenham Film Studios. 23rd November 1965.
* Hammersmith Odeon, London. 10th December 1965.

* Studio at 1 The Vale, Chelsea, London. 25th March 1966.
* During filming of Paperback writer and Rain. May 1966.
* Top of The Pops. 16th June 1966
* Germany, June 1966
* Anchorage, USA. 27th June 1966
* Tokyo, Japan. 29th June – 3rd July.
* Hong Kong. 3rd July 1966.
* Manila, Philippines. 4th July 1966.

Below is a small selection of images. For more of The Beatles images by Robert Whitaker please visit Getty Images.