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At 11:35 a.m. on August 8, 1969, this picture was taken:
Hat tip, Wikipedia
Thu Aug 8, 2019: 11:35 AM, August 8, 1969
Iain Macmillan
Born: Iain Stewart Macmillan; 20 October 1938; Carnoustie, Scotland
Died: 8 May 2006 (aged 67); Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Iain Stewart Macmillan (20 October 1938 – 8 May 2006) was the Scottish photographer famous for taking the cover photograph for The Beatles' album Abbey Road in 1969. He grew up in Scotland, then moved to London to become a professional photographer. He used a photo of Yoko Ono in a book that he published in 1966, and Ono invited him to photograph her exhibit at Indica Gallery. She introduced him to John Lennon, and Lennon invited him to photograph the cover for Abbey Road. He worked with Lennon and Ono for several years, even staying for a while at their home in New York.
{snip}
1966–1971
Lennon met Ono at the Indica Gallery on 9 November 1966, and she later introduced him to Macmillan. In 1969, Lennon invited him to photograph the Abbey Road cover. The Beatles recorded most of their music at the EMI Studios on Abbey Road, St John's Wood, London, and they decided to name their last album after the road. Later EMI changed the name of the studio to the Abbey Road Studios.
Paul McCartney gave Macmillan a sketch a couple days before the shoot showing where and what the picture should look like. Macmillan added his own sketch in the top corner to confirm the layout. On 8 August 1969, around 11:30 am, Macmillan climbed up a stepladder about 10 feet in the air in the middle of Abbey Road and took six pictures of the Beatles crossing the street. A policeman was hired to control traffic. The Beatles usually came to the studio around 2–3 pm, so the earlier hour was chosen to avoid fans.
First Photo: John leads the group from left to right followed by Ringo, Paul, and George. They kept this order throughout all the photos. There is a Mercedes pulling out of the studio behind them. John is looking away from the camera and Paul and George are in mid step. Paul is wearing sandals.
Second Photo: They walk back in the same order. Good spacing but only John has a full step.
Third Photo: Left to right again, full steps this time but they are all too far left. There is now a traffic backup. There are a taxi, two vans, and a double-decker bus waiting to come forward. Paul is now barefoot.
Fourth Photo: Walking right to left, Paul, Ringo, and George all in mid-step. The traffic has gone through but the bus has stopped to watch.
Fifth Photo: This photo was used for the cover of the album and is the only photo where we see Paul smoking and the only one with their legs in perfect formation. The three men on the left above Paul's head are Alan Flanagan, Steve Millwood, and Derek Seagrove. They were interior decorators returning from a lunch break. On the right side between John and Ringo's head is Paul Cole, an American tourist.
Sixth Photo: Ringo is slightly too far behind John. The bus has turned around to leave.
After the shoot, Macmillan went to find a road sign for use on the back cover. It was taken on the corner with Alexandra Road. During photographing the sign, a girl in a blue dress walked through the shot. Iain was angry but later it was chosen as the back cover. The wall with the sign was demolished several years later.
{snip}
Born: Iain Stewart Macmillan; 20 October 1938; Carnoustie, Scotland
Died: 8 May 2006 (aged 67); Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Iain Stewart Macmillan (20 October 1938 – 8 May 2006) was the Scottish photographer famous for taking the cover photograph for The Beatles' album Abbey Road in 1969. He grew up in Scotland, then moved to London to become a professional photographer. He used a photo of Yoko Ono in a book that he published in 1966, and Ono invited him to photograph her exhibit at Indica Gallery. She introduced him to John Lennon, and Lennon invited him to photograph the cover for Abbey Road. He worked with Lennon and Ono for several years, even staying for a while at their home in New York.
{snip}
1966–1971
Lennon met Ono at the Indica Gallery on 9 November 1966, and she later introduced him to Macmillan. In 1969, Lennon invited him to photograph the Abbey Road cover. The Beatles recorded most of their music at the EMI Studios on Abbey Road, St John's Wood, London, and they decided to name their last album after the road. Later EMI changed the name of the studio to the Abbey Road Studios.
Paul McCartney gave Macmillan a sketch a couple days before the shoot showing where and what the picture should look like. Macmillan added his own sketch in the top corner to confirm the layout. On 8 August 1969, around 11:30 am, Macmillan climbed up a stepladder about 10 feet in the air in the middle of Abbey Road and took six pictures of the Beatles crossing the street. A policeman was hired to control traffic. The Beatles usually came to the studio around 2–3 pm, so the earlier hour was chosen to avoid fans.
First Photo: John leads the group from left to right followed by Ringo, Paul, and George. They kept this order throughout all the photos. There is a Mercedes pulling out of the studio behind them. John is looking away from the camera and Paul and George are in mid step. Paul is wearing sandals.
Second Photo: They walk back in the same order. Good spacing but only John has a full step.
Third Photo: Left to right again, full steps this time but they are all too far left. There is now a traffic backup. There are a taxi, two vans, and a double-decker bus waiting to come forward. Paul is now barefoot.
Fourth Photo: Walking right to left, Paul, Ringo, and George all in mid-step. The traffic has gone through but the bus has stopped to watch.
Fifth Photo: This photo was used for the cover of the album and is the only photo where we see Paul smoking and the only one with their legs in perfect formation. The three men on the left above Paul's head are Alan Flanagan, Steve Millwood, and Derek Seagrove. They were interior decorators returning from a lunch break. On the right side between John and Ringo's head is Paul Cole, an American tourist.
Sixth Photo: Ringo is slightly too far behind John. The bus has turned around to leave.
After the shoot, Macmillan went to find a road sign for use on the back cover. It was taken on the corner with Alexandra Road. During photographing the sign, a girl in a blue dress walked through the shot. Iain was angry but later it was chosen as the back cover. The wall with the sign was demolished several years later.
{snip}
24 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
here are the "beat alls" a group of powerpuff villians .......
Infamous, that is. It was my 75th birthday.
Everybody is leading with their left foot, Paul is leading with his right.
Shame Sgt Carter wasn't there that day, that would have never happened.
Or so we’ve been led to believe.
Great story I hadn’t seen before. Thanks.
Great story I hadn’t seen before. Thanks.
Thu Aug 8, 2019: Happy 50th anniversary, this picture:
Abbey Road
Abbey Road
....
Album cover
The cover was designed by Apple Records creative director Kosh. It is the only original UK Beatles album sleeve to show neither the artist name nor the album title on its front cover, which was Kosh's idea, despite EMI claiming the record would not sell without this information. He later explained that "we didn't need to write the band's name on the cover ... They were the most famous band in the world".
Imagery
The front cover design was a photograph of the group on a zebra crossing based on ideas that McCartney sketched and taken on 8 August 1969 outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road. At 11:35 that morning, photographer Iain Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take the photo while he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up traffic behind the camera. Macmillan took six photographs, which McCartney examined with a magnifying glass before deciding which would be used on the album sleeve.
In the image selected by McCartney, the group walk across the street in single file from left to right, with Lennon leading, followed by Starr, McCartney, and Harrison. McCartney is barefoot and out of step with the others. Apart from Harrison, the group are wearing suits designed by Tommy Nutter. A white Volkswagen Beetle is to the left of the picture, parked next to the zebra crossing, which belonged to one of the people living in the block of flats across from the recording studio. After the album was released, the number plate (LMW 281F) was stolen repeatedly from the car. In 1986, the car was sold at auction for £2,530 and in 2001 was on display in a museum in Germany. In 2004, news sources published a claim made by retired American salesman Paul Cole that he was the man standing on the pavement to the right of the picture. On the original cover, McCartney holds a cigarette; in 2003, several US poster companies airbrushed the cigarette out of the image without permission from Apple or McCartney.
Shortly after the album's release, the cover became part of the "Paul is dead" theory that was spreading across college campuses in the United States. According to followers of the rumour, the cover depicted the Beatles walking out of a cemetery in a funeral procession. The procession was led by Lennon dressed in white as a religious figure; Starr was dressed in black as the undertaker; McCartney, out of step with the others, was a barefoot corpse; and Harrison dressed in denim was the gravedigger. The left-handed McCartney is holding a cigarette in his right hand, indicating that he is an imposter, and the number plate on the Volkswagen parked on the street is 28IF, meaning that McCartney would have been 28 if he had lived — despite the fact that he was only 27 at the time of the photo and subsequent release of the record. The escalation of the "Paul is dead" rumour became the subject of intense analysis on mainstream radio and contributed to Abbey Road's commercial success in the US. Lennon was interviewed in London by New York's WMCA, and he ridiculed the rumour but conceded that it was invaluable publicity for the album.
Abbey Road
....
Album cover
The cover was designed by Apple Records creative director Kosh. It is the only original UK Beatles album sleeve to show neither the artist name nor the album title on its front cover, which was Kosh's idea, despite EMI claiming the record would not sell without this information. He later explained that "we didn't need to write the band's name on the cover ... They were the most famous band in the world".
Imagery
The front cover design was a photograph of the group on a zebra crossing based on ideas that McCartney sketched and taken on 8 August 1969 outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road. At 11:35 that morning, photographer Iain Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take the photo while he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up traffic behind the camera. Macmillan took six photographs, which McCartney examined with a magnifying glass before deciding which would be used on the album sleeve.
In the image selected by McCartney, the group walk across the street in single file from left to right, with Lennon leading, followed by Starr, McCartney, and Harrison. McCartney is barefoot and out of step with the others. Apart from Harrison, the group are wearing suits designed by Tommy Nutter. A white Volkswagen Beetle is to the left of the picture, parked next to the zebra crossing, which belonged to one of the people living in the block of flats across from the recording studio. After the album was released, the number plate (LMW 281F) was stolen repeatedly from the car. In 1986, the car was sold at auction for £2,530 and in 2001 was on display in a museum in Germany. In 2004, news sources published a claim made by retired American salesman Paul Cole that he was the man standing on the pavement to the right of the picture. On the original cover, McCartney holds a cigarette; in 2003, several US poster companies airbrushed the cigarette out of the image without permission from Apple or McCartney.
Shortly after the album's release, the cover became part of the "Paul is dead" theory that was spreading across college campuses in the United States. According to followers of the rumour, the cover depicted the Beatles walking out of a cemetery in a funeral procession. The procession was led by Lennon dressed in white as a religious figure; Starr was dressed in black as the undertaker; McCartney, out of step with the others, was a barefoot corpse; and Harrison dressed in denim was the gravedigger. The left-handed McCartney is holding a cigarette in his right hand, indicating that he is an imposter, and the number plate on the Volkswagen parked on the street is 28IF, meaning that McCartney would have been 28 if he had lived — despite the fact that he was only 27 at the time of the photo and subsequent release of the record. The escalation of the "Paul is dead" rumour became the subject of intense analysis on mainstream radio and contributed to Abbey Road's commercial success in the US. Lennon was interviewed in London by New York's WMCA, and he ridiculed the rumour but conceded that it was invaluable publicity for the album.
During photo shoot for “Abbey Road” album cover, 50 years today, photograph by Linda McCartney: Via @PaulMcCartney
Link to tweet
