The Photographer

The man behind these incredible pictures of The Beatles is Paul Berriff, highly acclaimed cinematographer and professional photographer. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, his humble beginnings as a local press photographer provided him with the first step towards a meteoric rise within his profession. At the age of 21, he became the youngest ever cameraman for BBC Television News; his tenacity and ambitious nature soon leading him into filming documentaries for the BBC Current Affairs Unit.

His experience and high level of professionalism led him on to pioneer the ‘fly on the wall’ reality style documentary, a format now widely adopted within the television industry by companies such as Discovery, HBO, BBC, ITV and Channel 4. With a vast range of television and film credits to his name, he has received international critical acclaim and recognition as one of the UK’s leading film documentary makers.

Paul has an inherent passion for images, be it still photography or moving pictures. He has spent time working alongside some of the most high profile and recognised names in music and adventure, including; The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Searchers, The Hollies, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Marianne Faithfull, Ranulph Fiennes and Chris Bonington – he was working with Sir Francis Chichester when he broke the Transatlantic circumnavigation world record. He also spent a year filming Prince Charles, during what His Royal Highness has called ‘the best year of his life’.

The variety and excellence of his work has resulted in 17 industry awards, including a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Factual Programme and a BAFTA nomination for Best Factual Photography.

We are truly delighted to now be able to share what is perhaps his most exciting work; a collection of previously unseen and unpublished photos of the biggest selling band in music history: The Beatles. Taken by this eminent photographer at the outset of his career, these iconic images were taken both backstage and onstage during their 1963/64 UK tour – a great privilege which he is now ready to share with you.