Paul Berriff made headlines for an incredible discovery back in 2010.
The now 71-year-old documentary filmmaker, who started his career as a press photographer, had stored away his decades-old negatives in boxes in his attic. Paul was only 16 years old when he began to work as a photographer for the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Eight years ago, the photographer was rummaging through the hundreds of negatives in his attic when he discovered incredible, black-and-white still photographs of the Beatles. The pictures had been taken during the early days of the group's rise to fame during the "British Invasion" of America, while they were still touring in Yorkshire.
Unbelievably, Paul struck "gold" twice and has found more rare and never-before-seen photos of other 1960s artists, including Roy Orbison, Marianne Faithfull, the Hollies, the Searchers, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd.
Photos: Paul Berriff OBE via SWNS
[H/T: Daily Mail]
Paul is a BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaker.
But at the beginning of his career in the 1960s, he was a press photographer with the Yorkshire Evening Post in Leeds.
The photographer — who was awarded an Order of the British Empire (or OBE) during Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday honors — made headlines back in 2010, after discovering 38 never-before-seen photos of the Beatles while going through a box of negatives in his attic.
The incredible photos, a few of which can be seen below, were taken during the Beatles' early-career tour in Yorkshire when they were first becoming an international sensation. The photographer was only a teenager when he captured the images.
According to the Daily Mail, the above two photos were taken during the first public performance of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at the ABC Theater in Huddersfield, Liverpool, on November 29, 1963.
The above photo of Paul McCartney smoking a cigarette was taken before a concert at the Odeon Theater in Leeds on October 22, 1964.
Incredibly, years after uncovering his rare, early photos of the Beatles, Paul found even more old negatives tucked away in his attic.
The photographer discovered around 30 cellophane-wrapped negatives of some of the most famous musicians from the '60s, in a box of 800 total negatives.
"I couldn't believe it — it was the second time 'round," he said. "I do remember who I photographed and can remember because, as a teenager, this was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was just beginning in the media myself, as a junior press photographer, and I used the pop groups as a way to practice my skills."
Paul found rare shots like the one above, of the Dave Clark Five in Doncaster in 1964.
Paul also uncovered photos of singer Marianne Faithfull.
The "As Tears Go By" singer was one of the biggest female artists during the "British Invasion" that also introduced the Beatles to the United States.
The photo of American singer-songwriter Roy Orbison above was taken right before he performed in Yorkshire.
"I found the Beatles' pictures' negatives — that became quite a sensation at the time, but then a couple of years later, I went through the negatives again, and I was astonished to find that I had these ones," said Paul, who also had tucked away several images of Jimi Hendrix before his early death at age 27.
"After the Beatles' discovery — that was quite impressive enough, and I concentrated on marketing those and publicizing that," he continued. "It hadn't occurred to me to go through other things."
"I think I found the Beatles' negatives and drew a line under that, but I probably had a cursory look at other pictures, which were not pop-group stuff."
Paul also took photos of Pink Floyd recording their single "Scarecrow" at Abbey Road Studios in 1967.
Among Paul's recovered photos were several shots of the Rolling Stones in the 1960s.
In the photo above, Keith Richards plays his guitar in the Gaumont Theater in Doncaster in 1964.
The photos will go on sale for the first time at Cheffins auction house on January 25, 2018. Several of the pictures have been printed in limited edition runs of only 100.
"Some of these pictures have never been seen by the public before, and none of them have been offered for sale at auction," Cheffins director Martin Millard told SWNS.
"We hope that the cache of such limited prints, offered on the open market, will draw global interest from both music enthusiasts and those interested in 20th century photography."
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