Rare Beatles Shea Stadium Photos Sell for Nearly $47,000 at Auction
- Rare set of photographs from the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium concert sold at auction for £30,680, taken by amateur photographer Marc Weinstein with a fake press pass.
A rare set of photographs taken atthe Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium have just sold at auction for £30,680 (around $46,700).
The BBC reports that the pictures were snapped by an amateur photographer named Marc Weinstein, who used a fake press pass to get backstage at the Beatles' biggest show. The historic New York concert drew more 55,000 fans, but there was only one other photographer present – and he ran out of film.
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In a 2009 interview , Weinstein described how he bluffed his way backstage:
"(I) had my press pass that was a phony press pass I made up," he said. "When I walked in there and I walked up to the first police officer I saw and . . . I said (puts on English accent), 'Excuse me, sir, I'm with the Beatles entourage and I got separated from the group. Can you help me to the stage, please?' And he looked at me and he said, 'Sure, follow me.' And I was stunned. (Laughs.) He ate the whole thing. He started, 'Hey, guys, move out of the way. This guy is with the group. I'm taking him out there.' And I just followed him."
The set of 61 black-and-white photos were put up for sale by Omega Auctions on Friday, the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles' first album, Please Please Me . They fetched far more than the pre-sale estimate of £15,000-£20,000. According to the auctioneer, the photographs were purchased by "a South American gentleman currently living in Washington [who] is a huge collector of Beatles memorabilia."
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