Description
In the late 1950s, Liverpool photographer Bill Connell moved his recently-opened Peter Kaye Studio into a three-story, double-fronted shop at 174 Park Road in the Dingle area of town. With Brian Dawe as his assistant and Les Chadwick as his main photographer, Connell (“Peter Kaye”) began to make a name for himself around the city doing family portraiture, wedding photography, commercial photography and theatrical sittings. When Bill Harry first launched his Mersey Beat newspaper in 1961, he contacted Les Chadwick at Peter Kaye because he was a close friend of Les’ from the Liverpool Art College and was impressed with the photos he’d taken for the college news sheet. Harry’s call came with a proposal. In exchange for photo credits, ads in Mersey Beat and a plea to local bands to use the services of Peter Kaye Studios, Chadwick and Connell would take photos commissioned by Mersey Beat. The deal was done. In late September of 1962 – just a month after drummer Ringo Starr officially joined The Beatles – Brian Epstein hired the Peter Kaye Studio to take photos of The Beatles, requesting that Connell “provide photographs that would match the unique Beatles sound”. What resulted were the first publicity photos taken of the band with its new drummer Ringo Starr. In late September 1962, during a one-day outdoor Liverpool shoot, Les Chadwick took some of the most indelible early shots of the new Beatles lineup. adorned in their sharp new suit and tie look. Among the photos taken were those shot at The Bally (a local dumping ground) on the dock road as well as several shot on Liverpool’s Albert Docks, using the cityscape as a backdrop.
The session produced several different Beatles promotion photographs and two different promotional photocards, including this one offered here, which depicts the band standing in a nice smiling pose on the Albert Docks with the Liver Building in the background. All four have autographed the back of this extremely rare card beautifully, with John Lennon and George Harrison signing in blue ballpoint pen, while Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have used a green ballpoint pen to sign. The signatures date from late 1962, and these are all magnificent examples of each from the period. The autographs are bold, complete and among the last signed before their signatures began their slow evolution from a noticeably crude look to the more familiar fluent style that would develop over time in 1963.
The card, which measures 5 1/2″ x 4″, in in excellent condition, having been well kept over the years. This is an exceedingly scarce signed promo card, which is infinitely rarer than the Parlophone promo cards. In fact we have not had one of these early Peter Kaye cards in over 20 years, that’s how rare they are. The original owner of this particular card received it in January of 1963, upon joining The Official Beatles Fan Club, and included is a signed note from her. This is a fantastic example of an early Beatles autograph set on the back of a great pre-fame image of the group in their hometown Liverpool….SOLD