The Photography

Now These Days Are Gone

Ringo: 'Every day when there's a break in filming you get a chance to see rushes of the scenes they shot the day before.' Paul: 'And that's hilarious because you get to see all the bits of the film where somebody mucked things up by laughing and forgetting their lines.'

Michael Peto's photos capture The Beatles on the set of Help! at Twickenham Studios on Salisbury Plain, enjoying dinner at their Salisbury hotel, relaxing over tea and biscuits with their Help! co-stars, in the recording studio, and facing press the day their MBEs were announced to the world.

The Author

Now These Days Are Gone

Acclaimed photographer Colin Jones writes the book's Foreword. Michael Peto met Colin when the latter was a dancer with the Royal Ballet. He showed Colin's photos to The Observer's picture editor, and soon Colin's career on Fleet Street was underway. He gives us an insight into Michael Peto in his Foreword:

'He would tell me such things as, 'Do not look at photography for inspiration, If you get stuck, cool off in art gallery.' 'Take pictures with your brain, not your eyes.' 'A good photograph is the one you can walk around like a piece of sculpture.' I now realise, many years later, that he was using photography as art. Michael was never interested in the competitive side of photography, winning awards or joining prestigious agencies: he absolutely hated all that.

'The Beatles photographs were never used. Michael had obviously spent quite a bit of time with the band, but as subject matter it certainly wasn't his forte. He got great portraits though because he was always very polite, very gentle and he would flatter people. He also knew when to leave, which is a skill many photographers don't have. I know that he would be surprised to see this book of his Beatles photographs. Let's hope that one day the world will see some of his greatest photographs that meant so much to him.'