A selection of previously unseen photographs of the Beatles, featuring pictures taken during their stay in the Oratava Valley in Tenerife, is currently on display in Liverpool. Astrid Kirchherr, the former girlfriend of the original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe, began to take pictures of the band when she first met them in Hamburg in 1960. The exhibition is entitled "Astrid Kirchherr: A Retrospective" and is on display until the 10th of January 2011 at the Victoria Gallery and Museum.
Featuring in the 70-photograph exhibition are images of the Beatles' holiday in the Canary Islands. In the spring of 1963, Paul, George and Ringo spent 12 days in the north of Tenerife, whereas John decided to go to mainland Spain with Brian Epstein. The group came to Tenerife in search of relaxation after recording their first album; Please, Please Me. The Beatles visited several tourist attractions in Tenerife, such as Teide, La Oratava and they even went to a bull fight in Santa Cruz, of which Paul McCartney was a big fan.
In the exhibition, photographs can be seen of Paul, George and Ringo sunbathing by Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz, where they got extremely sunburnt. Paul asked the British owner of Lago Martiánez, David Gilbert, if he would give his consent for the group to perform there, however David refused, saying that a bunch of long-haired youngsters should not be seen at an exclusive venue like his lido. In the years to follow, David greatly regretted his decision to forbid the boys from performing. Two days after being on the island, the Beatles went straight to number one in the UK charts.
