The Beatles by Robert Whitaker Exhibition

Text by Peter de Jong / The Swollenaer 

The Beatles will be central in the Herman Brood Museum on the Blijmarkt in Zwolle from Friday, June 11. Now that the government has decided to convert the declining corona figures into early opening of the museums, museum man Ivo de Lange has come up with a great scoop: a unique photo collection of the 1964-1966 world tour of the English quartet.

De Lange will most likely get few hours of sleep this week. Reason: setting up his Brood museum on the top floor with more than eighty photos of the Beatles' world tour 1964-1966. A tour captured on camera by John, Paul, George and Ringo's staff photographer. He tells Rondje Swolle in an exclusive conversation how De Lange came across these photos. “I was a good friend of Robert Whitaker, the Beatles' staff photographer. A friendship that lasted more than twenty years. This mutual bond has enabled me to purchase a special collection of his photos. That collection also includes the Beatles world tour 1964-1966. Whitaker signed them all for me. I also have exclusive photo work by Salvador Dali, with whom he lived for two years.”

Fifth Beatle

Whitaker, who died in 2011, was once called the fifth Beatle because of his impressive photography work as a staff photographer. Brian Epstein, the manager of perhaps the greatest world band of all time, was so impressed by Whitaker's photo work in Melbourne (1964) that he immediately offered him a job. De Lange: “his photos from that world tour provide a nice insight into the lives of the popular foursome. But Epstein was also photographed by Whitaker in a special way. 

Antics

And Whitaker managed to tempt the musicians, behind the scenes, to make the strangest antics. For example, there are photos of the Beatles attacking each other with Styrofoam. Fun and certainly unique.”

More info: www.beatlesphotocollection.com