Beatles' 'Backwards' Abbey Road Photo Fetches Thousands at Auction

A photograph of the Beatles walking "backwards" across the Abbey Road pedestrian crosswalk has just sold for £16,000 (about $25,000 U.S.) at auction.

The photo shown above was not used for the band's Abbey Road album cover and was therefore unseen by many until now. Only six shots of the rockers were taken on that sunny London day in 1969 when the late Iain Macmillan was given 10 minutes to photograph the band. Aside from the direction the Beatles are walking, the most notable difference is that Paul McCartney is waering sandles instead of going barefoot, like he did in the picture chosen for the cover.

Poppy Walker from Bloomsbury Auctions tells Spinner that after a frenzied bidding session this afternoon, an unnamed winner claimed the photo for £7,000 above asking price.

"Macmillan had 10 minutes to do the shoot and he took six photographs of the Beatles walking backwards and forwards across the zebra crossing. He was standing up a ladder to take the pictures," Bloomsbury's Sarah Wheeler tells The Guardian.

"The photo has been called an icon of the 1960s. I think the reason it became so popular is its simplicity. It's a very simple, stylised shot and is a shot people can relate to."