NEW YORK, NY.- The online auction platform Paddle8 has assembled one of the largest and most diverse collections of music photographs to ever be offered in a single sale. Spanning over five decades and over 120 images, Backstage Pass: Music Photography includes works from dozens of renowned music photographers. The auction will run on www.paddle8.com through September 29, and is highlighted by the inclusion of a rare Beatles portfolio of ten stunning images taken by photojournalist Rowland Scherman at the group’s first American concert in February 1964.

Dean Harmeyer, Head of Music & Entertainment, explains: “Paddle8 is thrilled to offer music fans and photo collectors the opportunity to own some of the finest images ever taken of popular music performers. The very large selection of diverse photographs in this sale reinforce the visual excitement of music and how it touches our lives.”

As Beatles fans around the world celebrate the release of the new Ron Howard film Eight Days A Week, the online sale Backstage Pass: Music Photography is spearheaded by the rare Beatles Portfolio which shows the legendary band at one of the most important concerts of their career in 1964 – just 48 hours after the group had ignited Beatlemania with their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The ten photos were taken by Rowland Scherman (b.1937), a photographer for noted magazines such as LIFE, TIME, and Newsweek in the 1960s. The images capture the intense energy of the Beatles and their fans with historic perfection, as seen in the wide grins on the Beatles’ faces in their moment of triumph in America, the joyful hysteria of the audience which surrounds them, and the stark, brightly-lit stage littered with jelly beans. Most of the ten photos have never been published. “My sister had been sending me Beatles records from England for months before most people in the US had heard of them, and I knew they were going to be a very big deal,” Rowland Scherman tells Dean Harmeyer, “when it was announced that their first American concert would be in Washington DC, where I lived, I had to be there to capture it on film.”

The sale also features a wide selection of rare performance photos, candid shots, and album artwork. In addition to photos of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and more from the 1960s, other images range from Alfred Wertheimer’s classic shots of Elvis on the brink of stardom in the 1950s, to Roberta Bayley training her lens on the early punk scene of 1970s New York. Robert Whitman contributes wonderful shots of a 17-year-old Prince during his first professional photo shoot in Minneapolis, with Lynn Goldsmith capturing the Beastie Boys hanging out in the 1980s. Images of NWA, Notorious BIG, and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana are representative of the 90s, while dynamic performers such as Amy Winehouse, Daft Punk and many others bring in the visual excitement of music from the 21st century.

In total, Backstage Pass: Music Photography includes over 120 lots and will run from September 13 through September 29 on www.paddle8.com. All photographs in the sale are offered with an immediate Buy Now option, with prices ranging from $500 to $10,000.