The Eleventh Sign of the Zodiac

Ringo Starr in London during the making of The Magic Christian, 1969

“I was in London in April of 1969 shooting Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr in the movie, The Magic Christian. John Lennon was going to play Peter Sellers’ son, but backed out and Ringo got the part. Rumors were flying that the Beatles were breaking up and would never tour or record again. One day Peter Sellers asked if I would drop by his dressing room at lunch. I walked in and there were John, Paul, George, Ringo and Derek Taylor, their press representative. Derek asked if I would be ‘interested’ in shooting new photos for them, to quell rumors of a ‘breakup.’ Silly question! Every photographer’s dream was to photograph the Beatles. They said they had bad experiences with photographers who they couldn’t trust. Paul McCartney asked, ‘How do we know we can trust you, Bruce?’ Peter Sellers stood up, patted me on the shoulder, and said, ‘I would trust Bruce with my wallet!’” 

— Photographer Bruce McBroom

To see more photos by Bruce McBroom, click here.

a very dapper Phil Ochs