The Beatles in white by Robert Whitaker.

On March 25, 1966, The Beatles visited 1 The Vale, Chelsea, London, a top-floor studio leased by Oluf Nilssen and frequently used by renowned photographer Robert Whitaker. Before the photo session with Robert Whitaker, The Beatles posed for a more conventional session at the studio with Nigel Dickson of The Beatles Book magazine. Wearing light turtleneck sweaters and dark jackets, they posed for what would become their 1966 handout and standard promotional pictures.

The photo session with Whitaker yielded a series of avant-garde images, including provocative photos of the Beatles dressed as butchers, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. Whitaker intended the butcher photo as part of a surreal triptych — never realized — that would represent the mass adulation surrounding the Beatles and the illusory nature of stardom.

One of those photographs was chosen for the cover of their upcoming US album, “Yesterday And Today,” which was set to be released in June 1966. The cover sparked significant controversy ahead of its release, prompting Capitol Records to initiate “Operation Retrieve” to recall all LP copies from distributors and replace the controversial image and any related promotional materials.

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