THE BEATLES

Court photographer of the most famous boys from Liverpool

01

Hoffmann met The Beatles by chance when one day, during an editorial meeting, he saw a letter in a pink envelope in a pile of correspondence, which was accompanied by a photograph of four young men with long hair. As for the content of the letter, a girl complained that they had never written in the editorial office about the Beatles, which had just returned to Liverpool from Hamburg and had already released a record in Germany. Dežo thought it was an interesting story; he told the editor about it, who just laughed, saying that not every letter from the readers could be taken seriously. After 6 months, he managed to convince that editor, Watson, to allow him to take a trip to Liverpool.

02

He arranged the three-hour photoshoot with the manager of the newly emerging band, Brian Epstein, but Mr. Epstein wanted Dežo to take a picture of them when signing the contract. Hoffmann didn't like that; he didn't want ordinary photos. He wanted something new. He said he wanted to take photos that would make it clear at first glance that the boys were from Liverpool and that he had come to photograph four young men who lived there. With that said, they boarded "one ship" together, because not only Hoffmann but also the Beatles wanted something original.

03

The first photos were taken during routine activities at Paul McCartney's house, specifically while making tea. Then Dežo thought of jumping and the boys agreed that Sefton Park would be the ideal place. Eventually, Dežo spent three days in Liverpool, even though he knew he was at risk of being fired.

In the years that followed years, Dežo did not miss any important event of this band, which became world famous and sold tens of millions of albums.

The world-famous photographer from Banská Štiavnica, Dezider “Dežo” Hoffmann, left us an inspiring legacy, to which he testified with his own life. Even from our small country, with faith in the gifts we are given, it is possible to enter the big picture and become a part of history. Our civic association, OZ Rodný dom Deža Hoffmann, aims to further propagate and develop this link. Knock on the door of the "Dežo House" in beautiful Banská Štiavnica; we will be happy to open it for you.

Civic association Rodný dom Deža Hoffmana (Birthplace of Dežo Hoffman)

Pod Červenou studňou 10, 969 01 Banská Štiavnica, 0902 477 085, info@dezohoffmann.sk