PHOTOS OF THE BEATLES AT SHEA STADIUM IN NEW YORK EXPECTED TO FETCH $25,000 AT AUCTION

• Photographs by amateur snapper Marc Weinstein taken on August 15 1965
• Auction marks 50 years since the release of the album Please Please Me

Photographs from The Beatles' record-breaking Shea Stadium show are to go under the hammer this month to mark 50 years since the band released their debut album.

The 61 pictures, taken by amateur photographer Marc Weinstein, are expected to fetch £15,000 at the sale at Omega Auctions in Stockport on March 22.

The black and white shots capture the Liverpudlian four-piece at the peak of Beatlemania as they began a US tour.

George and John during The Beatles' Shea Stadium show in New York in August 1965. The image, taken by amateur photographer Marc Weinstein, is part of a collection of 61 pictures due be sold at auction later this month

The auction on March 22 marks 50 years since the release of the band's first album Please Please Me - including a collection of their Shea Stadium gig

The copyright of these photographs is included in the sale at Omega Auctions in Stockport on March 22

Brian Epstein is seen in the foreground looking out at the 55,000-strong crowd at Shea Stadium

The August 1965 concert, compered by television star Ed Sullivan, was one of the world's first big outdoor stadium gigs - and even the 2,000 security staff couldn't stop the overexcited crowd charging towards the stage.

Screams from the fans were so loud that the music could not be heard through the amps - and turning on the stadium's system used during baseball games didn't help either.

The brief set, consisting of 12 songs in half an hour, raked in $304,000 - then the biggest grossing event in showbiz history.

The collection is up for sale alongside rare Beatles vinyl and memorabilia to mark half a century to the day since the release of Please Please Me, the band's first album.

The collection of Shea Stadium photographs is expected to fetch £15,000 at a Stockport auction house later this month

The collection, capturing the world's first outdoor stadium gig on film, shows the band - including this shot of Paul , George and John at the peak of Beatlemania

Ringo behind his drumkit at Shea Stadium in August 1965

The winning bidder also wins the copyright for the photographs - so will be free to do whatever they want with them.

Record label Parlophone rushed through recording 14 songs for Please Please Me with producer George Martin after the single of the same name topped the New Musical Express and Melody Maker charts.

Last year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album as the 39th greatest of all time, in its top 500 list.

It also voted I Saw Her Standing There and the title track into its top 500 greatest songs of all time, at 139th and 184th respectively. 

The Beatles sing Twist and Shout at Shea Stadium

The Shea Stadium collection, taken by an amateur photographer, goes under the hammer this month alongside Beatles vinyl and memorabilia

The winner of the auction will also gain the copyright to the images

Ringo, pictured in front of the record-breaking 55,000-strong crowd at Shea Stadium, New York

That Hippie Penny Lane