Harry Goodwin photographed every visitor to the BBC' s Top of the Pops studios in London and Manchester between 1963 and 1973. The result is one of the most extraordinary and comprehensive collections of 1960s rock and pop musicians in the world.
' Top of the Pops' was launched by the BBC on New Year' s Day in 1964 and became one of the longest running TV shows in British history. On that night The Rolling Stones was the opening band. The photographer was Harry Goodwin. Throughout the 60s and 70s the show featured a host of singers and stars and set many previously unknown bands on the road to fame. Everyone, from The Who to Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix and Cher performed on ' Top of the Pops' . Harry Goodwin' s unique collection of photographs pays tribute to them all.
Stanley Dorfman: He' s the most purest, delightful man that ever existed. I am as proud to have worked with him as I am to have worked with any of the great rock and roll stars because I think he' s part of that whole 60s scene.
Harry Goodwin: Johnnie Stewart came along and he sat on the billiard table and he said ' You' re going to have to work very hard on the show if you do it' . I said: ' Well, I' m not worried about that.' I said: ' How much am I going to get?' He said ' I' ll pay you £30 a week' I said: ' £30 a week on a television show?' He said: ' Yes, but I' ll put your name on the screen providing you' ve got six pictures on the show every week.' I said: ' You' ve got a deal.' I said: ' What are you going to put on? He said: ' Harry Goodwin, Still Photographer' . I said: ' You' ve got me' . And that' s how I started.
Stanley Dorfman: We moved to London and went live and suddenly the show just absolutely took off. We had a live orchestra, we had live arrangements and it just changed the whole face of music in England.
Harry Goodwin: ' The show was massive. It was just getting bigger and bigger all the time. Until this day I don' t think there' s been a radio or a TV show to beat it. It' s still popular. Songs are still good now. When Mick Jagger was in front of a camera he' d do anything - pull faces. He said to me one day, ' You' re only getting £30 a week on the show and we' re becoming millionaires here. I said: ' Well, if I live a little bit longer I might become more famous than you.' I' m hoping that I' ll prove myself right here. The beauty of it is I' ve still got all these pictures with the stories.
