A BEATLES fan is glad all over after finding that his photographs of the band’s first US concerts are expected to fetch £250,000 at auction.

Mike Mitchell, who was just 18 at the time, took hundreds of pictures of the Beatles’ concerts at the Baltimore Civic Centre and Washington Coliseum in 1964.

The negatives – over 400 of them – were stored in his basement for years as they were taken without a flash in the dimly lit stadiums.

However the emergence of digital technology showed the value of the photographs, some of which were taken as the band arrived at Union Station in New York.

In 2011, 46 of the negatives were digitally restored as prints and sold at a New York auction for £224,000.

Now the entire archive, including the negatives of the prints sold in New York, are to be unveiled for the first time at a Beatles auction in Merseyside later this month.

Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said the collection was an “incredible archive”.

“The unique combination of perspective and light sets them apart from any other Beatles photographs of that period,” he said.

“This was reflected in prices achieved for a small selection of prints in 2011, so for the entire archive to be sold with copyright, this is a unique opportunity for collectors and investors alike.”