The News Minute| December 1, 2014| 11.00 pm IST

Pictures that were taken just before Beatles became a phenomenon, pictures that show a relaxed Beatles enjoying a holiday in Tenerife in April 1963 have been put up for auction.

Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were joined in the holiday by Astrid Kirchherr, girlfriend of the original Beatles bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe. He had died a year earlier.

John Lennon missed the trip, instead choosing to holiday in Spain with Epstein, the Telegraph reports.

Auctioneer Eric Bradley told the paper that the pictures capture the Beatles "just before the onset of Beatlemania. They are still able to be unguarded in public, something they weren’t able to do ever again, anywhere in the world, just a few months later".

Heritage Auction says, "Capitalizing on their growing success, they'd been on a breakneck schedule of touring, making television and radio appearances, and recording their first LP - seemingly working eight days a week for months. So when their schedule cleared at the end of April 1963, the Beatles took 12 days off for holidays in the sun: Brian and John went to Spain, and Paul, George and Ringo - in the company of Astrid and Klaus, whom they'd remained friendly with - went to the island of Tenerife, staying at the Voorman family home there. These rarely seen photos from Tenerife show the three Beatles and Astrid relaxing by a swimming pool near the ocean, free from the pressures of Beatlemania that had recently been unleashed at home. Taken with Astrid's portable Rolleicord camera in glorious color, the candid images preserve an amazing moment in time in the Beatles story - one that they may not be aware of themselves - as it may be one of the last times they were free to be in public and not be recognized. The first taste of fame has been experienced, and there will be no going back, ever."