The Philip Townsend Archive collects the body of photographs taken by seminal 60s photographer Philip Townsend, documenting Sixties London in full swing and capturing some of the most iconic faces of the era. His unique collection of shots includes, rock stars, society darlings, models and the political movers and shakers of the day.

A selection of images from the black and white archive is available to view on this website. Prints are available to purchase from our open and limited edition collections and all images are available to be licensed for media use.

"A treasure trove of rock history" The London Times

"Philip Townsend, world class portrait photographer" GQ

By Rodger Eldridge

He moved effortlessly into the nascent world of rock, photographing the Beatles many times, most memorably their first encounter with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Townsend once rescued the Maharishi's greatest devotee George Harrison from a mauling by marauding girl fans when the Beatles guitarist was accidentally left at the curbside after a concert. Townsend dragged him into his own car and sped away from the screaming harpies.

He also photographed other pop icons of the Sixties such as Gene Pitney, Johnny Ray, the Searchers, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Peter and Gordon (whom he briefly managed).

Other celebs of the era who received the Townsend treatment were Twiggy, then a very young ingenue model in the hands of her manager and boyfriend Justin de Villeneuve; Charlotte Rampling, cool and miniskirted; Princess Alexandra dancing with Marlon Brando; comedian Frankie Howerd on a skateboard, and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. But there was also a serious side to his work. For instance he photographed the aftermath of the 1966 Aberfan mining disaster with great sensitivity.

On a personal level, he married a true girl of the Sixties, his on-off-on wife Penny, whom he adored for her looks, vivacity - and trust funds.

At the end of the decade he abruptly abandoned his cameras and his career in photography. "I suppose the magic of the 1960s was beginning to fade anyway," he says now, trying to rationalise his decision, "but if there was a turning point it was when I was standing with a load of snappers in Whitehall, trying to get a picture of Cabinet Minister Patrick Gordon Walker, who was about to resign. One old boy turned to me with a wink and said, "He'll be coming out the back of the building, not the front. Trust me, I've been doing this for 45 years". I thought, I don't want to be doing this in 45 years. So I just stopped."

Life after photography was no less eventful. Ever the journalist, he fed endless, often lurid fodder to the tabloids, but he also dabbled in a variety of trades, sometimes brilliantly and sometimes disastrously. Over the decades he founded and sold his successful art nouveau poster company, Splash Posters; dealt in property and built houses in Spain; ran wine bars and restaurants.