The Fab Four having a ball in Key West. Only George and John, now gone, reach to catch it.

NEW YORK — The pictures sat untouched for 40 years, a hidden treasure trove of rock ’n’ roll memorabilia tucked away in a duffle bag. For one little gallery in Manhattan, the discovery of 3,500 unpublished photos of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones is a dream come true.

The show is a hit in New York and is expected some time this summer to come to Toronto and Montreal.

Last year, Larry Marion, owner of Not Fade Away Gallery, located at the corner of 20th St. and Broadway, got a visit from a man named Alex who said he was the son of a tour manager for the Beatles and the Stones in the 1960s. The man took out an old cardboard box filled with perfectly-preserved negatives still in their plastic envelopes and asked the gallery owner if they were worth anything. His father’s work turned out to be thousands of never-before-seen pictures of two of the most popular musical groups in history.

The photos were taken by Bob Bonis, the American tour manager for the Beatles and the Stones from 1964 to 1966. He alternated between the two bands and always had his camera with him. Considered a member of the family by the likes of Mick Jagger and John Lennon, Bonis was granted extremely intimate access to the musicians’ daily lives.

The effect of this can be seen in his photography. There are shots of the musicians playing around backstage (one shows Lennon in a turban holding a Union Jack), cutting each other’s hair, lounging by swimming pools and drinking beer on flights. There’s a picture of Mick Jagger asleep on his Chicago hotel room bed after watching one of his performances on TV.

“It’s very rare to see such candid photos because, at the time, their image was very protected and all pictures were orchestrated,” said an enthusiastic Marion from in his gallery.

Bonis was never interested in publishing or capitalizing on his amazing collection. Many shots were never even printed. For over 40 years most of them sat in a duffle bag at his home. “Bob was a very private man,” Marion explained. Bonis died in 1991 and his son decided to go public after he inherited the rights.

The show, comprising 76 photos, will be touring the world from the end of May and will include stops in Canada, although the exact dates have yet to be decided.

Among the more interesting snapshots is a picture of John Lennon and Paul McCartney singing face to face on stage in Cincinnati. “You never saw that because normally they were facing the audience,” Marion said. There’s also a very symbolic photo that shows all four Beatles sitting next to a pool in Florida, tossing around an orange beach ball. The only two that have their arms raised to catch it are George and John, who have since passed away.

There’s slightly more scandalous fare as well, as with the shot of Keith Richards exposing himself, or the one of Ringo Starr playing cowboy and pointing a (fake?) pistol to his temple.

The show has the attention of both groups. Keith Richards’ daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, both attended the March 4 opening.

“Ringo Starr saw the photos and loved them,” Marion said. Mick Jagger, who’s currently writing a book, plans on paying the gallery a visit and may even get some inspiration from his trip down memory lane.

Marie-Joelle Parent is Sun Media’s New York City correspondent