Hells Angels’ angels: Re-touched photos show the women behind one of world's most notorious motorcycle gangs in all their colourful glory

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A photo series documenting the women of the Hells Angels has been re-touched in colour to provide a fresh look into the females behind the world's most notorious motorcycle gang.

The original pictures were taken in the 1960s and 1970s, at the height of the Hells Angels infamy in the public eye - often linked to the drug trade but also to figures The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Most of these images were taken by LIFE magazine photographer Bill Ray, according to Matt Loughrey, who decided to take the time to add some colour to the iconic shots.

Mr Loughrey, 39, is an Irish photographer who works at My Colorful Past in Westport, a company that colorises historical photos in order to ensure they're preserved and remembered.

Female members of the Hells Angels in Los Angeles, pictured, in 1973 have been brought back to life after being expertly colourised by Irish photographer Matt Loughrey

Women wait in the next room, pictured, while a Hells Angels motorcycle club meeting takes place in 1965, an original image that has now been colourised by Irish photographer Matt Loughrey

A female Hells Angels member pictured outside the Blackboard cafe in 1965 in Bakersfield when the motorcycle gang was at its height of fame

Hells Angels in New York City, pictured, is an example of one of the original photographs that Matt Loughrey colourised by using a digital pen and paper

He's worked with all sorts of moments in history, including some of the past's most renowned crooks, which MailOnline reported on earlier this year.

Now turning his attention to the Harley-Davidson motorcyclists, Mr Loughrey has enjoyed looking back on 'the advent of such a strong fraternity of people'.

He said: 'These photographs document only a fragment of time. What I found hard to understand was why the original black and whites never made it to the magazine itself.

'It raises questions; both editorial and political combined.'

Matt Loughrey took black and white images of the Hells Angels, pictured, taken by LIFE magazine photographer Bill Ray in the 1960s-1970s and colourised them

The Hells Angels were a massive part of the counterculture movement in the 1960s-1970s and these black and white images, pictured, capture some of the most iconic moments

Hells Angels at San Bernardino in 1965, pictured, have now been colourised by Irish photographer Matt Loughrey, 39, of My Colorful Past in Westport, Ireland

Outside the Blackboard Cafe in Bakersfield 1965, pictured, is one of the colourised images of the  notorious motorcycle gang the Hells Angels colourised painstakingly by Matt Loughrey

The Hells Angels organization is predominantly white male and considered an organized crime syndicate by the United States Department of Justice. 

The newly retouched shots shows its female members relaxing in a cafe, astride their motorcycles and loitering outside the Blackboard Cafe in Bakersfield.

Colourising the black and white images is a long process. Mr Loughrey explained, 'I use what is essentially a digital pen and paper in the form of a dedicated tablet and stylus.

Outside the Blackboard Cafe in 1965, pictured, is one of the original images of the Hells Angels gang taken when their movement was at its height and before Irish photographer Matt Loughrey colourised them

At a jukebox inside the Blackboard Cafe in 1965 are two women, pictured, who ride with the notorious motorcycle gang the Hells Angels

'I employed a completely new process named SMTM for creating colour textures,' he said. Adding: 'This was a straight forward conversion because the original photographs were very well lit and taken' 

The Hells Angels established its notoriety as part of the 1960s counterculture movement in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury scene.