Paul McCartney's personal take on Beatlemania
Amid the Beatlemania frenzy, between December 1963 and February 1964, Paul McCartney took his own snapshots of the band. The previously unprinted photos are on show at London's National Portrait Gallery.
Paul's reflections
The National Portrait Gallery marks its reopening on June 22 after renovation with an exhibition of more than 250 photos from Paul McCartney's personal archive. "Paul McCartney Photographs 1963- 64: Eyes of the Storm" runs from June 28 to October 1, 2023 and shows photos McCartney took between November 1963 and February 1964.
Millions of eyes
The photos offer a uniquely personal look through the lens of McCartney's Pentax camera at a time when the Beatles suddenly turned into an international phenomenon. A book entitled "1964: Eyes of the Storm" accompanies the show. "Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life," Paul McCartney writes in the foreword.
Beginning of an era
Most of the photos showcased in the exhibition were kept as negatives and contact sheets for 60 years, but were never before developed into prints. They were rediscovered in the artist's personal archive in 2020. The shots document various moments in the band's life, whether backstage in Liverpool, rehearsing in a Paris studio or color shots of sunny Miami Beach, like this one of George Harrison.
Personal moments
McCartney personally selected the photos to go on display, providing his reflections on them as well. Capturing candid moments like this blurry snapshot of Ringo Starr laughing, the photos offer insight into the band and the fans in the early 1960s.
A flood of special memories
McCartney says he has been interested in photography from the time he was a child. Looking at the photos for the exhibition decades after he shot them, he sees "a sort of innocence about them." They bring back memories, "which is one of the many reasons I love them all, and know that they will always fire my imagination," he adds.
International phenomenon
"McCartney's extraordinary photographs invoke a time when culture was opening up to everyone — when four very young men from a northern English seaport could influence the world with their music and creativity," the museum wrote in a press release. The National Portrait Gallery is home to one of the most extensive collection of portraits in the world.