A Day In The Life

Previously unseen photographs shot by Paul McCartney and rediscovered in 2020, capture The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania

The rise of The Beatles was documented by many photographers throughout their years of global dominance. Astrid Kirchherr was one of the first, the Hamburg-based protege of the renowned Reinhart Wolf shot them in 1960 when they were still a quintet, featuring former members Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. Celebrated duo Tom Murray and Don McCullin documented the Fab Four in 1968 as they spent a summer’s day freewheeling around London, a colourful 24 hours that was later turned into a book, Mad Day Out. While the great rock photographer Ethan Russell is credited with taking the last ever shot of the band together, in 1969. “Paul was trying to hold it together. He had his arms crossed like, ‘Come on, lads!’ But the concept of The Beatles just didn’t sync with who they were any more. I could have asked them to smile, but it would have been totally fake and I’m glad I didn’t. This marriage had come to an end – and boy does it show,” he told The Guardian But though they and others got close to the Beatles, one amateur photographer had the inside track –Paul McCartney. “Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life,” recalls McCartney of his time at the height of Beatlemania. Using his own camera, McCartney documented his band from November 1963 until February 1964, as it emerged from the confines of Liverpool’s Cavern Club to become a global cultural phenomenon. Previously unseen in public, the photographs were rediscovered by McCartney in 2020 while sifting through the archives of his production company. More than 250 were since selected from a pool of over 1,000 to form a major exhibition, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm, on show at London’s recently reopened National Portrait Gallery until October 1.

“We all know what Beatlemania looked and sounded like from the outside, but what did it look and feel like for the four pairs of eyes that lived and witnessed it first-hand? Over more than half a century, we have become familiar with press photographs showing the smiling Beatles and their screaming tans, but Paul McCartney’s intimate photographs have more in common with a family album, capturing people caught in off-guard moments of relaxation and laughter,” says Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director at the National Portrait Gallery. Now globally recognised as one of the leading cultural figures of the 20th and 21st centuries, thanks to his unrivalled songwriting skills, Paul McCartney’s interest in the visual arts is evident in his photographs, reflecting styles and aesthetics of the period, including New Wave, documentary filmmaking and photojournalism.

Travelling with the Beatles, he absorbed cultural influences, adapting his style to achieve a particular atmosphere, and learned from the photographers he worked with, who embraced the imperfections of ‘snapshot’ photography. It affected a down-to-earth approach, showing acute observation in the intimate portraits he captured of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, who are pictured in moments of concentration, relaxation, and joy. While McCartney was nearly always surrounded by media, he also used his camera to draw out personal encounters with press photographers and individuals, often set against a backdrop of roaring crowds — sometimes driving through streets thronged with screaming fans. One such shot was taken from a car McCartney was in as it crossed the Avenue of the Americas in New York, people chasing after it. The moment, and others like it, were the bases for scenes in the Beatles’ movie, A Hard Day’s Night.

“Not only has he absorbed the ideas around photojournalism… the CartierBresson idea of capturing that decisive moment, but he’s already looking to frame shots, looking for interesting angles,” Photographs Curator Rosie Broadley – who helped select the photos for the exhibition – told the BBC. “He understands what makes a good portrait, he’s quite good at placing a figure in space, [and] he’s interested in architecture and the interesting perspectives you can get.”

“The truth is that I have always been interested in photography, from the time I was very young, when our family owned a little box camera in the 1950s. I used to love the whole process of

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This page, from top to bottom: George at Miami Beach, February 1964. © Paul McCartney; photographers, Central Park, New York, February 1964 © Paul McCartney; crossing the Avenue of the Americas, New York, February 1964 © Paul McCartney loading a roll of Kodak film into our Brownie camera,” reveals McCartney.

Frenzied fans were a feature of the band’s first transatlantic visit, a visit Broadley heralds as “pop culture folklore.” Indeed, the photographs capture the final days of The Beatles’ tour of America, during which the group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and were watched by a record-setting audience of 73 million people – equating to 60% of the TV watching audience in America. “Paul’s work shows us what it was like to look through his eyes while The Beatles conquered the world,” says Broadley. Reflecting on what he captured on camera as he and his mates from working class suburbs of Liverpool were catapulted to global superstardom, McCartney says: “Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them. Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today. They now bring back so many stories, a flood of special memories, which is one of the many reasons I love them all.”