All you need to know about Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm exhibition
John Lennon in Paris , January 1964 (Paul McCartney)
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 28 June to 1 October. These shots come from over 1,000 shots unearthed from McCartney’s personal archive in 2020. Eyes of the Storm and provides a wonderfully candid trip inside the lives of The Beatles.
A pick from the gallery
There are ample insights into the relaxed nature of the Hamburg-hardened Fab Four, found lounging in dressing rooms or guesting on Jukebox Jury largely unfazed by the gathering storm of audience. John Lennon seemed to be the most suitable subject for most of Paul McCartney's photographs because of his wide spectrum of visibly changing expressions.
Photographers clicked by a photographer
Some shots are taken just from the side of the stages in 1963, on McCartney’s Pentax by crew members. These show an electric new angle on their live show. The backstage moments where band members are experimenting with large headwear and having fun for example, George wearing a stack of top hats, or Ringo and John sporting Napoleonic bicorns are also displayed in the pictures.
A mirror selfie before it was cool
When the media turmoil landed in Paris in 1964, you can see the showmen in The Beatles jumped to life in a photograph. In another instance, Paul’s-eye-view of The Beatles’ first visit to the US is a priceless historical document captured in a picture.
Fans rushing to the car
Girls were crazy for The Beatles. In another picture taken from the perspective of inside the chaos, we witness crowds of blurry girl fans – some dressed as beauty queens; one, if you look closely enough, holding a chimpanzee – swarming over the roofs and runways of JFK airport or crammed against barriers outside New York’s Plaza Hotel just to catch a glimpse of the band.
A line up for Beatles
Portraits of bemused invaded cops are also seen. As Paul McCartney switches his film from black and white to colour in Miami, things start to get real. There’s George who is known to be the “shy one”, accepting a cocktail from a bikini-clad waitress in the very image of first-generation rockstar luxury. The modern pop dynamic is born in these pictures and, coloured by the cultural impact of Miami, it is both surprising and beautiful to watch.
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