Paul McCartney Photographs 1963−64: Eyes of the Storm
In 2020, a trove of nearly one thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35 mm film camera was rediscovered in the musician’s archive. They are a personal record of his time with The Beatles at a critical moment in the group’s evolution. Through his lens, Paul McCartney captured The Beatles’ extraordinary journey, city by city, from Liverpool and London in late 1963 to Paris and then the United States in February 1964. The group’s televised performances on The Ed Sullivan Show were watched by around 73 million people, transforming The Beatles into global superstars and redefining fame in the modern era.
The photographs reveal the intensity of touring, of long days spent in rehearsal, in hotels, and traveling—followed by the media at every stage. McCartney’s photographs evoke an affectionate family album, picturing his fellow band members, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, at a time when their lives were irrevocably changing. Where Paul McCartney appears in the photographs, he had handed his camera to one of The Beatles’ team, enabling us to capture glimpses of him performing onstage or posing for pictures.
The Beatles’ Early Years: Liverpool and Merseybeat
Before becoming The Beatles we know today, they were a Merseybeat band in their native Liverpool, a working-class port city in North West England. Because of its location, Liverpool had strong connections to US ports, and records by American musicians became popular among the Liverpudlian youth. Merseybeat, named after the River Mersey, emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a blend of sounds from traditional music hall, pop music, and British skiffle—a kind of folk music heavily influenced by American jazz, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues.
In 1960, the group—then consisting of John Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison, bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe, and drummer Pete Best—visited Hamburg, Germany, a transformative trip that set The Beatles’ course in developing their rock-and-roll sound. On their return to Liverpool, The Beatles began performing at the famous Cavern Club, rising to local prominence with their popular lunchtime gigs. In these early years, The Beatles covered many American songs, mainly by Black musicians, including Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and John Lee Hooker, as well as The Shirelles, The Marvelettes, and The Miracles. The band was discovered in 1961 by Brian Epstein of North End Music Stores (NEMS), who became their manager. By 1962, The Beatles’ iconic four-man lineup was finalized with the addition of Ringo Starr on drums.
London and Liverpool: On Tour in England, November 1963
The earliest photographs in this exhibition were taken during The Beatles’ autumn tour, which opened at the Odeon cinema in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in South West England, on November 1, 1963. The term “Beatlemania” had recently been coined by the British press to describe audiences’ rapturous responses to the band.
McCartney captures The Beatles’ opening acts onstage, including Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and the Vernons Girls, a singing group who went on to record a song entitled “We Love The Beatles.” The photographs also show McCartney’s bandmates backstage, away from the screaming fans, along with their entourage and fellow performers, including Jean Owen of the Vernons Girls, pictured smiling at her dressing table.
Paris
“I said ‘I don’t think we should go to America until we’ve got a number one hit.’ So we waited, and we happened to be in the George V hotel in Paris when the telegram arrived from Capitol Records in America. We just screamed and jumped on each other and ran around the hotel room and danced. It was a lot of fun.”
—Paul McCartney
McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison arrived in Paris from London on January 14, 1964. Ringo Starr flew in from Liverpool the following day.
The Beatles’ schedule during their visit was intense: photo shoots and recording sessions were planned around an eighteen-day run at the Olympia Theatre that sometimes included three sets a day. They shared the bill with American singer Trini Lopez and Bulgarian French singer Sylvie Vartan, who was then engaged to French rock star Johnny Hallyday.
The Beatles were also writing songs for their forthcoming film, A Hard Day’s Night (1964). Richard Lester, the film’s director, and Alun Owen, the screenwriter, stayed at the Hotel George V to shadow the band. Lester recalled, “The film was writing itself as we went.”
On January 15, the band received a telegram announcing their single “I Want To Hold Your Hand” had reached number one in the United States. This signaled a turning point for The Beatles as their fame spread internationally.
Behind the Camera
“It was after the war, so things were brightening up and I was being exposed to good art and good photography.”
—Paul McCartney
McCartney’s interest in photography extends back to his childhood and his family’s first camera, a Kodak Brownie. As a teenager in postwar Britain, he was aware of transformations in popular culture and imagery, including the work of pioneering photojournalists. McCartney’s interest in photography and music was shared with his brother, Mike, who made some of the earliest portraits of McCartney and The Beatles, including two works on display in this gallery.
This legacy of photography in McCartney’s family was further strengthened when he married professional photographer Linda Eastman in 1969, and it continues through the work of their daughter, photographer Mary McCartney.
Departures and Arrivals
The Beatles flew to New York on February 7, 1964—McCartney’s first transatlantic flight. The band had a busy schedule planned, traveling between New York, Washington, DC, and Miami.
These photographs show The Beatles as they traveled from Heathrow Airport in London to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. McCartney’s pictures evoke his joy and wonder as The Beatles embarked on this life-changing journey.
New York
When The Beatles arrived in the United States, their song “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was at the top of the US charts and they were scheduled to appear on the popular Ed Sullivan Show.
McCartney’s first images of Manhattan were taken through the window of the band’s chauffeur-driven car, capturing the fans who pursued them down West 58th Street. They were booked to stay at the luxurious Plaza Hotel on 5th Avenue, and McCartney photographed the horse-mounted police controlling the crowds from the car as they approached the hotel.
New York to Washington, DC
“On the train coming down to Washington, the newspapers had sent their correspondents to chat to us in off-duty moments. It had been snowing, which gave the trip additional character and excitement.”
—Paul McCartney
On February 11, 1964, McCartney took this group of photographs while on a train from New York to Washington, DC, and from the window of their car as they were driven from Union Station to the Washington Coliseum, where The Beatles would perform their first US concert. The band had originally planned to fly from New York but changed their arrangements because of heavy snow.
In these photographs, McCartney connects with the everyday people he sees, capturing their humanity with empathy. He has said that he has always been drawn to representing the lives of ordinary people in his creative work due to his background. He was raised in a working-class family in Liverpool, where his father worked as a cotton merchant, one of the city’s major trade industries.
Returning to New York the following day, again by train, the band performed two shows at Carnegie Hall.
Washington, DC, and Miami
The photographs taken in Washington, DC, and Miami include some of McCartney’s favorites. In his portrait of a young girl framed in a car window, McCartney achieves a sense of serenity that was rare during a period of such intense activity. Against a background of jostling figures framed in the car window, the girl gazes calmly into McCartney’s lens, her headscarf catching the light.
Days later, McCartney photographed a police officer on a motorcycle escorting the open-top cars that transported The Beatles from Miami International Airport to Miami Beach. Their arrival was anticipated by hundreds of fans waiting outside the Deauville Beach Resort, where they were due to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show for a second time.
Miami
“The color pictures start when we get to Miami . . . it’s like we were living in a black and white world on the rest of the tour and suddenly we’re in wonderland, Florida, the sun, the swimming pools.”
—Paul McCartney
When The Beatles arrived in Miami, McCartney switched from black-and-white to color film to capture the blue skies, palm trees, and golden sands, a sharp contrast to the blizzards in Washington, DC, just a few days before. The purpose of The Beatles’ visit was a second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 16, this time to be broadcast live from the glamorous Deauville Beach Resort, where the band was also staying.
In Miami Beach, The Beatles were finally able to take a few days off work, and McCartney reveled in the opportunity to photograph his friends relaxing by the pool, taking a boat trip, swimming, and even attempting to water ski. Imbued with the spirit of holiday snaps, McCartney’s Miami photographs reflect the fun and novelty of their time there. Their assigned security guard, Sergeant Buddy Dresner of the Miami Beach Police Department, found various ways for the band to avoid their fans, including a fishing trip. During this period, the band and their entourage relaxed their usual sartorial standards, swapping suits for Beatles-branded caps and toweling shirts, provided by the Deauville.
Inspired by these photographs, McCartney has produced, directed, and scored a film especially for this exhibition (on view in the final gallery).
