A new book has put together photographs taken by Paul McCartney, using his own camera, between December 1963 and February 1964. They are displayed at present in an exhibition titled ‘Paul McCartney, Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm’ at London’s National Portrait Gallery.
They are significant as this was exactly the time that the world was waking up to The Beatles’ talent and they were about to turn into superstars. There must have been great chemistry but also tension and excitement within the group.
McCartney’s pictures are an expression of what it was like “to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of Beatlemania”. All this was in the early days of television, and lenses from the outside were focused on the band. With McCartney using his own camera and taking pictures of life within, these pictures are a very useful slice of not only history of The Beatles, but cultural history.
All photos by Daanish Yechury.
Daanish Yechury is an amateur photographer who is interested in music, chess, cybersecurity and issuing dire warnings about climate change.