image source, Paul McCartney/National Portrait Gallery/PA Media
The intimate images include self-portraits of Paul McCartney, who was 21 at the time.
Beatlemania was a phenomenon that sparked an almost global furor over the four fabulous young men from Liverpool: John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney.
In the middle of the 60s, the Beatles revolutionized the world of music.
Although dozens of photojournalists documented those early years of the Beatles with thousands of images, the truth is that the photos taken by the members of the group themselves can give us one of the best “perspectives” of those years.
And its documentary value increases when it is thought that many of those images were believed to be lost.
This week it was announced that the National Portrait Gallery in London is going to open an exhibition with photos from the beginnings of the Beatles taken by Paul McCartney himself, which the musician thought were lost.
“These are images that fill me with memories and emotions,” McCartney said.
He himself points out that the collection, of regarding 1,000 photos, was taken during the various tours of the group “in three intense months” from December 1963 to February 1964.
But the former Beatle thought that they had been lost during one of his moves. However, he recently found them in his archives and decided that it was an excellent way to evoke those days of Beatlemania.
image source, Getty Images
Paul McCartney with a camera in December 1963.
image source, BBC Sport
The images, which can be seen at the London museum in mid-2023, recount a fundamental period in the life of the Beatles: their first US tour, in which they established themselves as the most popular band in the world, broke records ratings by appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show and celebrating George Harrison’s 21st birthday.
The images also show moments of their trips through London, Paris, Nyou hear York, Washington y Miami.
In fact, McCartney himself has pointed out that these are images taken first in Liverpool and London, then in Paris and finally in the context of American concerts.
“Anyone who rediscovers a personal heirloom or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the mists of time,” he said.
“This was exactly my experience when I saw these photos, all taken during an intense trip of three months. It was a wonderful feeling,” added the singer.
image source, Sir Paul McCartney
One image captures crowds chasing the band down a New York street.
For many experts, the photos have a very high documentary value because they portray a fundamental moment in popular music in the 20th century, taken from a very particular point of view.
In fact, some will be selected to be part of a book called “1964: in the eye of the storm.”
The director of the National Portrait Gallery, Nicholas Cullinan, highlighted the power of these photographs.
“Being able to look at these never-before-seen images of such an important moment has been incredible, especially since they were taken by someone who was really, as the title of the exhibition alludes, in the eye of the storm, seeing what was happening. outside,” Cullinan said.
