FEATURE:
When I’m in '64
IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney: New York City, February 1964: ‘We were staying at the Plaza Hotel, who were pretty horrified by all the hullabaloo’/ALL PHOTOS: Paul McCartney
Eyes of the Storm, and the McCartney Family Photography Legacy
_________
THERE are a few reasons…
IMAGE CREDIT: Allen Lane/Paul McCartney
for writing this feature. On 18th June, Paul McCartney turns eighty-one. I wanted to put together some birthday features to celebrate the genius. If it makes more people aware of his work, then so much the better. Apart from anything, there is that requirement for journalists to show their respects to artists like McCartney. I am tying this feature to philosophy. I will discuss how there is a connection to the industry that has run through the McCartney family. Also, before Macca’s birthday, the release of a new book is happening. 1964: Eyes of the Storm is a collection of photos taken by McCartney at arguably the height of The Beatles’ fame. Looking at their time in America (actually, Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami are all covered) and some of the chaos and moments of calm, we will get these amazing shots that focused on the mundane and the extraordinary. From shots of his bandmates to quiet streets, it is as fascinating archive that gives more insight into the world’s biggest band. I am going to reference a recent article from The Guardian where McCartney talks about the book and the time in which the photographs were taken. McCartney describes that time in America as being in Wonderland. As he revealed in the piece, it was very strange and huge. Confusing, dizzying and adrenaline-producing, few humans could quite imagine what it was like for a member of a band that changed popular culture – at a time in history where there was so much change and uncertainty. It got me thinking about Paul McCartney and how photography is a passion shared by his late wife Linda, in addition to his daughter Mary.
I would urge people to order a copy of 1964: Eyes of the Storm, as this is a beautiful and fascinating book that is a very personal look at The Beatles at a pivotal and seismic time. Before quoting from that McCartney piece in The Guardian, here is a synopsis of an upcoming photobook that will give us a rare look inside The Beatles’ 1964:
“Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life.'In 2020, an extraordinary trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35mm camera was re-discovered in his archive. They intimately record the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band's first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet. The photographs are McCartney's personal record of this explosive time, when he was, as he puts it, in the 'Eyes of the Storm'.
1964: Eyes of the Storm presents 275 of McCartney's photographs from the six cities of these intense, legendary months - Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami - and many never-before-seen portraits of John, George and Ringo. In his Foreword and Introductions to these city portfolios, McCartney remembers 'what else can you call it - pandemonium' and conveys his impressions of Britain and America in 1964 - the moment when the culture changed and the Sixties really began.
1964: Eyes of the Storm includes:- Six city portfolios - Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami - and a Coda on the later months of 1964 - featuring 275 of Paul McCartney's photographs and his candid reflections on them- A Foreword by Paul McCartney- Beatleland, an Introduction by Harvard historian and New Yorker essayist Jill Lepore- A Preface by Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, and Another Lens, an essay by Senior Curator Rosie Broadley”.
IN THIS PHOTO: New York, February 1964: ‘Ringo setting up his precariously perched drum kit during rehearsals for The Ed Sullivan show’
There are some sections of that Paul McCartney retrospective feature, where he shared his memories and experiences of 1964 and The Beatles getting this tsunami of love and adulation from fans. You could make a documentary about that year and the band’s rise. Looking at the politics of the time here and in the U.S. it is fascinating reading McCartney’s words and how, almost eighty-one, he recalls that time. I don’t think many people would associate Paul McCartney with photography. We would never have got these incredible shots were he not passionate about photography! He must have had all these memories flashing back when compiling the book and looking at these old photos:
“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 loading a roll of Kodak film into our Brownie camera. I would ask my brother, Mike, to take a picture of me outside a hotdog store – an American export to a country that had never previously known hotdogs. And from those early years, we would use the camera to take pictures of each other. This was not just a McCartney family hobby. Every family we knew would take a camera on holiday, as in “Here we are on holiday in Blackpool” or “Here I am with Auntie Dilys and Uncle Harry”, as we did when we went to Butlin’s holiday camp.
In looking back at these photographs, I have even greater regard for the photographers around the Beatles back then. They would have to frame the picture, guess the lighting and then just go for it – the madness that enveloped us everywhere making their work ever more difficult. Since we were surrounded by journalists, I often took pictures of them, not so much for revenge but because they were an interesting group of people. I would often say to them, “What’s the right lighting?”, because they were professionals and would automatically know. Despite the simplicity of the camera, the process, at least to me, was challenging, since with each roll, you had only 24 or 36 images, which you had to get right, because there wasn’t a second chance. This is such a contrast with the process today of taking pictures on your phone. You couldn’t be lazy then. You had to take the right picture, actually compose the image in the frame without the safety of knowing you could crop it later. When I watched Linda work, she was very old school in that way. She had the discipline to spot the picture and then take it. She understood that she had only one opportunity and she had to get it right.
IN THIS PHOTO: Miami: ‘The four of us spent so much time working together that it’s good to see us (George Harrison is in this photo) just relaxing and enjoying ourselves’
Things were happening so wildly that I cannot say that photography was in the forefront of my mind as we toured. Even though we wanted to transform from a little band to a big one, and even though we hoped for international acceptance when we went to France and then the US, no one could have predicted what I describe as the “Eyes of the Storm”. At first, I was tempted to call it that, because the Beatles certainly were at the centre, or the eye, of a self-generated storm, but when I looked at all these photographs, I realised it really should be in the plural, the “Eyes of the Storm”, because of all the pictures that others were taking, the photographs I was taking and also the eyes of the fans that greeted us, the security that looked after us. Who is looking at who? The camera always seems to be shifting, with me photographing them, the press photographing us, and those thousands and thousands of people out there wanting to capture this storm.
It’s not so much a feeling of loss but a joy in the past. When I look back and think, I have to say, “Wow” – we did all that, and we were just kids from Liverpool. And here it is in the photographs. Boy, how great does John look? How handsome is George and how cool is Ringo, wearing that funny French hat? I’m also drawn to the pictures of the photographers, who were never our enemy. They bring back memories of what it was like being in New York for the first time, being taken down to Central Park, with all those hard-bitten cameramen shouting out, “Hey Beatle, hey Beatle, hey Beatle.” And we’d look at them and they’d take the picture, and then one more, always just one more.
I’m reminded of so many things: of an England that was more my parents’ generation than my own; of the early concerts and those original fans; of “Beatlemania” and of a London that in 1963 spoke of promise and ambition and everything new to four young men from the north.
And I’m reminded of an America that I know still exists, somewhere. I remember all those stories, some of them real, others imagined, from looking out of the train window, seeing American freight trains, American railway yards. I like American trains to this day. I like to think that I can hear “that lonesome whistle blow”. It’s the majesty of all those beautiful old blues songs, and I begin to wonder how all those people hitched rides across the country in the old days. Even then, as you hear in my songs, I was always imagining the lives of people I did not know, like that man, “the Pennsylvanian”, I’ll call him, in front of the train yard, whose story I will never know, but I can still ask: “What was he like when he went home that night? Did he mention having seen the Beatles at the dinner table?”.
IN THIS PHOTO: ‘The crowds chasing us in A Hard Day’s Night were based on moments like this. Taken out of the back of our car on West 58th, crossing the Avenue of the Americas’
I wanted to write about 1964: Eyes of the Storm, as it is an essential purchase for any fans of The Beatles. In some ways, the book is almost a historic text. Given that The Beatles were this sensation whose music would change the world, we glimpse at this moment in history that was so impactful and important. McCartney given us access to these photos is wonderful! As much as anything, I think more widely about Macca and that connection with photography. He married Linda Eastman. She was an exceptional photographer (and animal rights activist) who took many photos of McCartney and the rest of the band. If you watch the Get Back Peter Jackson film of The Beatles recording Let It Be, you will see Linda taking photos in the studio whilst the guys make music and chat. I guess it is only natural that the Beatle boys would gravitate towards artistic women. John Lennon did. He and Yoko Ono seem made for one another. There was that connection to photography that helped bond McCartney and Eastman. Maybe people did not realise the fact Paul McCartney was a photographer, but Linda Eastman would have been the more experienced and known in that respect. I think McCartney often approached songs like he was looking through a lens. Taking this snapshot of characters and times in his life. The fact is photography allows people to focus in on a single subject or moment. It turns the gaze away from them. They get to create something singular. McCartney would have felt the pressure of always being watched and photographed. By having the camera, he got to turn things around. He was able to capture unique moments. His fascination with the medium is clearly burning today. Not that this was the only thing he was attracted to when he and Eastman got together – though her incredible photography was something he could understand and connect with. She took a lot of photos of him, and I’d like to think that McCartney got the camera out and took photos of his wife when she was at rest or play. Seeing this new side to a woman who was so important to him!
IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney in a promotional photo for 2020’s McCartney III/PHOTO CREDIT: Mary McCartney
Mary McCartney is the eldest child of the iconic Beatle. You can see shots of her as a baby when the McCartney’s left the city and fled to the country. As her mother took those photos, you can see why Mary followed Paul and Linda McCartney’s passion for photography. She has taken photos of her dad – including promotional snaps for 2020’s McCartney III. It is amazing there is this inter-generational devotion to photography. McCartney was definitely no amateur! You can see the focus (no pun intended!) and skill when admiring 1964: Eyes of the Storm. Photography is also a love of Ringo Starr’s Macca’s buddy and bandmate has published his own book of photos, so there must have been something about that era, atmosphere and environment that drew McCartney and Starr to photography – and, in turn, influenced more than the music. Mary McCartney is an incredible photographer, filmmaker and author (McCartney is also Global Ambassador for Meat Free Monday). I might expand on this thought and thread for another feature soon but, as Paul McCartney is eighty-one on 18th June, I was eager to highlight the upcoming book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, and Macca’s remarkable photos! I will put out another feature between now and 18th June…celebrating one of the world’s most remarkable and influential people. I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to…
IN THIS PHOTO: Self Portrait, Abbey Road Studios. London, 1975 features in the Walker Art Gallery's Linda McCartney Retrospective/PHOTO CREDIT: © Paul McCartney/PHOTOGRAPHER: Linda McCartney
A truly wonderful human.