Sixty years ago, the Beatles made their first visit to the United States. As part of their tour, they stopped in New York City, where a 21 year-old Paul McCartney captured their visit on his Pentax camera.
Starting Friday, you can see more than 250 of McCartney’s photographs at the Brooklyn Museum, in a new exhibition called “Eyes of the Storm.”
It offers a never-before-seen glimpse of what it was like for the Fab Four as they became international superstars, and were hounded by fans and paparazzi in the years 1963 and 1964.
“Photographers in Central Park. New York,” February 1964.
Photo by Paul Paul McCartney. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP
The exhibition’s co-curator, Sarah Brown, worked closely with McCartney to select photos for the original showing in London.
She spoke to WNYC’S Tiffany Hanssen on a recent episode of “All Things Considered” about Beatlemania, celebrity and Sir Paul. Below is an edited version of their conversation.
Tiffany Hanssen: The Beatles arrived in New York City in 1964. What was that time in the city like for them?
Sarah Brown: For three of the Beatles – John, Paul, and Ringo – it was the first time they’d ever been to the U. S. So, I think it was almost living the American dream to them. They were in complete awe of the city.
They remember how much bigger everything was. The billboards. It felt more commercial than the UK. And it was also the first time they experienced the fans chasing them down the street, waiting outside their hotel like that.
“Fans, press, and police await The Beatles’ arrival at the Plaza Hotel, 5th Avenue, photographed from the car, February 1964.”
Photo by Paul McCartney / © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP
Paul says in the exhibition how he felt like he was the star of a movie, with people chasing him. And that it was kind of everything they’d ever dreamed of, after years of hard work in Liverpool and London.
The photos give us an intimate look into their lives at this moment. We see them in a way we haven’t before.
Absolutely. And I think it reminds you that they were just friends, they were real people on the up. You see them bored in dressing rooms, sitting around, eating … kind of making them more human, even though they were super talented people.
“Ringo Starr, London,” January 1964.
Photo by Paul McCartney / © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP
And we have very intimate moments, sides that I don’t think press photographers would ever have got, such as John Lennon biting his knuckles, looking a little worried, and that was taken by Paul. And that’s because him and Paul were such close friends. They were very unguarded moments.
Also, we see John with his big chunky glasses on, which he didn’t like to wear in public, but obviously was happy to wear around his friends.
So you’re getting a very intimate look. But then also, as you go through the photographs, you see the playfulness between them, the laughter, and how they were kind of happy to be on this journey of Beatlemania.
Why do you think McCartney wanted to share them with us?
I think it felt like the right time for him. It felt nostalgic and that so much had happened in his life, that it was a nice moment to look back and sit and appreciate the true wonder of what the band went through.
“George Harrison. Miami Beach”
Photo by Paul McCartney / © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP
And also, knowing that there’s a lot of people out there who maybe lived through that themselves, were fans of the Beatles in the 60s, who would truly appreciate getting to see this other side of the story – but then also bringing in new generations, new people that maybe don’t go to museums but are music fans, things like that.
It just felt like it could appeal to a whole host of people and could bring a bit of nostalgia and joy and a little bit of cultural history from a personal point of view.
As you mentioned, the Beatles didn’t have an entourage, but, conversely, it was Beatlemania, even without social media. So, what do you think New Yorkers can take away from that in terms of celebrity?
That the passion we see today in fans, the people with hundreds of millions of followers on Instagram, things like that … this is kind of the beginning of that.
This was the first trans-atlantic trip for such a popular band. And I think you can see the passion. You can see the demographic is super interesting – really seeing how many young women are there. And I think New Yorkers can probably see a lot of their true passion and sense of humor they have today, still very evident in these photographs from the 60s.
What do you hope folks will take away from it?
I think they will hopefully take away a new view of the Beatles from a more intimate side. They’ll hopefully just take away joy. I think that’s a big factor of why Paul wanted to do it. It’s hard to not just lose yourself in the exhibit for an hour, and to leave feeling pretty joyous. We’re in a world right now that is often so divisive and difficult, and it doesn’t feel like that at all.
And also to think about that moment in time. It was a true pivot in cultural and social history: JFK had been assassinated in November ‘63, then these four British lads land on your shores and bring a new burst of energy. And then everything that was going on with the Civil Rights Movement as well in ‘64. It’s a real lens into a particular time that we’ve maybe not had from the inside of the storm of Beatlemania.
“Eyes of the Storm” is on now through August 18 at the Brooklyn Museum. Entry to the exhibition is included with a general admission ticket, which is suggested at $20 for adults, $14 for students, and people 19 and under are free.