“Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget.” —Paul McCartney

Taken with a 35mm camera by Paul McCartney, these largely unseen photographs capture the explosive period, from the end of 1963 through early 1964, in which The Beatles became an international sensation and changed the course of music history. Featuring 275 images from the six cities—Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami—of these legendary months, 1964: Eyes of the Storm also includes:

• A personal foreword in which McCartney recalls the pandemonium of British concert halls, followed by the hysteria that greeted the band on its first American visit

• Candid recollections preceding each city portfolio that form an autobiographical account of the period McCartney remembers as the “Eyes of the Storm,” plus a coda with subsequent events in 1964

• “Beatleland,” an essay by Harvard historian and New Yorker essayist Jill Lepore, describing how The Beatles became the first truly global mass culture phenomenon

Handsomely designed, 1964: Eyes of the Storm creates an intensely dramatic record of The Beatles’ first transatlantic trip, documenting the radical shift in youth culture that crystallized in 1964.

“You could hold your camera up to the world, in 1964. But what madness would you capture, what beauty, what joy, what fury?” —Jill Lepore

Born in Liverpool in 1942, Paul McCartney was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. Since writing his first song at fourteen, McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. He lives in England.

Jill Lepore is the David Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She’s also the host of the podcasts The Last Archive and Elon Musk. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, her many books include the international bestseller These Truths; If Then, longlisted for the National Book Award; and the audiobook Who Killed Truth?

Categories

• Photography / Individual Photographers / Artists' Books
• Biography & Autobiography / Music
• Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts
• Music / Genres & Styles / Rock

Product Details

ISBN: 9781324093060
ISBN-10: 1324093064
Publisher: Liveright
Publication Date: June 13th, 2023
Pages: 336
Language: English

A luminous photographic record of the dawn of Beatlemania.... representing the discovery of 1,000 photos [McCartney] had taken in 1964. 'I’m not trying to claim to be a master,' he writes, 'only an enthusiastic photographer who happened to be in the right place at the right time.' Humility aside, Sir Paul proves a fine documentarian of the chaotic scene around him. Some of the countless highlights include a color image of George Harrison, finally at rest in Miami after the hectic tour that introduced them to America via the Ed Sullivan Show, against the backdrop of an anonymous (and headless) swimsuit-clad woman and looking far too young to be holding the cigarette and drink in hand; 'a rare picture of John in his glasses,' as McCartney writes, with Lennon looking more like a college quiz kid than a rock star, a weary-looking Ringo next to him; photos of fans of many ethnicities (as is now well known, the Beatles would not play a segregated room) and ages awaiting the arrival of the band, whose spirit-lifting tour occurred soon after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, leading McCartney to comment in a charged aside, 'To this day, I am very happy that Britain doesn’t have the gun culture that exists in the U.S....' The book includes a timeline and notes about each photo. Sir Paul knows his way around just about every artistic medium, and these photographs are a must for Beatles fans.
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The book showcases photos from McCartney’s insider perspective, but it also looks out at what was happening around him at the time and offers personal reflections. Bookending explanatory notes by historian Jill Lepore and Rosie Broadley of London’s National Portrait Gallery provide a deeper understanding of the culture and era. The content and the context render the results extraordinary . . . This beautiful art book serves as a most welcome companion to Beatles scholarship and 1960s culture in general.
— Gregory Stall, Library Journal, starred review