Tag Archives: Exhibition

Paul McCartney – 1964: Eyes of the Storm

Posted on by
7

Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami.

Six cities pivotal in the success of The Beatles as their music and their fame burst into the world, changing a generation forever.

The year: 1964.

Captured on film by one of those at the very centre of the storm: Paul McCartney.

In 2020, a treasure trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by McCartney on a 35mm SLR camera was re-discovered in his archive. It was realised that his photographs form a unique view of the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 as Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band’s first visit to the USA, four young men became the most famous people on the planet. These photographs serve as a personal record of this explosive time when The Beatles were inside looking out – right inside the eye of the storm. 

Now comes a new photographic exhibition and a book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm – Photographs and Reflections by Paul McCartney. They present his photographs and memories from six cities, capturing these intense months with many never-before-seen portraits of John, George and Ringo.

In his Foreword to the book, and in the \introductions to each of the city portfolios, McCartney remembers: ‘what else can you call it – pandemonium’, and conveys his impressions of what Britain and America were like for him and his band mates in 1964 – the moment when the culture changed and the Sixties really began. 

‘Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time. This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back.

Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers just over two years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America’ – Paul McCartney

1964: Eyes of the Storm Photography Book Includes: 

  • Six city portfolios – Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami – featuring 275 of McCartney’s own 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

The book, to be released on 13 June, is accompanied by a major exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery from 28 June – 1 October, 2023.

The Gallery will display, for the first time, a selection of the extraordinary archive of rediscovered and never-before-seen photographs taken by Paul. 

Like the book, the exhibition provides a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’ – from gigs in Liverpool and London, to performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York to an unparalleled television audience of 73 million people. At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, these photographs share a fresh insight into their experiences, their fans, and the early 1960s, all through eyes of Paul McCartney. Find out more and get tickets here.

P.S. If you’re wondering about the cool music used in the YouTube promo video above it’s the McCartney track ‘222’, released as a bonus track on the special edition version of “Memory Almost Full“. The song was written for his youngest child, his daughter Beatrice, when she was aged 2. See The McCartney Project for more detail.

‘Double Fantasy – John & Yoko’ Exhibition – Tokyo

Posted on by
6

There’s a terrific exhibition on at the moment in Tokyo called Double Fantasy – John & Yoko:There are a couple of interesting collectors items that you can purchase from this exhibition. The first is the official exhibition catalogue – a thick book that serves as a comprehensive overview of everything on display:

It’s in Japanese and English, and packed with a wealth of great photos detailing all the displays. It’s available through the gift shop at the exhibition venue (Tokyo’s Sony Music Roppongi Museum), from Amazon Japan, or The Blue Sheep Shop.

We also liked the look of these two Limited Edition, 10-inch clear vinyl records which are only available through the Double Fantasy – John & Yoko museum store:

These contain interviews with John and Yoko. The first is ‘John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Special Interview, January 25, 1971 at the Imperial (Teikoko) Hotel’.

The second is ‘John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Special Interview, September 2, 1971 New York’. They are both on the same label as Ono’s album re-issues for the Secretly Canadian/Chimera label in the US, and the Sony Records International label in Japan – featuring a cut grapefruit instead of an apple.

There’s also this Limited Edition Yoko Ono single on white vinyl, released on November 25. Again this appears to be exclusive to the exhibition store:

Double Fantasy – John & Yoko is a large-scale exhibit which was first mounted in John Lennon’s hometown of Liverpool (at the Liverpool Museum in England) between May, 2018 and November, 2019.

In 2020 that very same exhibition has come to Yoko Ono’s hometown, Tokyo.

There are many connections for the couple with Japan. John, Yoko, and Sean Ono Lennon visited the country every year between 1977 and 1979 and enjoyed numerous family trips to various places as John’s green card (granted to him in 1976) made it possible for them to once again travel outside the United States.

Japan’s NHK TV last week ran a story about the exhibition. It included this insightful interview with Sean who shared his memories of visiting Japan, about growing up as the son of two of the most famous people in the world, and the role his parents played in promoting peace – it’s well worth a look.

Yoko was deeply involved in the curation of Double Fantasy – John & Yoko and it contains a wealth of rare original historic documents, photographs, films, objects, artworks and personal items from key moments in the lives of the two. It apparently takes more than two hours to view everything and get a thorough overview of what is on offer:   One of the treasures is John’s hand-made, teenage satiric magazine (from c.1957) containing his cartoons and drawings called The Daily Howl:

There’s also an original copy of Yoko’s book Grapefruit which she gave to John as a gift. First published in 1964, Grapefruit represents a seminal piece of conceptual art that had a direct influence on the lyrics and concepts behind the song ‘Imagine’:

Also on display are numerous handwritten lyrics by Lennon including ‘Imagine’, ‘In My Life’, ‘Give Peace a Chance’, ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’, and ‘Woman’.

There’s also one of the famous works that Yoko showed at her Unfinished Paintings and Objects exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London in 1966. It’s where John first encountered her art up close:Of course there’s also the previously mentioned Museum Shop offering a wide variety of other merchandise…..

Double Fantasy – John & Yoko opened at Tokyo’s Sony Music Roppongi Museum on October 9, the 80th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth.

It runs until January 11, 2021, and has marked the 40th anniversary of his death by setting up a place for visitors to remember John by leaving messages and floral tributes.