Paul McCartney’s Rare Photos Show the Beatles’ Meteoric Rise

On occasion, I have wondered: if I were faced with a natural disaster hurtling toward me with no way out, what would I do? Would I face it head-on? Or, as a photographer from a young age, would I instinctively raise a camera to my eye as it rushed toward me? Would I seek to capture those final moments as a way of asserting control over a situation I could not escape?

These questions resurfaced as I viewed the 280 images in Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm at the de Young Museum. Among them are scenes of fans screaming, pressing, chasing, and peering into car windows. I couldn’t help but wonder if McCartney, on the precipice of superstardom, might have felt the same way.

More than 60 years have passed since the Beatles’ breakthrough tour across Europe and America, culminating in their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to an audience of 73 million viewers. Rediscovered in 2020, McCartney’s photographs offer a rare glimpse into this pivotal moment in both musical and cultural history. Captured mostly by McCartney himself, the images range from candid to composed, providing an intimate portrait of the band’s rise to global fame.

McCartney, who had an early passion for photography and honed his skills with his brother Mike—who would later become a professional photographer—used a 35mm SLR Pentax on this tour. Not all of the photographs stand out for their technical prowess. Some show the Beatles as playful young men, exhausted and overwhelmed by their meteoric rise to fame. Had they not been part of one of the most beloved bands of all time, and taken by one Sir Paul McCartney, we might not flock to see these images. As with most things Beatles, I have no doubt the exhibit will be popular this spring.

However, many of McCartney’s photographs reveal a deeper understanding of composition, negative space, and form. As we follow him through the cities of Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington D.C., and Miami, we see the world through his eyes. Though not a master photographer at the time, McCartney had an innate ability to craft a narrative and guide the viewer into the moment. Many of these images draw on the aesthetic of the era, with clear references to French New Wave cinema and film stills.

One striking image, showing fans chasing the Beatles’ car through the streets, would later inspire scenes in the film A Hard Day’s Night. Another, of a female fan peering through a car window, conveys an intimacy between the subject and the photographer that’s discomforting when thinking of their proximity.

The Beatles toured with a group of photographers, and McCartney, apparently, learned a great deal from them. Over the course of the tour, his technical skills—his focus and timing—improved. By the time he reached Miami, his eye had sharpened. The vivid prints from the Kodachrome transparencies from that part of the tour show a refined sense of composition.

Before leaving the exhibit, I returned to one photograph of fans—thousands of them—gathered to greet the Beatles in Miami. Three beauty queens and a woman with a pet chimpanzee can be seen in the front row. Behind them, the crowd swells, rising on portable stairs. A woman precariously perches on a ledge, surrounded by people pressing on all sides. Another photograph shows a swarm of photographers, cameras in hand aggressively photographing McCartney. In the midst of this chaos, it seems entirely natural that he would raise his camera to document the very storm of adoration and fame that swirled around him. It makes perfect sense to me that he would want to tell the story as he experienced it. 

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London in collaboration with Paul McCartney. It will run March 1-July 6, 2025. For more information visit their website

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