Visiting Paul McCartney's exhibit of Beatles photos
Fascinating look into The Beatles behind the scenes
It was exciting to be one of the first Americans to see Paul McCartney’s exhibit of Beatles photographs back in January 2024. The exhibit opened in London in the summer of 2023, and made its first stop in the US in Norfolk, Virginia at the Chrysler Museum. I have documented the exhibit in a few short videos which you can below.
If you ever have wondered what it would be like if The Beatles were together during the eras of Instagram and Tiktok, this photography exhibit will be as close as you will ever get. When The Beatles were touring Paris and the US in 1964, they weren’t just the stars of the show, they were also tourists in their own right, as evident in the many photos of each of them wearing cameras around their neck.
At the time, John, Paul, George and Ringo — all in their early 20s — were eager to document the places they saw and the people they met, just like the youth of today using Instagram and Tiktok and other social media platforms.
Ringo was the first one to release and publish the personal photos he took during the heights of Beatlemania in his book, Photograph by Ringo Starr, published in 2015. To launch the book, Ringo was interviewed by Conan O’Brien at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles on September 25, 2015.
It was by far the most hilarious and enjoyable interview I think I’ve ever seen or heard. Ringo and Conan were so good together, and I thought if they wanted to take their act on the road, it would be a hit!
Unfortunately, photos and video were not allowed at the event, which is a shame, because Beatles fans would love to see this!
Lucky Conan (who is a huge Beatles fan as well as an Elvis fan) also got to interview Paul McCartney for a book event eight years later on June 15, 2023 to launch his Eyes of the Storm photography book, which you can watch here.
Fans will be intrigued to see a few photos of Paul’s former girlfriend, Jane Asher, taken on Wimpole street in London where Paul was given his own room in the Asher family home.
“The Asher family put me up in a flat on the top floor, and I think the self-portrait in the mirror was taken in that room. Not only did the Ashers give me a home away from home, but it was full of interesting people and conversations, and was also a very good place to write.” - Paul McCartney
Meanwhile, in Norfolk, visitors to the Chrysler Museum were treated to an informative lecture by Rosie Broadley, Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London, about the creation of the exhibit. Read this article on Daytrippin.com to find out about the fascinating facts she revealed.
A tip for future visitors to the exhibit: If you scan the QR code on certain photo panels in the exhibit, you can listen to Paul McCartney talking about his photos. Or you can download the digital guide on Bloomberg Connects and listen in advance to comments on the exhibit by Paul McCartney, as well as an audio interview with Mary McCartney.
The good news is that this exhibit will continue to travel in 2026. According to Paul’s official website, Paul McCartney’s Beatlemania photos will exhibit in Toronto starting in February 2026.
And guess what? George Harrison’s photography book is coming in 2026. As reported in my previous post, the new photography book called The Third Eye will be released in the Fall of 2026. It will feature over 250 color and black and white photos taken by George during The Beatle years. The book will be curated by his widow, Olivia Harrison.
“I want to show people, from George’s unique photographic perspective during the Beatles’ early years, the moments when the whole of your life is ahead of you with unknowable possibilities,” she said, as quoted in People. “His images in The Third Eye capture that spirit.”
So, will John Lennon’s personal photos he took during Beatlemania ever be released? Or are they hiding in storage somewhere? Hopefully Sean Lennon will look into it...