Paul McCartney will chronicle the beginning of Beatlemania in a new book of photographs.
The Beatles bassist and songwriter will publish 1964: Eyes of the Storm this spring, Liveright announced in a news release. The book will contain 275 of McCartney’s photographs as well as reflections from the musician.
The photos were taken in late 1963 and early 1964, around the time the Beatles became huge stars in the U.K. and the U.S., after a string of hit singles and a widely viewed performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The pictures, taken in the cities of Liverpool; London; Paris; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Miami on a 35 mm camera, were rediscovered in McCartney’s archive in 2020.
The book will also feature essays by historian Jill Lepore and museum curators Nicholas Cullinan and Rosie Broadley.
“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,” McCartney said in a statement. “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.”
McCartney’s previous book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, was published by Liveright in 2021. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a delightful, surprising treasure trove that no Beatles completist should miss.”
1964: Eyes of the Storm is slated for publication on June 13.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
