Paul McCartney’s “Eyes of the Storm” Keeps The Beatle Touring

McCartney kept a photographic diary between 1963-64 and it’s something to behold

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When you think of Paul McCartney, you probably think of the accomplished singer and songwriter.  Maybe you think of him as one of the top bass players to ever roam this rock. Or possibly theconversation steers towards his title of “Sir” and his knighthood. What normally doesn’t enter the fray is his wonderful work as a photographer.  In fact, when you Google ‘Photographer McCartney” his late wife Linda will most likely show up.  However, from December of 1963 to February 1964 Sir Paul snapped some of the most iconic images of the lads from Liverpool as they transitioned from an emerging British phenomenon to global icons that would shift the trajectory of music for generations. Those snapshots have been traveling the globe since 2023, and I had the opportunity to see them on display at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville.  This is the last week that the photos will line the walls of this finely curated building and the final few days before they find their way back out of the United States and heads to Toronto.   

McCartney carried his 35mm Pentax camera around him during these three months and created portraits of not only his mates John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, but of loved ones, roadies, fans, hotel and airport workers and a handful of “unidentified women backstage”. Pulled from McCartney’s personal archive, most of the images have never seen the light of day before this worldwide tour. What is created is a perspective of the young upstarts before they wave of mega-stardom.  The gallery is aptly named “Eyes of the Storm”.  The over 250 printed lot is engulfed in leisure and smiles, but you can also catch a glimpse of the mayhem that is brewing.   You begin to hear the screams from their fans through the lens of McCartney. The collection documents the evolution of Beatlemania as they visited six cities that included Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami. 

There is also an allotment of programs, news articles, lyric sheets, and more memorabilia that accompanies the archive of photographs.  It is truly a stunning stockpile of gorgeous work that makes you see The Beatles in a rarely seen intimate portrayal.  McCartney said that “It was a crazy whirlwind that we were living through, touring and working pretty much every day and seeing loads of people who wanted to photograph us. There were loads of eyes, and cameras, at the center of this storm.”   

If you are in the Nashville area in this upcoming week I implore you to visit and see this gala as it was meant to be seen.  The exhibition leaves Music City on January 26^th, 2026.  Below is a gallery of photos that I was able to snap of Paul’s work with my Pentax camera.