MCCARTNEY 1964

Event/Book alert: From the artist who put the Swing in Swinging London and the reggae beat in "Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney has compiled a collection of his own photographs and reflections captured at the height of Beatlemania for a new book and exhibit with National Portrait Gallery. From the press release: "In 2020, an extraordinary trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35mm camera was re-discovered in his archive. They intimately record the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band’s first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet." And from the NPG: "An unprecedented exhibition, revealing – for the first time – extraordinary photographs taken by Paul McCartney. In this show, we focus on portraits captured by McCartney, using his own camera, between December 1963 and February 1964 – a time when The Beatles were transitioning from a British sensation to a global phenomenon. These never-before-seen images offer a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’ – and adjusting from playing gigs on Liverpool stages, to performing to 73 million Americans on The Ed Sullivan Show. At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, it is Paul McCartney’s which tells the truest story of a band creating cultural history – in one of its most exciting chapters." The exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery runs between June 28-Oct 1. US release date for the book is June 13th (Paul turns 81 on the 18th!). Pre-Order the book in the UK here. Below: project trailer from Paul McCartney. See my past post about The Beatles as photographers in The Curious Camera.

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Spy Vibe Radio: Hunter, Spy Vibe Radio: Gao Dalli CID 999, Bond Beatles 60th, William Klein R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio: M Squad, Spy Vibe Radio: Mr. Broadway, Agent King, Paul at 80, Spy Vibe Radio: John Kling, Classical Cold War, Spy Vibe Radio: Unknown Man of Shandigor, Danger Man Podcast, Spy Vibe Radio: Dr. Mabuse, Bowie Day, Interview: Girls Guns Gadgets, Shandigor Blu, Shag Palm Springs, New Bond Novel, Hi-Fi Book, Judex Serial Blu, UFO Comics, Interview: John Buss, ITC Magazine, Interview: Kaiser Marionettes, Belmondo R.I.P., 007 Corgi Event, Space 1999: The Vault, Shag Eames Lounge, Firecracker Exotica, Spy Vibe Radio: Lola Albright, Tikyaki 5-0, Godzilla Scores, Mid-Century Village, Spy Vibe radio: Nicola Conte, Men's Adventure Quarterly, Billy May Frenesi, Gary Numan, Spy Vader Spy, Chris Barber Legacy, Phantom Retrospective, Astro-Man, Spy Vibe Radio: Batman, James Bond Lexicon, Ray Cathode, Spy Vibe Radio: Johnny Staccato, Matt Helm Blu, Cold War 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50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Meet The Beatles was released 50 years ago today! With the single I Want To Hold Your Hand rising to number one in the US charts, Capital put out this album of songs from With The Beatles (UK) and sporting Robert Freeman's stylish photography. The band arrived in the United States on February 7th, 1964, to promote the record with press conferences, TV appearances and a short tour. Their famous Ed Sullivan debut was broadcast on February 9th, followed by their first gig at Washington Coliseum on February 11th. I became a massive fan and collector when I was about six or seven. My dad and I moved away from the family home when I was starting first grade. Spending a lot of time alone, I expect I was primed to cultivate a new hobby and my first non-childrens record paved the way. Somewhere in those early years, I have vivid memories of playing Help on my portable turntable (a blue and white plastic model w mono speaker). Thanks to a family friend, I was soon spinning a complete collection of original US albums and filling a special box with Beatles cards, magazines, toys, and other memorabilia. All these years later, that still describes how I spend some of my time. Like many others, I remember feeling like the band opened a door into a new world. The sound of the music and message of the lyrics, wrapped in that Captial-reverb glory, were a kind of coming-of-age ritual. Even though I was listening in the early 1970s, the albums transported me back to a more stylish time. I could close my eyes and imagine my room was the Cavern Club or Swinging London (in black and white), populated by intelligent young people from the world of music, fashion, cinema, and design. I've collected multiple copies of the records since then, but my first Meet The Beatles (below) bridges the time and takes me back to my room with that little portable turntable. I posted more about record collecting with images of vintage shops here. Thanks to Barbara L for passing along your collection and fostering a young Beatles fan! Beatlemania comes again during this anniversary with the release of the complete remastered Capital Albums. The box set is on sale today on PopMarket. Amazon page here.

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Batman Strips, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger nominated for Grammy,Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.