Overview
- The exhibition 'Eyes of the storm' opened at Musée Granet on 4 July 2026, marking the first French presentation of 250 prints drawn from Paul McCartney’s archive.
- The images were shot by McCartney on a Pentax 35 mm between October 1963 and February 1964 and document Liverpool shows, Paris performances at the Olympia, and the band’s first U.S. tour.
- McCartney’s archive of roughly 1,000 negatives and contact sheets was rediscovered in 2020 and curator Rosie Broadley worked with McCartney and Sarah Brown of MPL Communications to select and print the 250 exhibited photos.
- The show includes contact-sheet evidence of the Beatles’ 8 February 1964 rehearsals for the Ed Sullivan appearance and candid shots of fans, police and airport staff that convey the onset of Beatlemania.
- Presenting these personal images on tour after runs in London and the United States deepens public and scholarly understanding of the Beatles’ rapid rise and could revive interest in fresh archival projects for 1960s rock history.