‘Sudnli, w wr in Wunḍland’: Pōl MCartni on hiz lost fotoz v Bìtlmeńa
(Transcription of a Guardian article of 3 June 2023)
Ɖ picćrz ɖ sñr tc v hiz frendz n bandmêts gv a Bìtlz-î vy v ɖ meńa arnd ɖ band in 1964. Sìn hir fr ɖ frst tîm, ɖz xtrordnri bhnd-ɖ-sīnz momnts capćr for yuñ men on ɖ brinc v imortaḷti
Pōl MCartni, Saṭde, 3 Jūn 2023
Smẃr in ɖ bac v mî mînd, I olwz ń I hd tecn sm picćrz in ɖ 1960z. At frst, I cd’nt pinpônt ɖ yir, bt I wz srtn w wr qt yuñ, jst ẃn ɖ Bìtlz wr riyli tecñ of. I nvr traid t fînd ɖs c’lex́n – conśsli, ɖt z – bt I cnd v ʈt ɖt it wd jst srfis at ɖ rît tîm. Ɖr’z ofn a srtn amǎnt v seṛndiṗti involvd. N ẃl w wr pripẹrñ fr an xbiśn v mî lêt wîf Linda’z foṭgrafs in 2020, I lrnt ɖt mî ǒn hd bn prizrvd in mî arcîvz. Ẃn I frst sw ɖm aftr so mni decedz, I wz dlîtd ɖt ɖz iṃjz n contactśīts hd bn fîṇli lcetd.
Enwn hu rīdiscuvrz a prsnl relic or faṃli treźr z instntli fludd wɖ meṃriz n imośnz, ẃć ɖen trigr asośieśnz berid in ɖ hêz v tîm. Ɖs wz xacli mî xpirịns ẃn siyñ ɖz fotoz, ol tecn ovr an intns ʈri-munʈ pirịd, culṃnetñ in Febrri 1964. It wz a wundrfl snseśn bcz ɖe plunjd m rît bac. Hir wz mî ǒn record v ǎr frst hyj trip, a fotgrafic jrnl v ɖ Bìtlz in six sitiz, bginñ in Liṿpul n Lundn, foloud bî Paris (ẃr Jon n I hd bn ordnri hićhîcrz jst ovr tū yirz bfr), n ɖen ẃt w rgardd az ɖ big tîm, ǎr frst vizit az a grūp t America – Ny Yorc, Wośñtn DC n Mîami – t ɖ land ẃr, at līst in ǎr mîndz, ḿzic’s fyćr wz biyñ born.
It wz a pirịd v – ẃt els cn y cōl it? – panḍmońm. W for gaiz fṛm Liṿpul cd’nt poṣbli riylîz ɖen ɖ impḷceśnz v ẃt w wr dwñ. Bî ɖ end v Febrri 1964, aftr ǎr vizit t America n ʈri apiṛnsz on Ɖ Ed Sulivn Śo, w fîṇli hd t admit ɖt w wd nt, az w hd orijiṇli fird, jst fizl ǎt az mni grūps d. W wr in ɖ vangard v smʈñ mor m’mnṭs, a reṿluśn in ɖ culćr.
Ɖ truʈ z ɖt I hv olwz bn inṭrestd in ftogṛfi, fṛm ɖ tîm I wz vri yuñ, ẃn ǎr faṃli ǒnd a litl boxcamra in ɖ 1950z. I yst t luv ɖ hol proses v lodñ a rol v Codac film intu ǎr Brǎni camra. I wd asc mî bruɖr, Mîc, t tec a picćr v m ǎtsd a hotdog stor – an Americn xport t a cuntri ɖt hd nvr prīvịsli noun hotdogz. N fṛm ɖoz rli yirz, w wd yz ɖ camra t tec picćrz v ć uɖr. Ɖs wz nt jst a MCartni faṃlihobi. Evri faṃli w ń wd tec a camra on hoḷde, az in “Hir w r on hoḷde in Blacpūl” or “Hir I am wɖ Ānti Dilis n Uncl Hari”, az w dd ẃn w wnt t Butlin’z hoḷdecamp.
Ʈñz wr haṗnñ so wîldli ɖt I canot se ɖt ftogṛfi wz in ɖ fōrfrunt v mî mînd az w turd. Īvn ɖo w wontd t trnsform fṛm a litl band t a big wn, n īvn ɖo w hopt fr inṭnaśnl axptns ẃn w wnt t Frans n ɖen ɖ YS, nwn cd hv pridictd ẃt I dscrîbd az ɖ “Îz v ɖ Storm”. At frst, I wz tmtd t cōl it ɖt, bcz ɖ Bìtlz srtnli wr at ɖ sntr, or ɖ î, v a slf-jeṇretd storm, bt ẃn I lct at ol ɖz foṭgrafs, I riylîzd it riyli śd b in ɖ plŭṛl, ɖ “Îz v ɖ Storm”, bcz v ol ɖ picćrz ɖt uɖrz wr tecñ, ɖ foṭgrafs I wz tecñ, n olso ɖ îz v ɖ fanz ɖt grītd s, ɖ s’kṛti ɖt lct aftr s. Hu z lcñ at hu? Ɖ camra olwz sīmz t b śiftñ, wɖ m foṭgrafñ ɖm, ɖ pres foṭgrafñ s, n ɖoz ʈǎzndz n ʈǎzndz v ppl ǎt ɖr wontñ t capćr ɖs storm.
Prezidnt Ceṇdi hd bn mrdrd onli a litl ovr tū munʈs bfr ǎr arîvl in ɖ Ynîtd Stets, n hiz asaṣneśn hd ric̣śeid ʈrt ɖ wrld, so w figrd ɖ atṃsfir mt stl b sbdyd. Bt ɖ minit w landd in Ny Yorc, w ń instntli ɖt w wr nt in stor fr eni cnd v fynirịl tîm. It wz a Frîde in rli Febrri ẃn w tućt dǎn, n it flt lîc ʈǎzndz – n lêtr, ʈru teḷviźn n Ɖ Ed Sulivn Śo – miłnz v îz wr sudnli upn s, crietñ a picćr I wl nvr fget.
Az ǎr grūp md its we t DC n ɖen t Mîami, mî camra wz atractd t ɖs ny Americn yṇvrs v comn ppl. Ɖr’z a man wɖ a śuvl in frunt v ɖ Pnṣlveńa frêtcar in Wośñtn DC, standñ raptli woćñ, or for eṛplein mcanics clad in ẃît at Mîami erport. Ɖz r mî ppl. Ɖs z ẃr I’m fṛm. I grù p in a wrcñclas faṃli in Liṿpul, so I cd nvr dtać mslf fṛm ppl lîc ɖz. I wontd t b rît in ɖ midl v ɖm. Mî reḷtivz wr xacli lîc ɖz ppl. Y’l fînd ɖm – ɖ busdrîvr, ɖ postmn, ɖ milcmn – nt onli in mî soñz bt in mni v ɖz fotoz.
Ɖt America rmend a land v contṛdix́nz bcem apaṛnt jrñ ɖ Mîami leg v ɖ tur, wɖ ol ɖt culr cmñ aftr ɖ gre drabnis v Ny Yorc n Wośñtn DC, ẃr ɖ grǎndz v ɖ Ẃît Hǎs n ɖ Cápitl bildñ hd bn berid in sluśi sno. I hd yt t pl ǎt ɖ culrfilm rol, bt y cn fīl ɖ intns xîtmnt az w tućt dǎn at Mîami erport, jamd t ɖ rūf n ɖ raftrz wɖ wel-wiśrz v evri sort. N ɖen cmz ɖt xploźn v culr az w gt ɖ ćans t rlax n ple in ɖ grīn-blu wōtrz v ɖ Atlantic Ośn, īvn ɖo w nǒ w stl hv wn mor lîv apiṛns on Ɖ Ed Sulivn Śo t cm. Wn v mî feṿrit fotoz in ɖ c’lex́n śoz Jorj Harisn, hiz fes hidn bî súnglasz, biyñ handd a drinc – probbli a scoć n Cǒc – bî a grl, n olɖo w d’nt si hr fes, w d si hr daẓlñ yelo swimñcostym. Ɖ compziśn wz dlibṛt, n I’m glad ɖt I dd’nt muv frɖr awe bt cept Jorj az ɖ foc̣s v ɖ imij. In lcñ bac on ɖz fotoz v ɖ gd lîf, I’m nt at ol s’prîzd ɖt ɖ culrpicćrz startd haṗnñ ẃn w got t Mîami, bcz, sudnli, w wr in Wunḍland.
Rīdiscuṿrñ ɖ foṭgrafs I tc in mî rli 20z inevitbli mcs m rflect on mć larjr qsćnz. I ʈnc it’s ɖ sem az it wd b fr enwn, ɖt ẃn y lc at picćrz v yrslf ẃn y wr yungr – in mî ces, a lot yungr – ɖr r a lot v imośnz. On ɖ most besic levl, y ʈnc, “Bô, dd’nt I lc gd?”, bt w ol lc bytifl ẃn w’r yuñ, n I’m prǎd t hv bn ʈru ɖt n t nǎ hv ɖ priṿlij v rīviẓtñ so mni v ɖoz momnts. I riylîz ɖt mni ppl gt sad ẃn ɖe pōr ʈru old faṃli albmz, bt I d’nt fīl ɖt sns v los, īvn ɖo qt a fy v ɖ ppl hu r portreid hir hv daid.
It’s nt so mć a fīlñ v los bt a jô in ɖ past. Ẃn I lc bac n ʈnc, I hv t se, “Wǎ” – w dd ol ɖt, n w wr jst cidz fṛm Liṿpul. N hir it z in ɖ foṭgrafs. Bô, hǎ gret dz Jon lc? Hǎ hansm z Jorj n hǎ cūl z Ringo, wẹrñ ɖt funi Frenć hat? I’m olso drwn t ɖ picćrz v ɖ ftogṛfrz, hu wr nvr ǎr eṇmi. Ɖe brñ bac meṃriz v ẃt it wz lîc biyñ in Ny Yorc fr ɖ frst tîm, biyñ tecn dǎn t Sntṛl Parc, wɖ ol ɖoz hard-bitn camṛmen śǎtñ ǎt, “Hê Bìtl, hê Bìtl, hê Bìtl.” N w’d lc at ɖm n ɖ’d tec ɖ picćr, n ɖen wn mor, olwz jst wn mor.
I’m rmîndd v so mni ʈñz: v an Ñgḷnd ɖt wz mor mî peṛnts’ jeṇreśn ɖn mî ǒn; v ɖ rli conṣts n ɖoz orijinl fanz; v “Bìtlmeńa” n v a Lundn ɖt in 1963 spouc v promis n ambiśn n evrʈñ ny t for yuñ men fṛm ɖ norʈ.
N I’m rmîndd v an America ɖt I nǒ stl xists, smẃr. I rmembr ol ɖoz storiz, sm v ɖm riyl, uɖrz imajind, fṛm lcñ ǎt v ɖ trenwindo, siyñ Americn frêțrenz, Americn relwe yardz. I lîc Americn trenz t ɖs de. I lîc t ʈnc ɖt I cn hír “ɖt lonsm ẃisl blo”. It’s ɖ maɉsti v ol ɖoz bytifl old bluzsoñz, n I bgin t wundr hǎ ol ɖoz ppl hićt rîdz acrs ɖ cuntri in ɖ old dez. Īvn ɖen, az y hír in mî soñz, I wz olwz imaɉnñ ɖ lîvz v ppl I dd nt nǒ, lîc ɖt man, “ɖ Pnṣlveńn”, I’l cōl him, in frunt v ɖ trenyard, huz stori I wl nvr nǒ, bt I cn stl asc: “Ẃt wz h lîc ẃn h wnt hom ɖt nît? Dd h mnśn hvñ sìn ɖ Bìtlz at ɖ dinrtebl?”
Ɖz ppl, sm feṃs n uɖrz, lîc ɖ fanz, toṭli anoniṃs, nǎ brñ bac so mni storiz, a flud v speśl meṃriz, ẃć z wn v ɖ mni rīznz I luv ɖm ol, n nǒ ɖt ɖe wl olwz fîr mî imaɉneśn. T lc at ɖ streñʈ, t lc at ɖ luv n ɖ wundr v ẃt w wnt ʈru ɖt’s capćrd in ɖz foṭgrafs z ɖ hol ʈñ. It’s ẃt mcs lîf gret.
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Ɖs z an eḍtd xtract fṛm 1964: Îz v ɖ Storm – Foṭgrafs n Rflex́nz bî Pōl MCartni (Aḷn Len). T s’port ɖ Gardịn n Obzrvr, ordr yr copi at guardianbookshop.com. Dlivrićarjz me aplî. Pōl MCartni Foṭgrafs 1963-64: Îz v ɖ Storm wl b at ɖ Naśnl Portrit Gaḷri, Lundn fṛm 28 Jūn untl 1 Octobr 2023. Xbiśnticits cn b prćist at npg.org.YC
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