McCartney Times

At one time the most famous pop band in the world, The Beatles still hold center stage. Anyone who lived through the 1960s remembers them, and the digital remastering of their output has ensured that younger generations know them too. How could they not? The songs will live forever and are regularly used in film or TV scores, on advertisements, and on radio channels everywhere.

With such coverage and interest, how can there be anything new to say about the band? The Beatles manages to do so thanks to the remarkable collection of photographs housed in Mirrorpix, the library of the Daily Mirror, Britain’s premier popular daily. With so much interest in the band, photographers were always looking to cover not just the major events that all the media attended, but smaller, more intimate moments. And then, of course, there were the paparazzi: The Beatles were perfect targets for this new breed of photographer who didn’t ask for permission to take their photos and followed George, Paul, John, and Ringo wherever they went.

The book begins with an overview, starting with Brian Epstein’s birth in 1934 to The Beatles signing with him in 1961, in between covering their time in Liverpool, their start as the Quarrymen, their gigs in Hamburg, and the dawn of what would become their iconic hairstyles. Each ensuing chapter contains unique timelines that highlight notable daily activities each year, from concert dates, to personal matters (Paul marries Linda March 12, 1969), to epic events that solidify the group’s fame forever (Apple Records launches August 11, 1968). The book finishes with a chapter on the band’s breakup and their lives, post-Beatles.

Included are 15 removable reproductions of collectible memorabilia, including: 

• Concert posters and flyers for the group’s performances, including at the Odeon (with Roy Orbison in 1963) and their record-breaking Shea Stadium appearance (1965)
• 1963 program cover for a Royal performance in the presence of the Queen Mother at the Prince of Wales Theatre
• 1963 signed souvenir card from their Scottish tour of Glasgow, Kirkcaldy, and Dundee
• Cover from a pictorial commemorating their 1964 performances at Carnegie Hall
• 1965 Christmas card signed by the Fab Four
• 1966 advertisement for the band’s US single release, “Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby”
• Cartoon and caricature cards

Mirrorpix has a sensational collection of material that was taken to feed an insatiable desire to see the band, their families, hangers on, and what they all did. Record launches, publicity events, holidays, flights in and out of the country, TV broadcasts, film work, births, deaths, and marriages: every event was photographed. With this sort of coverage, unsurprisingly, much material was not published, and it is this treasure trove that is showcased in this rare and exciting collection. Collectors of all stripes will cherish the removable reproductions of memorabilia.