Unseen ‘Beatlemania’ photos by Paul McCartney unveiled at National Portrait Gallery

New photos of The Beatles by Paul McCartney, taken at the height of ‘Beatlemania’, have been unveiled at London’s National Portrait Gallery.

• READ MORE: The Beatles: every song ranked in order of greatness

From June 28-October 1 this year, the reopening of the gallery will see 250 photographs taken by the musical legend of his bandmates and surroundings on tour from 1963-64.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes Of The Storm will show what ‘Beatlemania’ looked like from the bassist and singer’s Pentax camera.

An accompanying photobook, titled 1964: Eyes Of The Storm, will be released on June 13 via Penguin Press.

Speaking in the book’s foreword, McCartney said of the period: “It felt like millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Of his love of photography, he added: “The truth is that I’ve always been interested in photography, from the time I was very young, when our family owned a little box camera in the 1950s.

“I used to love the whole process of loading a roll of Kodak film into our Brownie camera.”

See a selection of images from the book and exhibition below.

John Lennon. Paris, 1964. Credit: Paul McCartney.

“George looking young, handsome and relaxed. Living the life. Miami Beach, 1964.” Credit: Paul McCartney.

“The crowds chasing us in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ were based on moments like this. Taken out of the back of our car on West Fifty-Eigth, crossing the Avenue of the Americas.” Credit: Paul McCartney, 1964

Photographers in Central Park. New York, 1964. Credit: Paul McCartney.

Ringo Starr, London. Credit: Paul McCartney, 1963-64.

Self-portrait. London, 1963. Credit: Paul McCartney.

Elsewhere, a new Paul McCartney documentary exploring the musician’s life following the breakup of The Beatles has been announced.

Man On The Run is set to be directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville and will draw on “unprecedented access to a never-before-seen archive of Paul and Linda’s home videos and photos, as well as new interviews,” to chronicle the time between The Beatles’ breakup snd the rise of Wings in the ‘70s.

According to a press release, Man On The Run will serve as “the definitive document of Paul’s emergence from the dissolution of the world’s biggest band and his triumphant creation of a second decade of musical milestones — a brilliant and prolific stretch.”

“As a lifelong obsessive of all things McCartney, I’ve always felt that the 1970s were the great under-examined part of his story,” said Neville in a statement. “I’m thrilled to have the chance to explore and reappraise this crucial moment in a great artist’s life and work.”

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