In the summer of 1968, the Beatles couldn't help but notice that whenever a news article appeared reporting their current activities, it was accompanied by a photograph of them wearing their psychedelic fashions from the year before; or worse yet, a picture of them as the loveable mop-tops from the 'Beatlemania' era. The reason for this was simple. The press no longer had the opportunity to photograph the group since they hadn't performed in concert since 1966, and were now making fewer and fewer public appearances together.
This meant that the media didn't have current pictures of the ever changing group. With the exception of a very brief photo session that took place in EMI recording studios on February 8th, the Beatles hadn't yet posed for any group photos in 1968. A plan was devised to alleviate this situation.
On Sunday, July 28th 1968, in the midst of recording sessions for the White Album, The Beatles decided to spend a Mad Day Out being photographed at seemingly random locations all over London. Paul's then girlfriend, Francie Schwartz was assigned the task of picking locations that would act as suitable photographic sites. Veteran war photographer Don McCullin was called upon to act as primary cameraman, however additional photographers Ronald Fitzgibbon, Stephen Goldblatt, Tom Murray, and Tony Bramwell came along as well.
Beatles' assistant Mal Evans also came along and took pictures. Other spectators included Mal's six-year-old son Gary Evans, Yoko Ono, and Francie Schwartz. The resultant pictures have become some of the most famous and fascinating colour images of The Beatles.
Tom Murray will be appearing at Park Gallery on Thursday 18th October 2007 between 6-9pm to launch a collection of fabulous Signed Limited Edition Prints from this very special session.
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