Even in Shoreditch, where artistic reinvention is a daily ritual, few names stir as much creative reverence as Paul McCartney. But this autumn, the Beatles legend isn’t picking up a bass or penning a ballad. Instead, he’s stepping behind the camera. From 28 August to 4 October 2025, Gagosian’s Davies Street gallery unveils Rearview Mirror: Liverpool–London–Paris, a rare photography exhibition capturing the birth of Beatlemania from McCartney’s own 35mm lens.
If you’re used to experiencing public art in Shoreditch’s side streets or sculptures along the canal, this is your cue to cross town and see London through Paul’s eyes — literally. For more behind-the-scenes legends, check out our feature on the British Art Fair 2025.
Paul McCartney’s Rearview Mirror: A Rock Icon Goes Candid
The name Paul McCartney evokes sold-out stadiums and chart-topping records. Yet here, we meet a quieter Paul — a visual storyteller wielding a Pentax camera in the feverish winter of 1963–64. The exhibit features photographs taken just as the Beatles were stepping into global superstardom. These aren’t press shots or planned promotions. They’re intimate, spontaneous slices of life — unguarded glimpses of George, Ringo, John, and Paul backstage, on tour, and at home.
Some images are quiet: McCartney’s self-portrait in the attic of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher’s home, where he dreamed up “Yesterday.” Others buzz with energy, like candid frames from the Beatles Christmas Show at Finsbury Park Astoria. Each shot tells a story only an insider could capture — a bandmate, a friend, a fly on the wall.
London, Paris, Liverpool: A Visual Road Trip Through Beatlemania
Rearview Mirror charts a pivotal journey. From Liverpool’s gritty clubs to Parisian stages and London’s BBC studios, McCartney’s photos document the Beatles’ first headlining tour, their iconic appearance on Juke Box Jury, and the trio of Christmas shows that cemented their national fame.
The imagery is rich with period detail — reflections in mirrors, shadowy corridors, airport tension — transporting us to a moment just before the Beatles took America by storm. These were the last weeks before the world turned upside down. And Paul had his camera ready.
From Contact Sheets to Collectibles: A Rare Opportunity
Here’s the twist: the negatives for these images were lost for over 50 years. Now restored and remastered, each piece in the show has been signed by McCartney and printed in a bespoke frame of his own design. This isn’t just an exhibition; it’s a collecting opportunity for die-hard Beatles fans and photography collectors alike.
And yes, these are for sale. So if your flat in Shoreditch has a white wall begging for a framed moment of pop culture history, consider this your sign.
From Stage to Gallery: McCartney’s Creative Evolution
Though known primarily for his music, Paul McCartney has always danced around the edges of visual art. His early inspirations came from Observer sports pages and his brother Michael’s photography. The Beatles’ Hamburg era brought him into contact with photographers like Astrid Kirchherr and Jürgen Vollmer, who helped shape the band’s now-legendary image.
In later years, McCartney explored painting — even exhibiting in Bristol and Liverpool. But these photographs mark a return to his earliest visual instincts, filled with curiosity and unaffected honesty. It’s no surprise that this show arrives hot on the heels of his Eyes of the Storm retrospective, which opened at the National Portrait Gallery and now tours the globe.
For more art-meets-icon stories, you might enjoy our write-up on the Bowie Centre at V&A East.
Gagosian London Brings the Intimate to the Iconic
Located on Davies Street in Mayfair, Gagosian London is no stranger to giants of art and music. Yet this show feels especially intimate. Where most retrospectives inflate mythologies, Rearview Mirror does the opposite — it strips back the noise to reveal four young men, nervous, playful, and unaware of what’s coming.
As curatorially polished as you’d expect from Gagosian, the exhibition retains a rawness — a diary made public, but without ego. It reminds us that even megastars had humble snapshots once, stuffed in drawers for decades.
Rearview Mirror Is a Mirror for Londoners Too
This show isn’t just a nostalgia trip. It’s a lens into the changing identity of London itself — from black-and-white tabloids to psychedelic fame, from the narrow hallways of BBC studios to the vast stages of modern art galleries. It captures a city — and a band — just before liftoff.
For anyone craving a reminder of London’s power to shape creative revolution, this exhibition delivers it in quiet, signed monochrome.
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Rearview Mirror: Liverpool–London–Paris
📅 28 August – 4 October 2025
📍 Gagosian, 17–19 Davies Street, London