Photographer Harry Benson took many legendary portraits of numerous celebrities. Among others, he accompanied the Beatles over a long period of time. Taschen Verlag is honoring his outstanding photographs with a collector's edition that shows three decades of Paul McCartney's life. Exhilarating band appearances, dreamy Wings years, rural family idyll - Harry Benson was always there.
Harry Benson, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Scottish Press Photography Award, among others, for his award-winning photographs, is known for his pictures of musicians, politicians and pop culture stars. In contrast to the sometimes disagreeable paparazzi, he made a name for himself because his pictures radiated an incomparable intimacy. He had something of a friendship with the Beatles, and his photographs of the band date back to 1964, the year they took the USA by storm and toured the world. The friendly Scotsman and his camera were everywhere. When Paul McCartney finally embarked on a new path, both privately and artistically, Benson continued to follow him and his wife Linda at close quarters.
Linda took this picture of the two of them with Harry's camera on the way to the plane. Los Angeles, 1976.
In the book "Paul", Harry Brenson describes how McCartney changed his life as a photojournalist forever. And that he was important for his pictures of the Beatles: "I could take a photograph of three of the Beatles, but Paul always had to be one of the three. You always looked at Paul first - he made the picture move." Very personal, approachable and amusing, he tells the stories behind the pictures, many of which have never seen the light of day: With more than 150 color and black-and-white photos, this collection offers intimate insights into the life of Paul McCartney. As an artist, he has spent almost his entire life in the limelight and yet has retained an enigmatic side.
In his photos, Benson often showed Paul McCartney in his private surroundings: Paul as a husband, Paul as a family man. Inseparably interwoven with this is his musical career and his public appearance. This high-quality pocket volume shows him at the absolute height of fame with the Beatles, but also in the recording studio with his wife Linda and their band Wings. The book takes you through sweaty nights on the dance floor of the Queen Elizabeth 2, where Paul and Linda celebrate the band's latest album with friends and celebrities. After all these years as an icon and performer, he longs for the family idyll on their farm in England. Harry Benson also portrays this stage at the end of the 1980s.
The publisher Reuel Golden worked for many years as editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Photography and managing editor at Photo District News. He now lives as a freelance author in New York and has published numerous illustrated books with Taschen. With "Paul", he has succeeded in creating a comprehensive publication that places a legendary photojournalist at the center of the narrative and allows him to take a look at one of the greatest songwriters and pop stars of all time. It also follows the development of Paul McCartney as a private man and shows many little-known pictures. The book will be published by Taschen on June 25.
The Collector's Edition of 600 copies (No. 101-700) is numbered and signed by Harry Benson, hardcover in an acrylic box, 600 euros.
Also available: two limited Art Editions signed by Harry Benson (Art Edition No. 1-50 with the print A Hard Day's Night, 1964; Art Edition No. 51-100 with the print Wings Backstage, 1976)
