A Mad Day Out

mad day out!
here is a very cool site with a bunch of pics and the story about the whole mad affair. these are some of my fave beatle shots, especially the ones in the garden, i have a large poster from this over my desk now. . . very nice!

I know we've had this topic on here before, but I'm not sure if this is the same article (I can't find the previous topic right now.) I'll leave this one open for now.

A Mad Day Out

by Gail Campbell-Thomson, icLiverpool


http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0...ad%20Day%20Out

FANS of the Fab Four will be charging towards Mathew Street at the end of the week for a chance to see British photographer, Tom Murray's extraordinarily thoughtful and quirky The Mad Day: Summer of '68 photographic exhibition.

From April 25th-May 18th 2003 the collection of 23 rare and extremely valuable photographs of the Beatles will be on show, ironically, a few doors down from the Cavern Club.

Acclaimed world-wide, Murray is credited as being the youngest photographer ever to be commissioned by the Royal Family.

Among a long and illustrious career he has worked with some of the best photographers in the world, including Lord Snowdon, Eve Arnold and Helmet Newton.

In his role as portrait photographer Murray can count Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, John Huston, Sir David Lean and fashion designers like Calvin Klein among his subjects.

The Mad Day collection was taken over one extraordinary - well mad - day around London in the summer of 1968.

Murray's friend, war photographer Don McCullum, asked him to come along on a shoot of a pop group he didn't really know.

As it happened, the pop group was none other than The Beatles.

Murray shot two rolls of film during the day, but only kept 23 negatives. Over time, they were forgotten about, until 25 years later.

When last appraised (eleven years ago by Christies), the negatives were valued at $100,000 (over £64,000) each. For those of you whose minds are boggling that is a grand total of $2.3m (over £1.4m).



The collection has been heralded as some of the best photographs ever to be taken of the Beatles, and in the best traditions of guerrilla photography, it was a pure fluke that the shoot ever happened at all.

McCullum's war photography experience came in useful. The locations for the shoot were deliberately random. If the group stayed in one place for too long, hysterical crowds were sure to follow.

So, a small park in Highgate, a house at Swain's Lane, the roof of Old Street Station and a Georgian Square by the Thames all became locations.

It was a strange, often anarchic day. Paul McCartney almost fell off of the roof of Old Street Station and a homeless man asleep on a the park bench where the group were shot in a Hollyhock bush slept on through all the excitement, never realising he'd just been photographed with the most famous band in the world.

And at one point, John Lennon collapsed in the middle of a shot. Rushing to his side in concern, the rest of the band realised that he wasn't hurt, it was just John being John.

The day ended as frantically as it had begun as a group of young girls staking out Paul McCartney's home worked themselves into hysteria when all four Beatles (plus their guest photographers) turned up for tea.

'The Mad Day: Summer of '68' will be showing at the Mathew Street Gallery in Liverpool from April 24th-May 18th, 2003.

Telephone 0151- 236-0009 for further details.

from the BBC:

Rare Beatles photos' new home

Wednesday, 23 April, 2003, 14:32 GMT 15:32 UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/m...de/2969847.stm

A rare collection of Beatles photographs are to have their first major exhibition in the UK at the Matthew Street Gallery in Liverpool.
They were taken by acclaimed photographer Tom Murray and were the last official publicity photographs by the group.

They were all taken in one day in 1968 and are collectively called "The Mad Day: Summer of '68".

Speaking to BBC News Online about the exhibition in the Fab Four's home town, Mr Murray said: "I'm bringing the boys home."

Some of the photographs will also form part of the permanent display at London's new Docklands gallery, which is due to open in the summer.

Mr Murray said it was an incredible experience to photograph the world's biggest band, but said he was somewhat shocked when he arrived for the shoot.

"The thing was I didn't know who it would be," said Mr Murray, who was 25 at the time but had already photographed stars such as Adam Faith and Cliff Richard.

"(War photographer) Don McCullum asked me if I would come and photograph a pop group. I said sure.

"When I arrived, I heard someone playing Lady Madonna and it was Paul McCartney on the piano. John Lennon was standing nearby with Yoko and there was George and Ringo.

"I was a bit surprised."

He said the band had wanted to have "one last photoshoot" for publicity.

The photographs are for the most part relaxed with the band clearly in a playful mood, hiding the disputes and rows which had soured their relationship by 1968.

But in one of them, John had jokingly pretended to faint. The rest of the band did not know he was messing about and gathered around him, looking concerned.

One of them removed his glasses.

Twelve years later, when John was shot dead by a crazed fan, Time magazine considered using it on the cover.

"They decided not to, because it was just too spooky," Mr Murray said.

The photographs are today estimated to be worth $2.3m, and prints have sold for up to £12,000 at charity auctions.

Mr Murray has pledged to auction all of the prints in aid of the Make A Wish Foundation.

The exhibition runs at the Matthew Street Gallery - just yards from the original Cavern Club - from 25 April until 30 June.

After that they will be on permanent display at the gallery.

"I think it's appropriate to have them here in Liverpool," Mr Murray added.

"I'm bringing the boys home."

you can see 11 of the pics here;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/...ry/2969085.stm