Linda McCartney
A Retrospective
The worst of Covid is hopefully over and the UK's cities and towns will be trying to get back to where they once belonged. It is no easy task but I come from Liverpool and I'm confident that we will make it because of the Beatles. Many locals think that the Beatles should be put to one side while we kick-start the economy but I disagree. Tourism is vitally important to the city and as we have to get the tourists back, the Beatles have their most important role ahead of them; they alone can save the city.
A good start has been made with the Covid-postponed Linda McCartney retrospective, which is now opening at the city's leading art gallery, the Walker. There is much good quality merchandise on display - books of photographs, posters, tea towels. fridge magnets, shopping bags and stationery. A fan could easily spend £100 on gifts and mementos and that can only be good for the city's economy.
This is a magnificent exhibition, spread out over several rooms and proving, I think, that Linda was a major photographer. We see her working in black-and-white and in colour, experimenting with Polaroids and reverting to an 1830s method of developing photographs by using sunlight. We do see her at work too, taken by Paul and also taken by herself in the mirror.
Linda McCartney died in 1998, having spent 30 years as a professional photographer. She photographed many rock stars before and after the Beatles including the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and, for the cover of Rolling Stone, the Rolling Stones on the Hudson River. Some photographs are blown up on large display boards and for others, we see the contact sheets with her markings on the ones to go for. Generally speaking, all the photos on the contact sheets look good and she didn't make editing points in the way that a lot of photographers cut and crop. We are also shown the finished product on magazines and LP sleeves.
What I learnt from the exhibition is how much Paul McCartney loved being Paul McCartney - and you can't say that for every superstar. He did what he wanted and he set aside time for family life. Buying a farm on the Mull of Kintyre was a wonderful idea and the photographs were often idyllic. I was amused by the way his facial hair came and went and I loved his fulsome beard in 1969 when he looked like he was about to leave the Beatles for the Dubliners. There are some delightful memorabilia such as a postcard from Scotland to their Mr Fix-It, Alistair Taylor. It reads, "Hello Mello Jello, Love, Cat, Hat & Rat" - is Mello Jello a Donovan reference?
There are plenty of Beatle photographs in the gallery. You wouldn't get the impression that there were tensions among them, but it was mostly over a poor choice of management in Allen Klein, and time has certainly shown that Paul was right to oppose it. There are photographs of the Beatles at the launch of Sgt Pepper and making both the White Album and Abbey Road. Linda was even photographing the Beatles when Iain MacMillan was shooting the zebra crossing cover for Abbey Road.
As well as the Beatles, you will see photographs of Charles Aznavour, Eric Clapton, Judy Collins, Simon and Garfunkel and a brilliant one of B B King in concert. The actors include John Hurt, the poets Allen Ginsberg and the painters Willem de Kooning. There are pictures of stallions, farm life and various pets and of relations who pop up in the Beatles story such as Paul's Auntie Jin.
This is a brilliant retrospective and well worth seeing. What's more, the issues over social distancing have been resolved: you buy your ticket in advance and you are given a time. The exhibition is held in large, high rooms and you will feel confident once you are there. Come to Liverpool - save our city.
Spencer Leigh
Seaside Woman
Fatea Showcase Sessions
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