Maybe I’m Amazed. A personal portrait of Paul McCartney by Harry Benson

Harry Benson began photographing Paul McCartney in 1964, when the Beatles took America by storm, toured the world, and made their movie debut with A Hard Day’s Night. The legendary photojournalist was on hand to document it all. When the Fab Four came to an end, it was Benson who had intimate access to Paul and his wife Linda, as Paul forged a new path, creatively and personally.

Featuring more than 100 color and black-and-white images, this collection is a window into the life of one of the world’s best-known recording artists, one who has remained enigmatic despite a lifetime in the limelight.

Through Benson’s lens, Paul traces the evolution of its namesake from performer to icon, father and husband. We see the young musician at the height of his fame with the Beatles, in the recording studio with Linda and their band Wings, with the family, behind the scenes and on stage during the 1975–76 “Wings Over America” tour, partying with the stars, and at the couple’s quiet farm in the UK in the early 1990s.

On the occasion of Sir Paul's 80th birthday, Paul gives an all-access look at a life spent making the world’s most popular music. A must for any music fan.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The editor:

Reuel Golden is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photography editor at TASCHEN. His TASCHEN titles include: Mick Rock: The Rise of David Bowie, both London and New York Portrait of a City books, The Rolling Stones, Her Majesty, Football in the 1970s, the National Geographic editions, the David Bailey SUMO and Andy Warhol. Polaroids.

Maybe I’m Amazed. A personal portrait of Paul McCartney by Harry Benson

Harry Benson began photographing the young Paul McCartney in 1964, a pivotal year for the Beatles when they took America by storm, toured the world, and made their movie debut with A Hard Day’s Night—all documented by the affable Scotsman. And when the Fab Four called it quits, it was Benson who was afforded intimate access to Paul and wife Linda, as Paul forged a new path creatively and personally.

Through Benson’s lens, Paul traces the evolution of its namesake as an icon, performer, and a devoted family man. We follow the musician at the height of his fame with the Beatles; in the recording studio with Linda and their band, Wings; with the family; behind the scenes and on stage during the 1975–76 “Wings Over America” tour; dancing the night away at a star-studded party on the Queen Mary to celebrate the band’s newest album; and with Linda on the couple’s farm in the U.K. in the early 1990s—a fittingly soft landing after so many years of flying high.

Featuring more than 100 color and black-and-white images by the legendary photojournalist, many never seen before, this collection is a window onto a one-of-a-kind artist, one who has remained somewhat enigmatic despite nearly a lifetime of being in the limelight.

Collector’s Edition of 600 copies (No. 101–700), each numbered and signed by Harry Benson

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The editor:

Reuel Golden is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photography editor at TASCHEN. His TASCHEN titles include: Mick Rock: The Rise of David Bowie, both London and New York Portrait of a City books, Andy Warhol. Polaroids, The Rolling Stones, Her Majesty, Football in the 1970s, the National Geographic editions, and The David Bailey SUMO.

Behind Beatlemania. Privileged access to the Fab Four

The best of Harry Benson’s era-defining Beatles portfolio, capturing the Liverpudlian quartet on the road, performing, and coming to terms with skyrocketing fame. From a pillow fight in Paris to their first U.S. tour, shot in luminous black and white, Benson’s pictures show intimate glimpses of George, John, Paul, and Ringo composing, relaxing, and engaging with euphoric fans.

In early 1964, photographer Harry Benson received a call from the photo editor of London’s Daily Express, who asked him to cover the Beatles’ trip to Paris. It was the beginning of a career-defining relationship, which would both make Benson’s name and produce some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the Beatles.

In Paris, Benson captured the Fab Four in the midst of a pillow fight at the George V Hotel, a spontaneous moment which came to epitomize the spirit of the band — Benson himself has called it the best shot of his career. Later that year, he followed the group on the road for their debut U.S. tour, documenting their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, their surprising encounter with Cassius Clay, and the hysteria of New York Beatlemania. Benson also photographed George Harrison’s honeymoon in Barbados, documented the Beatles on the set of their debut movie A Hard Day’s Night, and was present on the now infamous 1966 tour when John Lennon said that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.”

Previously out-of-print, this re-edition brings back the best of Benson’s luminous black-and-white Beatles portfolio. Complemented by quotes and newspaper clippings from the period, an introduction by the photographer himself adds exciting personal testimony to these iconic images of the greatest band in musical history.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The Fab Five. Behind Beatlemania

“These photos convey a really happy period for them and for me. It all comes down to music, they were without a doubt the greatest band of the 20th century, and that’s why these photographs are so important.” – Harry Benson, 2012

In early 1964, Harry Benson was getting on a plane for a foreign assignment in Africa, when he got a call from the photo editor of London newspaper The Daily Express. He was now going with The Beatles to Paris to document French Beatlemania and what followed was the biggest (ticket to) ride of his life.

Benson was warmly welcomed into The Beatles’ inner sanctum, resulting in some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the band, then on the cusp of world domination. In Paris, he took the famous photograph of the Fab Four having a pillow fight at the George V Hotel; he shot their groundbreaking first visit to the United States, the full impact of New York hysteria, their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan show, the band in Florida, including their surprising encounter with Cassius Clay; as well as on the set of A Hard Day’s Night. The relationship continued in 1966, including George’s honeymoon in Barbados and their notorious US tour, under the shadow cast by Lennon’s comment that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus Christ.”

Benson’s luminous black and white photographs show at close quarters The Beatles composing, performing, encountering their fans, relaxing, and engaging with each other, while trying to cope with their increasingly isolating fame. In addition to hundreds of photographs, many previously unseen, there is an introductory essay by Benson as well as quotes and newspaper clippings from the period.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Immortalizing the people and moments that have defined the past 60 years, world-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson has become as much a part of history as the photographs themselves. The scope of his accomplishments as a photojournalist is nothing short of remarkable: he has photographed every U.S. president since Eisenhower, as well as Robert F. Kennedy on the night he was assassinated, and Martin Luther King Jr. at his funeral; he has shot stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Greta Garbo, and Truman Capote; he covered both the rise and fall of the Berlin wall, the IRA hunger strikes, the Freedom March through Mississippi, the Watts riots, 9/11, and conflicts in Kuwait, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Israel; and, on the eve of his 80th birthday, Benson is still at it, crisscrossing the globe on assignment for Conde Nast.

Harry Benson: Photographs is a visual celebration of Benson's incomparable career. Organized into chapters on celebrity, art, fashion, sports, politics, and photojournalism, Harry Benson: Photographs features a distinctive mix of iconic images alongside never-before-published photographs of Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Billy Graham, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, the Beatles, Sonny Liston, Chuck Berry, O.J. Simpson, Yogi Berra, Sophia Loren, Kate Moss, Gloria Swanson, James Brown, Fred Astaire, Johnny Carson, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, Joseph Papp, Andy Warhol, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Halston, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Diana Vreeland, and countless others. With unique access to the most elusive, alluring, and enduring legends of our time, Benson's magnum opus is an unsurpassed masterpiece of contemporary photojournalism and portraiture.