McBean (1904-1990) might seem to belong entirely to the past, and yet he created one – or rather two – of the best-known group portraits of modern times, that are still in record shops, on websites, in your memory. In 1963 the man who had once photographed Ivor Novello leaning…
Tag: The Beatles
Angus McBean was born in 1904 in Newport, South Wales, England. As a youth he was a devotee of the cinema, spending hours watching the early silent films and experimenting with photography… McBean shot his photographs directly onto glass plates, using what was already considered old-fashioned equipment. Each photograph took…
Was he a good portraitist? By the naturalistic lights of our day, no. Edith Evans, appalled that a photographer had turned up unannounced at her dressing room door, calmed down when she heard it was McBean. “He will retouch me out of all recognition,” trilled the relieved actress. “It’s simple,”…
The movie’s influence on rock music is significant. The film reached Liverpool, England in the early summer of 1957. It featured cameo performances of early rock ‘n’ roll stars such as Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent and His Bluecaps, fascinated a 16-year-old John Lennon by showing him, for…
The fab four in costume: I’m the youngest of four. One of the earliest memories I have is of my oldest brother’s birthday, following my mother around as she decorated the dining room for his party. The centerpieces were Beatles singles stacked in “house of card” towers, the table cloth…