50 Candid Snaps of Paul McCartney Taken by Fans in the 1960s

Paul McCartney’s work as a singer/songwriter with the Beatles in the 1960s helped transform popular music into a creative, highly commercial art form, with an uncanny ability to blend the two. These 50 candid snapshots of Paul McCartney on the streets were taken by his fans from the 1960s.

Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool, on June 18, 1942, and became interested in music from an early age. As a teenager, he was a budding singer-songwriter and became good friends with John Lennon and later George Harrison – this was to prove the nucleus of the Beatles.

In 1963, the Beatles soon shot to international fame and became one of the most recognized names in the world, especially after there visit to the U.S in 1964. At the peak of their fame, the Beatles followed a punishing schedule of recording, live performances and media interviews. The music of the Beatles captivated a new generation of music lovers, but also their free spirit and innovation captured the feeling of the 1960s and sense of breaking out of old forms and traditional ideas.

In the late 1960s, there was also increased tension between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Lennon and McCartney were the two major composers and writers, but they started to drift apart. McCartney struggled with Lennon’s heavy LSD usage and also resented Yoko Ono’s presence in recording studios. However, despite the personal tension, the late years of the Beatles produced some of the most memorable music of their career. It included ground-breaking albums such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road.