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March 3, 1966 ?

Photo shoot with French photographer Jean-Marie Périer

Last updated on November 18, 2023


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  • Location: 57 Wimpole Street & Hyde Park, London, UK

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French photographer Jean-Marie Périer, having worked with The Beatles on previous occasions, travelled from Paris to London for a photo shoot focused on Paul McCartney. The shoot took place on March 3, 1966, at the Asher family’s home at 57 Wimpole Street, London, where Paul lived at the time, and at Hyde Park. While some sources indicate the shoot happened on March 2, Périer’s recollection that it occurred on a Thursday seems to confirm the later date.

Photos from this day were published in the French magazine “Salut Les Copains” in April 1966.

One of the photos taken on this day might have been the inspiration for Klaus Voorman for his “Revolver” album cover.



Paul McCartney à Londres en 1966.

J’aime beaucoup cette photo de Paul, tellement anglais, en train de jouer du piano en costume cravate. Je l’avais appelé de Paris en lui disant : « Je dois faire huit pages sur toi. Je peux venir à Londres quel jour ? » Il me propose un jeudi. « Tu as besoin de combien de temps ? » me demande-t-il. « Trois heures ! » J’arrive chez lui on fait quelques photos puis et on prend sa Rolls pour en faire d’autres dans Hyde Park. Ce qui me plait c’est qu’il arrive en costume cravate, ça prouve qu’il s’est dit : « huit pages sur ma pomme ? OK jouons-le classique ». Pourtant Dieu sait si dans ce que les journaux appellent le « Swinging London » (expression un peu ridicule, Londres a toujours été fantaisiste) les Beatles étaient à la pointe des lanceurs de mode, inventant des mélanges des plus fantaisiste, changeant de look toutes les semaines. Ce que les obsédés du « Je suis rock-cuir-lunettes-noires » oublient aujourd’hui c’est que lorsque j’ai rencontré les Beatles et les Stones ils étaient souvent en cravate. « Être rock » ça ne veut rien dire, c’est un rêve de fan en mal d’imagination. D’abord le rock c’est une musique et une danse, point. Le reste n’est qu’invention de journalistes et de publicitaires. On peut s’habiller comme on veut mais je n’ai jamais compris les gens qui ressentent le besoin de ressembler à une communauté, d’avoir une panoplie liée à un groupe d’humains. Les gestes de doigts des rappeurs par des types de quarante ans, ça me parait puéril. Il me semble qu’il ne faut pas suivre la mode, il faut être SA mode ou rien. Finalement j’aime mieux les gens qui évoluent avec eux-mêmes que ceux qui « changent » avec tout le monde.

English translation:

I really like this photo of Paul, so English, playing the piano in a suit and tie. I called him from Paris and said, “I have to do eight pages on you. What day can I come to London?” He offered me a Thursday. “How much time do you need?” he asked. “Three hours!” I arrive at his place and we take a few photos, then we take his Rolls to take some more in Hyde Park. What I like is that he arrives in a suit and tie, which proves to me that he said to himself: “Eight pages on me? Okay, let’s play it classic.” Yet God knows that in what the newspapers call “Swinging London” (a bit ridiculous expression, London has always been fanciful) the Beatles were at the forefront of fashion trends, inventing the most fanciful mixes, changing their look every week. What the “I’m rock-leather-black-glasses” obsessed people forget today is that when I met the Beatles and the Stones they were often in a tie. “Being rock” doesn’t mean anything, it’s a fan’s dream lacking imagination. First of all, rock is music and dance, period. The rest is just an invention of journalists and advertisers. You can dress however you want, but I’ve never understood people who feel the need to look like a community, to have a panoply linked to a group of humans. The rapper finger gestures by forty-year-old guys, it seems puerile to me. It seems to me that you shouldn’t follow fashion, you have to be your own fashion or nothing. Ultimately, I prefer people who evolve with themselves than those who “change” with everyone.

Jean-Marie Perier – From Facebook, October 19, 2019

From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)
From Rest Day – The Beatles History (beatles-chronology.ru)

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

"With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group."

We owe a lot to Barry Miles for the creation of those pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - a day to day chronology of what happened to the four Beatles during the Beatles years!

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