A Peek Inside Mike McCartney's Liverpool Life

If you were a kid who was a Beatles fan in the mid- and late ‘60s, and almost every kid back then was, then you understand how different the world was at that time. There were so few media outlets – three TV networks (period), maybe three national magazines that covered celebrities (at all), three or four radio stations (AM only) in any major market that played pop music, and practically no coverage of pop music or “celebrities” in any newspaper – that, first, if you followed pop music, you knew who just about every pop music artist was, because there weren’t that many; and second, information about any public figure was tightly controlled.

The results were that (a) there could be only a few really big pop music stars at any one time, (b) the biggest stars, like Elvis Presley and the Beatles, were more popular than anyone who wasn’t around then could imagine today, and (c) no one really knew very much about them. Any information or photos about most public figures consisted of only what they or their public relations people wanted known, whether it was true or not – and we had no way of knowing, either way.

Today, of course, there are more than 100 cable TV channels, dozens of national magazines and thousands of websites focusing on celebrities, and celebrity coverage dominates what used to be (and is still called) the “arts” sections of most newspapers. There’s no way for celebrities to hide any part of their lives any more. And all of these outlets have created a “need” for more and more “celebrities.” So now, not only do we know much, much more about Britney Spears than we need to, but we also know everything about her sister and her mother.

That’s what’s so fascinating about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum’s newest exhibit, Mike McCartney’s Liverpool Life.

McCartney is the brother of Paul McCartney, who, since his days as a member of the Beatles, has been one of the most famous people in the world. Today, of course, we hear all about Paul’s private life. But during the Beatles era, practically every kid in America wished for a glimpse into their world – at home, backstage, behind the scenes.

The 65 photos in Mike McCartney’s exhibit do that, to some degree. While there aren’t many of the Beatles, the photos do provide a glimpse of what life was like for them around the time they were becoming famous. Mike McCartney began taking photos in his teens and has never stopped. The collection (which is also the basis of his book MMLL: Mike McCartney’s Liverpool Life) includes shots of their Liverpool neighborhood, various family members (including Mike and Paul’s father, who, unlike today’s Mrs. Spears and her ilk, shunned the limelight), the Beatles and other local rock groups –some of whom were later part of the so-called “British Invasion” – and the 1950s American rock stars, who were still revered in England (including Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Gene Vincent), who came to Liverpool to perform.

The collection also includes photos of Mike McCartney’s 1960s and ‘70s comedy troupe, Scaffold, who were very popular in England, appearing on national TV there and scoring several hit records, including two Number-One hits, “Thank U Very Much” and “Lily the Pink.” One of the most endearing photos in the exhibit, in fact, is the one titled 2 Number 1's. It’s a well-dressed older couple, sitting on an old sofa, both asleep. They’re McCartney’s Auntie Milly and Uncle Albert, photographed in the early ‘60s at McCartney’s home, and they were both mentioned in lyrics of songs that became Number-One hit records – Mike’s “Lily the Pink” (by Scaffold) and Paul’s “Uncle Albert” (by Wings).

For me, the exhibit, which will run through September 21, comes about 45 years later than I would have hoped, but, almost surprisingly, is still no less welcomed now than it would have been then. The fascination and mystery of that time and place is still strong. And while I could have looked at three or four times the number of photos that are in the exhibit (and I wouldn’t have minded a few more of the Beatles themselves, though I understand that it’s not a Beatles exhibit), it still provides at least a little of that coveted glimpse, even now.

Learn more about Liverpool Life at http://www.rockhall.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor David Budin popcyclesATsbcglobal.net

(:divend:)