Paul McCartney is showcasing his personal Beatlemania photos at the Brooklyn Museum

Screaming and crying girls. Innumerable hotel rooms. Nonstop camera flashes. A group of four Liverpudlian guys in the middle of it all. Beatlemania made an indelible mark on history and on our lives.

Sir Paul McCartney, the group’s bassist and one of two lead singers, is showcasing more than 250 of his own photographs that illustrate the intensity of this historical moment, but also the quiet, personal moments unseen by millions of fans in “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm” at the Brooklyn Museum. The show opens on May 3.

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First on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the exhibition is made up of photography, video clips and archival material between The Beatles’ concert hall performances in Liverpool and London to their international tour, first to Paris and then to the United States. From hotel to hotel and from venue to venue, McCartney was taking portraits, landscapes and documentary shots all along the way. The museum says you can see references to New Wave, documentary filmmaking and photojournalism across the exhibition.

Inside are photos illustrating the demands of touring, the constant media attention as well as McCartney’s band members, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, who were undergoing an extremely life-changing era. The exhibit gives a highly personal look into their lives much like a family album, according to the museum.

As a massive Beatles fan, access to these personal photos is a gift. Seeing the rabid fans and the insane moments from McCartney’s perspective, especially from his time here in NYC, is something I never thought I’d get to see.

“Since first arriving in New York in February 1964, Paul McCartney has built a strong, everlasting connection to the city,” says Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts. “His vibrant photographs from The Beatles’ first visit capture the energy of the city, the excitement of the American fans, and the frenzy of the band’s status as celebrities. Yet the images also record The Beatles’ fun and delight with each other. Through McCartney’s lens, we feel the intensity of being at the center of such extraordinary events.”

“Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm,” supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, opens May 3 and will be on at Brooklyn Museum through August 18.