At the Brooklyn Museum, see Paul McCartney’s photos of the early days of Beatlemania

Sixty years ago, the Beatles made their first visit to the United States. As part of their tour, they stopped in New York City, where a 21 year-old Paul McCartney captured their visit on his Pentax camera.

Starting Friday, you can see more than 250 of McCartney’s photographs at the Brooklyn Museum, in a new exhibition called “Eyes of the Storm.”

It offers a never-before-seen glimpse of what it was like for the Fab Four as they became international superstars, and were hounded by fans and paparazzi in the years 1963 and 1964.

The exhibition’s co-curator, Sarah Brown, worked closely with McCartney to select photos for the original showing in London.

She spoke to WNYC’S Tiffany Hanssen on a recent episode of “All Things Considered” about Beatlemania, celebrity and Sir Paul. Below is an edited version of their conversation.

Tiffany Hanssen: The Beatles arrived in New York City in 1964. What was that time in the city like for them?

Sarah Brown: For three of the Beatles – John, Paul, and Ringo – it was the first time they’d ever been to the U. S. So, I think it was almost living the American dream to them. They were in complete awe of the city.

They remember how much bigger everything was. The billboards. It felt more commercial than the UK. And it was also the first time they experienced the fans chasing them down the street, waiting outside their hotel like that.

Paul says in the exhibition how he felt like he was the star of a movie, with people chasing him. And that it was kind of everything they’d ever dreamed of, after years of hard work in Liverpool and London.

The photos give us an intimate…