WKSU News: Mike McCartney's trip through the lens

Thursday, July 12, 2012 Mike McCartney's trip through the lens Paul's brother brings his images of Scotland to the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown by WKSU's KABIR BHATIA	Reporter Kabir Bhatia

Mike McCartney's Northeast Ohio connections run deep -- his first trip in the 1970s was to meet the "Mike McGear Depreciation Society." His sons are also big fans of Devo.

Courtesy of Jeff St. Clair

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Mike McCartney is coming to Youngstown. The Liverpool photographer -- and younger brother of Paul McCartney -- is bringing a new exhibit to the Butler Institute of American Art on Friday. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia reports.

Mike McCartney's trip through the lens

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“Mike McCartney’s North Highlands" runs from landscapes and medieval architecture to Scotland’s people and commerce.

That catchy number was the first big hit in Britain for The Scaffold -- which featured baby-faced-Beatle-brother Mike McCartney, then known as Mike McGear. The song grew out of a Christmas Day phone call.

“There was a brown leather box, with Nikon engraved on it. I opened it up, and there in the box was Nikon F camera. It was the Rolls-Royce of cameras in those days. So I rang down to London to thank my brother, and he answered, and this little tune popped into my head, ‘Thank you very much for Nikon camera, thank you very much...’.”

The song ignited The Scaffold’s career and led to more hits, and the camera re-ignited McCartney’s inner shutterbug. He grew up snapping photos of The Beatles, when they were still opening for visiting American rock royalty.

Today, the younger McCartney looks much like his brother, except with slicked-back gray hair. The man once dubbed “Flash Harry” by Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein can still surprise his subjects. He recently presented a print to Jerry Lee Lewis from the early 60s.

“He said, ‘That’s a great picture of me singing.’ I said ‘you’re actually not singing.’ All the kids had climbed onstage, and [he’s] actually saying, ‘Get these kids off the stage or I ain’t going on!’”

After his own music career, McCartney returned to photography full time. His “Mike Mac’s White and Blacks” and “Liverpool Life” exhibits led to more accolades, including showings at the Smithsonian, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and now The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. His first trip to Northeast Ohio was in the 1970s.

“First of all, I landed in Cleveland, and they lost my suitcase. That was a good start. But you’re a resilient people and you looked after me. The next time, I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockin’ Ravers and I did a version of ‘Leave It’.

So I’ve had a lot of good times in Cleveland and, now, Youngstown. They’re asking a Liverpudlian, for his photographs of the North Highlands of Scotland, for an exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art. I think that’s absolute magic!”

The images at the Butler were printed with help from pop artist, Sir Peter Blake, who also designed the famous cover of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album. The photos run from landscapes and medieval architecture to Scotland’s people and commerce. “Mike McCartney’s North Highlands" opens tomorrow and runs through September 2.

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