i was thinking about how mad day out is the band’s first big photoshoot since brian’s death. and it dawned on me.

the format--a full day photoshoot of several locations around town--is actually a call back to july 2, 1963. when dezo hoffman does a day in the life feature and takes photos of the band at 7 locations across london. those photos are used all over the world throughout the decade, so it was probably the most productive photoshoot they ever did. talk about time well spent.

the two day long shoots bear some vague similarities in location and posing choices: using gardens and streets as background and stopping by the photographer’s studio to get more formal shots. there’s even an echo of the sleepy john shots in john playing a drowned sailor at the pier.

but the largest difference is that the 1963 one was controlled, like 1963 demands from a band with one album on the charts. its normal everyday activities to introduce the boys and show how wholesome and relatable and in sync they are: sitting in a hotel room, waiting in the hotel lobby, walking down a street, visiting the tailor, eating ice cream. the jokes are kept to a minimum, the shots mostly serious and professional. they’re all in ties and proper suit shirts and pants. they still have something to prove. the most scandal is a striptease sign in the background of the rupert court shot. and maybe bananas if you’re uptight about sexy fruit (capitol records, im looking at you).

mad day out is their playground, and it’s a perfect representation of their 68 chaos. paul shows up in a pink suit and stands around looking out of place. john’s wearing all black with ruffles down his chest. ringo’s got yellow ruffles, and george has loud striped pants. they bunch together in front of a tinfoil wall with a wind machine on (perhaps the one idea that isn’t theirs and they hate it). john’s hair flies into paul’s face, and paul chomps down on it. john rubs his face on paul’s cheek, and a look of contentment crosses paul’s face. ringo wraps his arms around john in a mock couple pose, and paul suddenly looks plagued by the devil. paul awkwardly wraps himself in a pink flag, then unfurls it to hold it out in front of them for a shot but never brings himself to look at the camera. then there’s moto helmets and goggles and a bugle and ringo’s wearing a shoe on his head. at some point, they all wrap themselves in pink flags, and john rests his chin on paul’s shoulder.

they go to a theater and there’s a parrot because whimsy. the tensions still persist sans parrot with john and yoko retreating to one side of the room and paul and george in a heated conversation on the other. but at some point, they go wild over the costumes like the theater nerds they are. john goes for leather and shimmering fabrics. paul goes for animal print and loses his pants. paul bares his midriff. at some point they both end up rolling around on the ground for reasons unknown.

they go off to find karl marx’s tomb, but it’s sunday and the cemetery’s closed so they do a bit of mockery about local MP elections instead. climb up a wooden plank onto a hunk of concrete and act out a series of group hijinks, including a fistfight and possibly attempted murder. find a sign to disobey and smirk at the camera as they do it. drink water from a fountain and spit together on cue. become one with the plants in a garden because that’s what bugs do.

they make their way to a pier, where john lies like a supermodel in front of other three. john strips his shirt, so paul follows. john continues with his pants too and then thinks better of it. george steps in front of them to save the shoot from total derailment and john throws up his madman face. a still mostly shirtless j&p armwrestle, like they’re acting out glimpses of liverpool dock life. paul feels like wrapping himself in marine anchor chains. john poses like a dead sailor washed up on the pier, glasses cast aside. without missing a beat, george picks them up and throws them on.

at the end of the day, they end up at paul’s mediation dome. john uses martha as a pillow. paul stares up at the glass. george’s smile hits at the eyes.

most of these photographs sit in a drawer for decades.