Paul McCartney shares colour photo of George Harrison and Beatles fans are all saying the same thing

Paul McCartney has again shared a photo of one of his Beatles bandmates as he gears up to release a huge photo collection to the public. Pictures snapped by Paul, using his own camera between December 1963 and February 1964, will be displayed at The National Portrait Gallery this summer.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm will run from 28 June to 1 October as one of two major exhibitions to relaunch the gallery after three years of refurbishments. The never-before-seen photographs were taken by Sir Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania when the Fab Four were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon.

On Tuesday (30 May), the official Paul McCartney Instagram account posted a colour photograph of George Harrison relaxing in Miami in 1964. The post was captioned: “George Harrison looking young, handsome and relaxed. Living the life. Miami Beach, 1964.” It was taken during the period that the Beatles made their debut television appearance in the United States. The Fab Four flew to Miami to perform live on the Ed Sullivan Show at the Deauville Hotel.

Fans rushed to comment on the post, with the majority saying that the young George Harrison bears a resemblance to Richard Ashcroft, frontman of Brit-pop band the Verve. One person wrote: “Looks like Richard Ashcroft there.” Another penned: “I see where Richard Ashcroft got his early style from.” A third said:  Richard Ashcroft took a lot from early George..!!! Beautiful Picture, while a fourth asked, “Richard Ashcroft???”

Lead Beatles guitarist Harrison passed away after a battle with lung cancer in November 2001. Although Paul McCartney and his bandmate clashed in the studio, they remained close friends until George’s death. Paul has shared tributes to George since his passing and still believes his fellow Beatle is an ever-present presence in his life. George was devoted to gardening and once gifted Paul a fir tree that stands at the gates of his East Sussex home, which he purchased with Linda in 1973. In an interview with All Things Considered, the singer explained how the tree kept George close to him for over 20 years.

“He gave me [the] tree as a present. It’s a big fir tree, and it’s by my gate [near my East Sussex home]. As I was leaving my house, I got out of the car, closed the gate and looked up at the tree and said, ‘Hi, George.’ There he is, growing strongly… that takes me back to the time when I hitchhiked with him! [George and John Lennon still have] an ever-present presence. That’s the tree George gave me. George has entered that tree for me. I hope he’s happy with that,” Paul said.