SHE was the wife and muse of both Beatle George Harrison and Eric Clapton and some of their best known love songs took her as their inspiration.
Now, for the first time in the UK, Pattie Boyd is to exhibit her collection of photographs glimpsing life and times with two of the most revered musicians in pop history.
George, Eric & Me will go on show at The Beatles Story this May, giving an insight into the private lives of a star-studded circle that dominated the 1960s. As well as the Beatles at work, rest and play, portraits include Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.
The images will go on display alongside five of Boyd's dresses.
Boyd was Harrison's "Something", and Clapton's "Layla", as well as being the subject of his ballad Wonderful Tonight.
She first met the former at the height of Beatlemania. She and her sister were models, and 19-year-old Pattie had been cast as a schoolgirl by Dick Lester in A Hard Day’s Night. It was 1964 and, being engaged to photographer Eric Swayne, she turned down Harrison’s offer of a date.
What I had felt for George was a great, deep love. What Eric and I had was an intoxicating, overpowering passion
But not for long. Just a few days later, the pair went out to a club, chaperoned by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, and according to Boyd, one of the first things George said to her was: “Will you marry me?”
"I thought he was absolutely adorable," Boyd later said. "He was very, terribly good looking, but really funny as well and just enchanting."
Something, proclaimed by Frank Sinatra as the greatest love song ever written, came in 1968, on Abbey Road, two years after their wedding.
"I remember him playing this melody quite a lot, and then some time later, he wrote lyrics for it," Boyd said. "And I didn't realize until after he'd recorded it and he told me that he'd written it for me. … I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it. It was wonderful."
Boyd, who later became a photographer lasted as Mrs Harrison until 1977, and became Mrs Clapton from 1979 to 1989 after the latter, a close friend of Harrison's, spent years in pursual. He finally caught her after she discovered Harrison's affair with Ringo Starr's ex wife, Maureen. The Derek and the Dominoes song Layla, charted his unrequited love.
Boyd later wrote: "What I had felt for George was a great, deep love. What Eric and I had was an intoxicating, overpowering passion. It was so intense, so urgent, so heady, I felt almost out of control."
But after eight years together, Clapton's heavy drinking and drug abuse began to tear the couple apart. The final blow came when, after years of struggling with infertility, Boyd learned Clapton was expecting a baby with another woman.
Men eh?
All water under the bridge now. Boyd said: “I am thrilled to have the exhibition of my photographs at The Beatles Story and am very pleased to be able to attend the official opening.
“Each image has its own story, but together they form a chronicle of my life which I am proud and happy to share with visitors to the Gallery. And not just Beatles fans, people who maybe have an interest in music in general, or the 60s & 70s and their fashions, will, I think, find some aspect of the show to captivate them.
“The Beatles Story is extremely well put together and maintained, and I am very pleased to be working with them on the exhibition project.”
Martin King, of The Beatles Story, said: “These photos are more than just icons in the frame, they are incredibly intimate and heartfelt – perhaps some of the most moving and intriguing in all Beatles and musical lore.
“For Pattie to choose The Beatles Story as the first place in the UK to exhibit the collection is a great tribute to the Fab Four and other stars of the time, some of whom also feature in our British Invasion special exhibit.
“The story of George, Eric and Me is a gripping one and is perfectly told through Pattie’s photography and we are delighted that through this unique exhibit, we can give our visitors a true perspective of the lives they shared.”
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