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The singer-songwriter and drummer posed for photographs on a
blue carpet in London's Leicester Square for the "The Beatles:
Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" premiere, which drew
hundreds of cheering fans as well as celebrities such as
Madonna, Eric Clapton, Bob Geldof and Liam Gallagher.
The documentary traces the band's touring years as McCartney,
Starr along with the late John Lennon and George Harrison won
legions of adoring fans across continents. It features footage
of early performances at the Cavern Club in their native
Liverpool, packed shows around the globe and their final tour
concert in 1966 in San Francisco.
"We're all excited, it is the first time for us too," Starr told
the crowd about seeing the documentary.
The film makes use of a rich archive of old footage - pictures,
videos and audio recordings - of the band at the height of
Beatlemania, with screaming fans, snippets of the cheekiness of
the then young men and the group at work in the studio.
Celebrities recalling seeing them perform also add their voices.
"We started off as four mates in a great little band and we kept
playing and playing and all this stuff happened," McCartney
said.
Howard said that as well as receiving help from McCartney and
Starr for the film, Lennon's and Harrison's widows, Yoko Ono and
Olivia Harrison, who attended the premiere, had also contributed
to the project.
The director, known for films such as "The Da Vinci Code", "A
Beautiful Mind" and "Apollo 13", said directing the documentary
had been "a great experience".
"It first began as just a fun, cool, creative adventure, then I
became very intimidated by it when I realized how important it
was to fans," he told reporters.
"Now it's just proved to be a very gratifying experience, and
I'm already nostalgic for it ... After two years of working with
it, I'm a little sad to let it go."
"The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" hit cinemas
worldwide on Thursday.
(Reporting By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Sara Hemrajani; Editing
by James Dalgleish)
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