Detroit photographer, Ken Settle, is your host for Fab Four Friday on March 22nd, 2024. Ken Settle is one of Detroit’s finest concert photographers. Not only has Ken captured countless iconic moments at live shows, he is also an excellent storyteller. Join Ken at 4pm on Friday to hear his Beatles stories and songs. Ken has chosen the following four Beatles songs:
- “She Loves You”
- “Ticket To Ride”
- “Yesterday”
- “Let It Be”
Detroit photographer Ken Settle tests his timers and lighting with an assist from his cat, Silky. Ken is not ojnly an amazing photographer he’s an animal lover too.
Here’s one of my favorite stories from Ken regarding his meeting with Paul and Linda McCartney on February 1st, 1990. Ken, take it away.
Detroit Photographer Ken Settle Meets The McCartneys
Paul McCartney was bringing his first tour since his days with Wings back to the Detroit area for a couple shows at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The fact that Paul was touring again and playing all those great Beatles songs and solo McCartney songs was a treat in itself. But there were many other great surprises as well.
Paul and Linda arranged for EVERY FAN coming through the door to be given a thick glossy tour book–FOR FREE. Paul and Linda also arranged for there to be an old fashioned press conference in the afternoon of the opening show inside of The Palace. All media were invited. And if that weren’t cool enough, Paul and Linda came out to pose for photos, old fashioned photo call style—-with and without their entire band–for all the photographers to shoot.
After the photos were done, Paul, Linda, and the band came out to mingle with and meet everyone. I spotted Paul and Linda walking in my direction, so I put away my shy self for a minute and extended my hand to Paul. He was just truly warm and personable, chatting like a regular pal. No airs or pretense at all.
Paul talked about his famous Hofner bass, and I told him how his song “Yesterday” had come to mean so much to me through the years. How as I had gotten older, I began to hear it as not only being about the ending of a relationship, but also about friends and family that we will never see again. Paul said wistfully to me, “Yeah..I feel it that way too when I sing that song now.”
Linda The Shutterbug
I shook Linda’s hand and told her how much her photography had meant to me through the years. She said that she always favored using available light because she always had bad luck with lighting equipment not working at the least opportune moments! I mentioned to her that I loved a very early Jackson Browne promo shot that she had taken. Linda laughed and remembered that Jackson was something like 17 years old when she did that photo!
Paul extended his hand to shake my hand one more time and said, “Well..I’ll let you two shutterbugs talk shop and I’ll go mingle.” Linda and I chatted for a few more minutes not only about photography, but also about a line of healthy vegetarian TV dinners that she was planning to soon introduce. Just such a wonderful time that harkened back to the good old days of music when things were much more innocent.
Ken, thank you so much for your memories and photos! Scroll down to check out pictures of Paul McCartney taken by Detroit photographer Ken Settle.
“Yesterday”
Hard to believe this performance took place nearly 60 years ago!
Detroit Photographer Ken Settle – Pictures of Paul and Ringo
