Paul McCartney's Personal Beatles Photos on Display for First Time in London Exhibit

Paul McCartney is providing a personal glimpse of his early days with The Beatles.

For the first time ever, the British singer-songwriter, 80, is releasing a collection of photographs he took during the early days of 'Beatlemania' in a London exhibition.

Paul McCartney Photographs: 1963-1964 Eyes of the Storm will kick off on June 28 and run through Oct. 1 at the U.K.'s National Portrait Gallery.

"Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there's a sort of innocence about them," the father of five said in a release about the exhibit, which captures the early days of the Fab Four from December 1963 and February 1964.

"Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn't take them any differently today," he added. "They now bring back so many stories, a flood of special memories, which is one of the many reasons I love them all, and know that they will always fire my imagination."

"The fact that these photographs have been taken by the National Portrait Gallery for their reopening after a lengthy renovation is humbling yet also astonishing – I'm looking forward to seeing them on the walls, 60 years on," added McCartney.

In an accompanying book of photographs and reflections by McCartney, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, the singer said that "Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us" after the band released hits such as "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You", per the release.

This, McCartney added, created "a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life."

"The truth is that I have always been interested in photography, from the time I was very young, when our family owned a little box camera in the 1950s," McCartney continued. "I used to love the whole process of loading a roll of Kodak film into our Brownie camera."

Described by McCartney in his own words as the "eyes of the storm," the exhibition includes a total of 250 photographs taken as he shot to the summit of the music world alongside John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

The display will consider such things as the frenzy of 'Beatlemania' and more intimate moments between the bandmates from McCartney's own personal perspective.

"While the exhibition's narrative represents just four short months, McCartney's photographs chronologically document the experiences of the band on their travels – from the grainy black and white portraits taken backstage in Liverpool, rehearsing musicians at a recording studio in Paris, wintry Manhattan skylines, to the gleaming colour shots of Miami Beach in the sunshine," added the exhibition release.

"The earliest images in the exhibition date from November 1963, just as Beatlemania was gripping the nation, and culminate with photographs taken in February 1964, during the final days of the band's first triumphant trip to 'conquer' America. Indeed, the group's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964 was watched by an unequalled television audience of 73 million people, transforming The Beatles into global superstars and redefining fame in the modern era."

After the seven-time Grammy-winning group disbanded in 1970, McCartney then ventured on to a successful solo career.

On March 21, the "Hey Jude" singer answered a fan question about the biggest risk he'd taken in his decades-long career.

"The main question I had was whether to keep going after The Beatles," he wrote in a website post, "because it was a hard act — some might say, an impossible act — to follow."

"The ingredients in the Beatles were so unique," he added. "You had John right there, who could have made any group brilliant. Then you had George's talent, and Ringo's, and then me."

McCartney confessed that once the iconic band split he didn't know what to do with himself and that "trying something new was really risky."

He also recalled feeling like he was starting all over and "earning my fame again." He added that he's typically not one to take risks and came to a crossroads after his final days with The Beatles.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

McCartney also sought to finally draw a line under the question of precisely who it was that forced the band to split.

"I am not the person who instigated the split. Oh no, no, no. John walked into a room one day and said, 'I am leaving the Beatles.' Is that instigating the split, or not?" he said of the late artist.

In fact, McCartney said that when it first happened, he wanted the band to go on — since after eight years together, they were still creating "pretty good stuff."

"This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue," said McCartney.

Paul McCartney, Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Tickets are available now.