Hidden postcards give first look at Beatles film

Julia BrysonNorth West
News imageLouis KUYE A male student at LIPA in Liverpool holding the postcard in front of a door which reads 'the paul mccartney auditorium'Louis KUYE
Louis Kuya is a third year acting student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA)

A student at Paul McCartney's school for performance arts has become one of the first people to find a limited edition postcard promoting four new films about the Beatles.

The postcard was one of 1,000 - each featuring a different member of the Fab Four - which were distributed at Beatles landmarks around Liverpool as well as in New York, Tokyo and Hamburg.

Liverpool School for Performing Arts (LIPA) received 80, which were hidden around campus for students to find.

Third-year acting student Louis Kuye found a 'Paul' card, and said he planned to ask Sir Paul to sign it when he meets him on graduation day - a rite of passage for all LIPA students.

The secret drop was to promote Sam Mendes' upcoming quadrilogy about the band, featuring Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

Louis said he arrived at LIPA to see a billboard urging students to look for the hidden postcards and to share their finds on social media, so from then on he was "on a mission".

News imageLIPA A postcard showing a film promo for the Sir Sam Mendes films about the Beatles showing George Harrison, held next to a sign for the George Harrison studio at LIPA LIPA
There were 80 postcards hidden around the campus in Liverpool on Friday

Louis said he found his in the library, and everyone was running around trying to get their hands on another.

His has a photo of Paul Mescal as Sir Paul, and on the back has its own serial number.

"It's just a blank postcard, but what it has, which is cool, is the number of postcards that have been made.

"It says there are 1,000 and I've got 63."

The 21-year-old, originally from London, said: "For graduation, no matter what course you're doing, you'll get to shake Sir Paul's hand, which is really, really exciting.

"I've spent the majority of my three years here trying to plan what I'm going to say to him, because I don't quite know yet. But I think I've cracked it now with the postcard."

News imageLIPA A postcard showing Barry Keoghan as Ringo StarrLIPA
Barry Keoghan plays Ringo Starr in the quadrilogy, directed by Sam Mendes

As well as being hidden around LIPA, postcards were left at John Lennon's childhood home in south Liverpool and a the city's Cavern Club.

"Each one is told from of the particular perspective of just one of the guys," Sir Sam said at the time.

"They intersect in different ways - sometimes overlapping, sometimes not.

"They're four very different human beings. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.

"But together, all four films will tell the story of the greatest band in history."

News imageLouis Kuye A male student holding a Paul McCartney postcard to publicise the new Beatles films, at LIPALouis Kuye
Louis, who moved to Liverpool from London, found one of the 'Paul' postcards

Based on the site of the Liverpool Institute for Boys, LIPA is a universiy-level institution which opened its doors to its first intake of students in 1996.

It was an idea conceived by Mark Featherstone-Witty - who helped set up The Brit School in London - and Sir Paul McCartney, who had attended when it was the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys.

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