‘Reatlemania’: new fan opportunities through Paul McCartney’s solo activities between 2018 and 2022

This article considers the re-emergence of Beatles fandom, here labelled ‘Reatlemania’, in the past five years, galvanized in particular through Paul McCartney’s solo material and promotional events. Since their dissolution in 1970, a number of significant media campaigns have occurred that have invigorated a posthumous market and interest in the Beatles. These include those focused on the CD releases of original vinyl material in the 1980s and The Beatles Anthology TV series, book and compilations in the 1990s. Most recently, McCartney’s activities and promotional events between 2018 and 2022 have been key in creating a resurgence in popularity. McCartney’s ongoing career continues to be linked with the Beatles’ legacy he helped create and has continued to curate. This legacy offers newer generations novel ways to access the group and be a part of twenty-first-century Beatles fan activity. This article argues that through McCartney’s active role in particular, Beatles fans are given opportunities for intimate encounters and to emulate the experiences of their first-generation antecedents during 1960s Beatlemania.