” I was born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg”: John Lennon stated, when he was asked by a journalist how it was to grow up in Liverpool.
From 1960 to 1962 The Beatles performed 281 times in Hamburg’s notorious and famous red light district Sct. Pauli. Sometimes they would begin their performance at 7 o’clock pm and they would first end their gig at 7 o’clock am. In fact, they played live more hours in Hamburg than they did later on in their career.
John Lennon said that it was Hamburg that did it. It was here that they really developed as a band. To get the Germans going and to play for 12 hours straight. To do that they were forced to deliver at every show. The group would never have developed to the extend they did if they had stayed at home in Liverpool. They were forced to try everything that came to them in Hamburg. They had nobody they could rely on or copy.
George Harrison stated later that seen in retrospect he thought their time in Hamburg was almost the best time for the Beatles.
It was also in Hamburg that The Beatles did their first recordings and where the group was joined by Ringo. It was in that city that they got their famous Mop Tops. And only 10 days after their final performance in 1962 in Hamburg they recorded their first LP Please, Please Me. The rest is music history.
Hamburg had a profound influence in developing what would become the biggest band in music history.
This tour will guide you in the footsteps of The Beatles in Hamburg’s Sct. Pauli district. The guide will tell you about the places where they performed and some of the places where they liked to spend some of their time off.
Now let’s start the tour:
1. Beatles-Platz
BeatlesPlatz: Reeperbahn 174, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
On the corner of the streets Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit we find The Beatles platz which is a tribute to The Beatles and the time they spent in Hamburg. The circle shaped place is formed as a vinyl record and some of The Beatles’ famous songs are engraved in the cobblestones which surround the place.
Standing on the place you’ll see 5 sculptures of the members which give the tourists a fine opportunity to shoot some photos. Yes, there are 5 sculptures – because in the beginning when The Beatles first arrived in Hamburg the group consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. The latter was as many now know replaced by Ringo Starr and the observant tourist will also notice that the sculpture is a hybrid of both musicians.
2. Bambi Kino (Cinema)
Bambi Kino (Cinema): Paul-Roosen-Straße 33, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
When The Beatles arrived in Hamburg for the first time they were installed in a sleazy, small cinema called Bambi Kino. The cinema was at the end of the street Grosse Freiheit and the lodging was far from luxurious. There was no heating and no wallpaper. In fact, there were only two bunk beds in the room at the back of the cinema.
3. Indra Club
Indra Club: Große Freiheit 64, 22767 Hamburg, Germany |
The Beatles began their first stay in Hamburg on the 17 of August 1960 and they were engaged to play at Indra Club where they had to play several sets every evening/night. The music they played was mainly copies of their favorite songs and music requests from the drunken guests which meant that they often had to improvise.
The owner of Indra Club demanded that the group also put on a show while they performed. They couldn’t just stand still as they would do in Liverpool. This demand was important in the group’s further development as a live band.
Today Indra Club is a popular dance club still enjoying the part of the legacy that the club had in the story of The Beatles.
4. Kaiserkeller
Kaiserkeller: Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Germany
When Indra Club had to close only a few months after The Beatles had arrived the group moved down the street to Kaiserkeller. In this club the group shared the stage with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. They were another Liverpool band who had been hired to play in Hamburg. The band’s drummer at the time was a certain Ringo Starr. Each group played 6 hours so that would be a 12-hour set during which every group played for an hour at a time.
It was also at Kaiserkeller that The Beatles met photographer Astrid Kirchher who took some of the most famous Hamburg photos of the group. Astrid Kirchher also introduced them to the famous Moptop hairdo which was popular among Hamburg’s creative young crowd. Astrid Kirchher later became engaged to Sutcliffe who tragically passed away already in 1962.
Kaiserkeller can now be found at the popular club Grosse Freiheit 36 and is still offering live music for new and upcoming bands.
5. Top Ten Club
Top Ten Club: Reeperbahn 136, 20359 Hamburg, GermanyT
After some time, the group finally landed a better paid gig at the recently opened Top Ten Club. However, their former employer at the other clubs was very dissatisfied with their change to Top Ten Club and he informed the authorities that George Harrison was under 18 years old. This notification meant that George Harrison subsequently was shipped home to Liverpool. Paul McCartney and Pete Best were shortly after also sent home as they had apparently started a fire at their former lodgings.
In 1961 when George Harrison finally turned 18 years old The Beatles returned to Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Their role was now to be backing group for the English singer Tony Sheridan. The group made some recordings with Tony Sheridan amongst which My Bonnie is one of the most popular.
Today Top Ten Club has been transformed into the somewhat posh Mondoo club where internationally known DJs perform.
6. The Star Club
Star Club: Grosse Freiheit 39, Reeperbahn, Hamburg, Germany
Star Club was perhaps the most famous club where The Beatles performed. Sadly, only a plaque commemorating the group is left to show where Star Club was located. The group played here for almost two months in 1962 and at this time Ringo Starr had replaced Pete Best as the drummer in the group. Parts of The Beatles’ December performance were recorded on a tape recorder and released in 1977 with the title Live! At The Star Club.
Star Club opened as a music club on Friday the 13 April 1962 at the address Grosse Freiheit 39 placed among dozens of brothels, strip tease shows and sleazy bars. The club closed in 1969 and the building burned down in 1983. Today you’ll have to do with a plaque telling you where the club was. But during the seven years that the club existed a great number of famous artists and groups performed at Star Club amongst which were.
The Big Three, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Searchers, The Remo Four, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Liverbirds, The Undertakers, Lee Curtis and The All-Stars, Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers, Brenda Lee, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, The Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Cream, The Pretty Things, The Monks, Black Sabbath and The Twilights.
7. Gretel & Alfons
Gretel & Alfons: Grosse Freiheit 29, 22767 Hamburg Germany
One of Beatles’ favorite hang outs which they visited when they had time off was the pub Gretel&Alfons. The pub was nicknamed “The Beershop” by the group and the place was a typical early 1960s Sct. Pauli pub. By visiting the pub nowadays you’ll get a fine impression of how the area looked when The Beatles played there. Paul McCartney did live at the pub for a period in 1962 and left without paying his bills. Apparently, he is said to have visited the pub in 1989 and paid his 27 year old bills.
8. Harald’s
Harald’s: Grosse Freiheit 15, Hamburg
Another place which The Beatles often visited was Harald’s which could also be found on Grosse Freiheit. Here they served meatballs, but group members simply couldn’t understand why the meatballs weren’t called Hamburgers now that they were in Hamburg.
Quotes are taken from The Beatles Anthology by Beatles: Cassell and Co.
If you like my post or perhaps not I would love if you would send me your comments.
Seneste kommentarer