The Beatles in Hamburg: The Stories, the Scene and How It All Began

by Spencer Leigh

When the fledgling Beatles went to Hamburg in 1960, they had no idea that their world--and music--was going to change forever. Associating with gangsters and prostitutes and sleeping in appalling conditions behind a cinema screen, the Beatles pounded out beat music in strip clubs and dens of vice like the Indra, the Kaiserkeller, the Top Ten, and the Star-Club. In the process, they changed their way of playing, got arrested and deported, wore black leather, lost their bass player, sacked their drummer, developed a vast repertoire of raucous rock ’n’ roll songs, and fashioned a new hairstyle. The Beatles in Hamburg features interviews with the Beatles’ friends and contemporaries, including photographers Astrid Kirchherr and Jürgen Vollmer, bass player Klaus Voormann, Liverpool artists Gerry Marsden and Kingsize Taylor, singers Tony Sheridan and Roy Young, club managers Horst and Uwe Fascher, and many more. It is packed with close to 150 photographs of the Beatles and the Hamburg scene, some in full color and several never before seen. There have been hundreds of books about the Beatles, but here for the first time is the remarkable, fully illustrated account of the band’s formative years in Hamburg.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect length for the topic with just the right amount of detail and tons of great pictures.


The Indra Club: played there 48 nights from Aug 17, 1960 to Oct 3, 1960
Kaiserkeller: 58 nights from Oct 4 1960 to Nov 30, 1960
Top Ten Club: 98 nights from Mar 27, 1961 to July 2, 1961
The Star Club: total of 75 nights
1st visit: 48 wrking nights Apil 13, 1962-May 31, 1962
2nd visit: Nov 1, 1962 to Nov 14, 1962
3rd visit: Dec 18, 1962 to Dec 31, 1962 (final night was taped)

Total of 279 nights altogether in Hamburg.

The Beatles performed more than 200 different songs live in Hamburg and the bulk came from 1950's rock 'n' roll records. (61)

From Aug 1960 to Aug 1962 the Beatles spent more than 250 nights playing in Hamburg clubs and made 430 appearances elsewhere, the bulk of which was with Pete Best. An estimate gives Pete Best a total of 1500 hours playing live with the Beatles, whereas Ringo had a total of 600 hours.

[Charles Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! The Beatles were born in Liverpool, but grew up in Hamburg. This book is part walking tour, part museum exhibit, part oral history. Well written and chock full of rare images and memorabilia.

[Jojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice deep dive into the early years and a very important time for the band. Makes me want to go to Hamburg! (even more than I already did that is)

[William French · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the Beatles, you will like this book. If you like Hamburg, you will like this book. If you like both the Beatles and Hamburg, you will really like this book. The author claims that Paul was fluent in German, but I'm not convinced of that for a couple of reasons. I want to meet Astrid Kirchherr, a woman who was close to the Beatles when they were in Hamburg. She's still around and owns a photography shop there, which I intend to visit next month.