Early in their career, around 1960, the Beatles went to Hamburg in West Germany to play a series of shows at a club there. At the time, the lineup consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best, and Stuart Sutcliffe (Ringo Starr wouldn’t join until 1962). The Hamburg residency was plagued by mishaps, including terrible living conditions, a deportation, and arrests for attempted arson. Still, the experiences the band had in Hamburg polished up their live shows in a way that led to their legendary discovery in Liverpool.
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When the Beatles first started playing Hamburg, they were booked at the Indra in the St. Pauli district. Their living quarters were terrible, as John Lennon later described; they were put in the storeroom of an old theater. “We were put in this pigsty,” Lennon said, according to The Beatles Anthology. “We were living in a toilet, like right next to the ladies’ toilet. We’d go to bed late and be woken up next day by the sound of the cinema show and old German fraus pissing next door.”
Things began to improve when the Beatles were slated for a small residency at Kaiserkeller, a club also in the St. Pauli district owned by Bruno Koschmider. They were under contract at this club until December 1960, but started hanging around the newly opened Top Ten club in the Reeperbahn with Tony Sheridan and his group the Jets around October. Before long, the Beatles were performing at Top Ten as well, violating their contract with Koschmider.
The Beatles Moved from Club to Club Improving Their Performances But Also Running into Problems
The Beatles’ time in Hamburg helped them improve their performing, as Paul McCartney would detail in The Beatles Anthology. “We got better and better and other groups started coming to watch us,” he said in the anthology. “The accolade of accolades was when [Tony] Sheridan would come in from the Top Ten (the big club where we aspired to go) or when Rory Storm or Ringo [Starr] would hang around to watch us. ‘What’d I Say’ was always the one that really got them.”
George Harrison Gets Deported
So, The Beatles were offered a better contract at Top Ten, which included a better sound system and improved living quarters above the club. However, Koschmider resented the group for violating their contract, so he reported George Harrison for working at a nightclub while under 18, even though he was working at Koschmider’s own club. Still, Harrison was deported and returned to Liverpool.
Paul McCartney and Pete Best Are Arrested for Attempted Arson
While going back to the old theater to gather their belongings, Paul McCartney and Pete Best found their former lodgings in complete darkness. According to The Beatles — The Biography by Bob Spitz, McCartney and Best found a condom in their luggage, nailed it to a wall, and lit it on fire in order to see in the room.
Koschmider reported them both, and they were arrested for attempted arson before finally being deported as well. John Lennon’s work permit was then revoked, and he also returned to Liverpool. Eventually, Sutcliffe joined the rest of the group back home.
In Liverpool, the Beatles had the chance to show off their improved stage presence and performing. They were booked for a short residency at the Casbah, before returning to Hamburg and the Top Ten in 1961. The Beatles owed much to their time in Hamburg, even as it was plagued with issues the first time around. Their first recording ever released was made in Hamburg, and their improvements directly led to Brian Epstein taking notice at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1961.
Featured Image by Ellen Piel – K & K/Redferns
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