Are you familiar with the Quarrymen? It’s kind of funny to think that a band of ragtag Liverpoolers, before making it big on the world stage, ended up getting their first out-of-the-nest experience in St. Pauli, Hamburg’s infamous red light district. And not just anywhere, but in a Strip-Club by the name of “Indra”.
My grandma told me the story of how she, back in the day, got to see them live with my grandpa—I like to imagine that this was not at the aforementioned establishment, but rather at the later “Kaiserkeller”, which the band moved on to, after the previous venue had to shut down—reminiscing how these kids were playing music like they’d never heard before.
Years ahead of free love, psychedelic experimentation and bed-bound protests, the boys cut their teeth in some of the seediest places Germany has to offer, playing hour-long days pumped up on over-the-counter “diet pills” that would keep them awake. According to later tellings, Paul would take one at a time, while John was downing them by the handful.
Funnily, it was in Hamburg where the band would cross paths with another Liverpool band by the name of Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, whose drummer, a kid by the name of Ringo, connected with them best and would join soon after.
Legend has it that the iconic moptop haircuts were also something they first encountered in Hamburg, so the place holds some importance for sure. I wasn’t there, but regardless I could well imagine that these early days did a good number on The Beatles, contributing to their swagger that would soon take the world by storm.
Neither their first, nor their most famous, “Rubber Soul” (1965) surely is my favorite album of theirs, so give it a spin and picture what those early days must have been like in person. I, for one, will be headed to St. Pauli later on, first to catch the game, then for a friend’s birthday party.
Have a fantastic weekend, my friends!
Coryphe 