Beatles tribute is a tribute real touch of glass

Dec 13 2005

By Julian Bohne, Daily Post

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.c.....glass-name_page.html


Artist's impression of how the Hamburg statue will look with the Fab Four on the right and Stuart Sutcliffe watching from the left.

IN THE beat city, where The Beatles honed the talent which would make them world famous, they are building a square to celebrate their part in the formation of the Fab Five.

Yes, the city of Hamburg is not only recognising John, Paul, George and Ringo at Beatlesplatz, a public square located in the middle of the Reeperbahn, home to the clubs where they wowed the German Beatnik audience. The city is also recognising Stuart Sutcliffe's part in their early days.

In the early 60s, during that heady period of social change many young Liverpool groups such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Rory Storm and the fledgling Beatles gravitated to the port city of Hamburg where there was already a lively music scene.

Now, four and a half decades later, the city of Hamburg has decided to honour The Beatles with the public square. It will be integrated into the street's design, which will be modernised in preparation for the World Cup in Germany next year. The venues and places where The Beatles once performed and lived are all within walking distance of Beatlesplatz.

The group first came to Hamburg in the summer of 1960, a time when they had just changed their name to The Beatles and started to take a serious approach to their music.


Stuart Sutcliffe had joined the band as a bass player; and Pete Best had taken the stool behind the drums. Before that, John, Paul and George, who all played the guitar, had been supported by a changing cast of musicians.


A club owner from Hamburg with whom Alan Williams - at the time The Beatles' manager - had contacts was looking to hire a beat band from Liverpool to play in one of his clubs. He had engaged Derry Wilkie and the Seniors before and wanted to try it with another band. Gerry and the Pacemakers, also among the bands managed by Williams, declined, so The Beatles ended up taking the gig.


The job was anything but glamorous. The group had to perform up to six hours a night, in the first weeks at the rather scruffy Indra bar, later at the slightly classier Kaiserkeller. The audiences were often drunk and unpredictable, and fights broke out regularly. The band was accommodated in a small room behind the screen of the Bambi Cinema, where they were exposed to the soundtracks of the films on show.


But despite the bad working conditions, it was Hamburg where The Beatles gathered valuable experiences in the art of performing live. George Harrison later said that the band developed its unique style during those endless hours on the stages of Hamburg.
The Beatles' first commercial recording was also made in Hamburg. It was a beat version of the popular tune My Bonnie sung by Tony Sheridan. The Beatles acted as his backing band during the sessions. It would later draw The Beatles to the attention of Brian Epstein, who subsequently became their manager and led them to fame.

"Hamburg is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the most famous band in the world," says Stephan Heller, who came up with the idea for The Beatlesplatz in 2001. "But there is nothing to remind the people in this city of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Liverpool has named streets, squares and even its airport after The Beatles. In Hamburg there is nothing. It is time we got some form of monument."

As program director of Oldie95, a local radio station dedicated to 60s and 70s music, Stephan started promoting the project and founded Beat City, an organisation to make the idea a reality. He also secured the support of the local authorities. After almost four years of planning and discussing, the building authority finally gave its go-ahead for the square in February.

"It was a long process but now I am proud and pleased that we can finally start building," Mr Heller says.

Construction of the square will start in March. It will look like a huge record, with illuminated glass statues of the Fab Four in the middle. But there is a place also for Stuart Sutcliffe - a statue of him will be watching the main group from a slight distance.

Lyrics from early Beatles songs made from stainless steel strips will be laid into the concrete to resemble the groves of the record. Beatles songs will be playing from small loudspeakers built into the statues.


The cost of the square is estimated to be 100,000 Euro (approximately £70,000). The money has mainly been raised through donations. Large donations have already come from companies and celebrities. Members of the public can buy certificates, which help finance the project.


"The certificates cost 10 Euros each," says Stephan Heller.. "They are very popular and have already become collectors items, which shows the support of the people of Hamburg."


A passer-by on the Reeperbahn agrees: "My parents used to see The Beatles play at the Kaiserkeller. Even today, everyone knows their music. The Beatles are a part of Hamburg and Hamburg is a part of The Beatles. I find the idea for a square great." The opening ceremony for the square is scheduled for next May.
"Of course we will invite the remaining members of the band," says Mr Heller.

"We don't know yet if any of them will attend, but Paul McCartney has already expressed his support and gratitude for the project."

And it does not end with The Beatlesplatz. To further commemorate The Beatles' Hamburg period, Beat City is planning more projects.

They include a museum and the staging of a musical about The Beatles called All You Need is Love. After all, the time of the beat music is very important in the city's musical history. And no one shaped this period more distinctly than the four, or five, lads from Liverpool.