The Beatles ca. 1960. . . Bad Boys???

Here's a photograph of Paul, John, and George, which was taken at The Indra Club in Hamburg fairly early during their first residency. . . before the early stage-wear they took with them from England fell apart and, under the unfluence of the German Exi crowd, they moved toward a more somber black t-shirt and leather jacketed image more in keeping with Marlon Brando as he appeared in The Wild One. Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best were featured in the original picture (to the right), but they were lopped off from this version.

By all accounts, The Beatles were pretty wild during their various residencies in Hamburg between August 1960-December 1962 with John Lennon, not surprisingly, being the most outrageous of the five original Beatles. "Kids off the leash" is how Paul McCartney has described the August-December 1960 visit in the Anthology coffee table book (thank you, Kramer). Another comment along the same lines, possibly by Pete Best, was, "We went [to Hamburg] as kids and came back as. . . old kids!"

Very baaaaaaaad boys whoever said it and any way you slice it. Which brings us to today's bit of Hamburg-era Beatles musical inspiration. . . Larry Williams' songs figured prominently in the stage repertoire of this period in Beatle history, with John Lennon singing the tune "Bad Boy" appropriately enough. The Beatles committed the tune to disc in 1964, but click here to give a listen to Larry Williams performing the original version of the song in 1959. While I'm partial to the Beatles' version, Mr. Williams ain't half bad either!

Nothin' Shakin'. . .

Here's a photograph of then 17-year-old George Harrison sitting in one of the awful rooms at the back of the Bambi Kino movie theater in November 1960. The Bambi Kino was where the Beatles lived during their first visit to Hamburg. John Lennon famously described the band's accomodations at this time as "a hole" in an interview years later.

One of the tunes that found its way into the Beatles' setlists during the Hamburg-era was Nothin' Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees) by Eddie Fontaine. Apparently, Fontaine was a country and western star who was somewhat older that the average rock and roller by the mid-late 1950s when he originally recorded the song. In any case, the Beatles learned the tune and added it to their sets, giving it a real workout in the process. Nothin' Shakin' was captured on tape at the Star Club during late December 1962 with George on vocals, and a really good recording was made later at the BBC. Click here to listen to the Beatles' version of Nothin' Shakin' from the latter sessions. Enjoy!

Take Good Care of My Baby. . .

Here's another photograph of the Hamburg-era Beatles, this time onstage at the Star Club in 1962 with, I do believe, Pete Best still on drums and piano player Roy Young. If it is P.B. on drums, then this picture dates from one of the earlier Star Club engagements that year. . . before Ringo was brought into the band during the late summer.

Besides harder edged rock & roll, rockabilly, and R&B numbers, the Hamburg-era beatles included a number of 'poppier' tunes in their stage act. One of these songs was Take Good Care of My Baby by Bobby Vee from 1961. Click on the previous highlighted link to hear his version.

The Beatles committed a version of the same song to tape during the (in)famous Decca Auditions in January 1962 when they were inexplicably turned down for a record deal. George Harrison contributes a really nice lead vocal to this version of Take Good Care of My Baby. And like the previous post, The Beatles managed to breathe new life and depth into an otherwise unremarkable pop song.

Finally, for your listening and viewing pleasure, here's New York City's own Bambi Kino performing the song a few nights ago at the Indra Club on the Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg. I just love this. . . Enjoy!

The Beatles and Arthur Alexander. . .

John Lennon in Paris just after his 21st birthday in October 1961. He and Paul went A.W.O.L. to the City of Light for several days, using the 100 British Pounds given to John by an aunt, and visited their Hamburg friend Jurgen Vollmer, who was by them living and working there. Some Beatle chronicles note this episode as the time when John and Paul first tried what is now known as the Beatle haircut.

During the 1960-62 period, the very early Beatles also covered a few songs by American R&B singer Arthur Alexander. His tune Anna is probably the best remembered of these, but another goody by Mr. Alexander, that John Lennon sang lead on in the Beatles' rendition, was Soldier of Love. Click on the previous highlighted link to hear the original tune. Now, click on The Beatles' version for a comparison.

Both lovely renditions, but I'd be so bold as to suggest the Beatles give the song a little something extra. A bit more color or personality. In any case, I just about fell out of my chair the first time I stumbled onto the latter version, and replayed it several times as if I was still in junior highschool!

The Hamburg-era Beatles: A Veritable Human Jukebox. . .

Here's a great shot of George and his cheap Futurama guitar onstage sometime during the band's Hamburg years.

As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, the very early Beatles were a walking jukebox, playing all kinds of tunes to fill up the many hours they were onstage during their Hamburg stints. Not only did they play rock & roll, R&B, rockabilly, country-western, and pop standards, but they also included a number of novelty hits in their sets, including several by the American vocal group The Coasters, for example numbers like Searchin' (sung by Paul McCartney) and Three Cool Cats (sung by George Harrison).

Another Coasters tune that George sang lead on was the hilarious Youngblood, a song all about running into trouble while following an attractive new girl home. First, here is the original version by The Coasters from 1957 (click on the highlighted link). Now, for comparison, here's a recording of The Beatles (click on the highlighted link) playing their rendition of the song, recorded live at the BBC when they were beginning to achieve super stardom and success. Enjoy!

It was 50 years ago today. . .

The Silver Beatles ca. 1960? Nope, it's Bambi Kino, channeling the raw energy of the Hamburg-era Beatles, ca. 2010!!!

Oddly, there are a number of bands around the world, tipping their musical hats to the very early Beatles as they were in Hamburg and Liverpool before the moderating hand of management, before the Decca audition, before taking over the world a few short years later.

One of the most exciting bands that's helping shed light on this neglected period of Beatle history is a relatively new outfit from New York City called Bambi Kino. And at the moment, Bambi Kino is actually on a short tour of Germany to commemorate the half-century since the Beatles' first residency at Hamburg's Indra Club on the Grosse Freiheit, right smack in the middle of the tough St. Pauli area of the city. Click on Bambi Kino to be transported magically to the band's website where you can learn more about the four musicians who make up the band and what they do in their other lives..

But wait! There's more! Click on the highlighted link, to hear Bambi Kino performing the old Larry Williams rocker Slow Down, a tune that figured prominently in the Beatles' early setlists during their Hamburg years. You'll also get to hear several other rockin' songs, like Anna, Bad Boy, and Some Other Guy, from Bambi Kino. It's mighty good stuff! Best of all, Bambi Kino kicked off their tour at The Indra Club tonight, August 17th, 2010!

50th Anniversay of Beatles' First Hamburg Residency Almost Here. . .

Here's a colorized version of a photo that has appeared on this blog (and elsewhere) before. It's the Beatles onstage at the Indra Club on the Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg, during the late summer of 1960. The Indra still exists and still features live music. I saw it during a walking tour around the St. Pauli district of Hamburg in June of 2009. Still seedy but almost deserted by day when I visited.

Another rare tune that the Beatles and others (Tony Sheridan for example) covered during their stays in Hamburg included the R&B tune 'Take Out Some Insurance' by Jimmy Reed. Click on the highlighted link to hear the original tune. For comparison, now click on the following link to hear Tony Sheridan cover the same tune. He was, apparently, backed by (some of) The Beatles during this 1961 recording session at some studio in Hamburg.

Now, there is some disagreement among "uberfans" about how many tracks the Beatles actually played on as backing musicians for Sheridan. Apparently, the moniker The Beat Brothers was also used for a group of German guys who backed Sheridan during other recording sessions. However, the bass lines in the Tony Sheridan recording here sounds remarkably similar to what Paul McCartney played on lots of other early Beatles tracks where he basically alternates between the root note and the fourth. So, I'm reasonably sure that the latter recording features the actual Beatles. That's my theory anyway. Enjoy today's walk down Beatle Anthropology Lane!

Summer is waning fast. . . Too fast!!!

Here's another photograph of the very early Beatles onstage at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg during the spring of 1961. From left to right, we have: Pete Best, Paul McCartney (on piano), George Harrison, John Lennon, and Stu Sutcliffe (on bass). Since two thirds of the front line are seated, might we infer that they were playing a slower, quieter number when this picture was snapped? Or was it a very late set, and they were extremely tired? Or a combination of the two?

Ugh! Summer vacation is almost over for yours truly. The fall term begins in about ten days, and next week is filled with meetings and preparation, like revising course syllabi, which has to be one of the most dull things there is. Where did June, July, and most of August go? But time to return to the focus of this blog. The Beatles and their very early days in Hamburg and Liverpool during 1960-62.

One source of material from which the Beatles drew heavily during those days was the American vocal act The Coasters. And one of the quirkiest numbers by The Coasters that the Beatles covered in their stage act was the tune "Three Cool Cats", which the latter played during their famous (and failed) audition with Decca. That particular recording has made it onto many bootlegs as well as the first Anthology CD set. But instead of hearing that rendition of the tune, be sure to click on the link to hear the Coasters perform their original version of it from 1958.