August 1960, The Beatles started a string of performances in Hamburg, Germany, where they gained their first significant public exposure. The group performed at several clubs along the Reeperbahn, a seedy thoroughfare that cuts across the St. Pauli district of the city. Sex and drug paraphernalia shops, adult entertainment cinemas and theaters, casinos, brothels and prostitutes are ubiquitous still today along the Reeperbahn.
The Beatles were five at the time: George Harrison (lead guitar), John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (vocals), Pete Best (percussion), and Stuart Sutcliffe (bass guitar). They played 6-8 hours each day and earned just 30 DM – the equivalent today of about 21 USD – per day each. The group survived on fried veal patties, beer and uppers. They also slept in bunk beds in a shared room located next to the toilets at the “Bambi-Kino”.
At the beginning of their career, The Beatles did not attempt to portray the innocent, good-boy image for which they were later recognized. Instead they insulted the public, ran up steep bills at the bar, and appeared on stage sporting pantyhose and wearing toilet seats around their necks. The group’s final performance along the Reeperbahn in Hamburg was New Year’s Eve of 1962, after which their career sky-rocketed.
Since 2008 a sculpture of The Beatles adorns the Reeperbahn. The sculpture depicts the “standard” Beatle lineup of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr (who replaced Pete Best in 1962) performing together and the 5th Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe, standing off to the side. Stuart Sutcliffe served in The Beatles for 18 months from January 1960 to June 1961. He was a talented painter, who, after leaving the group, engaged German photographer Astrid Kirchherr and studied at the Hamburg College of Art under pop artist Eduardo Paolozzi. Sutcliffe suffered from severe headaches and died inexplicably from a brain hemorrhage in 1962 at the age of 21.
