On the Reeperbahn

Our final stop dropped us off in Kiel for a bus ride to Hamburg. As I had not been able to visit Liverpool while I was in the UK, I was hoping to see some of the area where the young unknown Beatles played in 1962. Our tour was the Hamburg Top Ten, and my fingers were crossed.

It turns out that the famed Reeperbahn, kind of a tame place in bright daylight, is in a pretty rough neighborhood at night, and since the Star Club no longer exists, all we did was drive down the avenue and see where the Star Club had been. Look closely and you will see four figures in outline, a shiny outdoor statue as a reminder of the Beatles in Hamburg. As we were driving by on the street, I shot and hoped as we saw the artwork from behind.

On the left you see Paul McCartney, the left-handed bassist, with Ringo Starr at his drum kit immediately next to him. Further, centered, you see George Harrison playing lead with John Lennon at the far right, in his characteristic athletic stance, perhaps shouting out the lead vocal on Twist and Shout. While it was not much, it was enough to count it as a Beatles visit!