Beatles on the Reeperbahn

The Beatles Museum in Hamburg

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Beatles Sculpture on Reeperbahn

A DAY IN THE LIFE of a travel blogger.

Beatlemania, the Exhibition

On this particular day in Hamburg, Germany, I started out by hopping on the U-Bahn and heading to the St. Pauli district to visit Beatlemania, located at the aptly named Beatlesplatz on Reeperbahn at Große Freiheit.

Beatlemania, opened on May 28, 2009, is a museum dedicated to celebrating the Beatles from their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s until their break up (officially announced in 1970). Their Hamburg experience, playing gigs on the Reeperbahn (the city’s famous red light district) while living in rather seedy conditions, really launched the band.

The Reeperbahn is not PENNY LANE.

Grosse Freiheit

The Star Club, Indra Club and Kaiserkeller, were a few of the clubs where the Beatles performed in the early 1960s. They were located along Große Freiheit, among the sex theaters and brothels.

Performing in Hamburg, Photos at Beatlemania

When the band first came to Hamburg, it consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Geroge Harrison, and the lesser known Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. Sutcliffe left the group in 1961 and Ringo Starr replaced Best in 1962.

SIE LIEBT DICH — jeah, jeah, jeah!

Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You)

Beatlemania’s exhibits are on five floors with videos, photographs, interactive displays, news clippings, reproductions of places the Beatles lived and performed, and artifacts from that time period. There are also original documents, letters, autographs, news clippings, some of Stuart Sutcliffe’s artwork and postcards that Ringo sent his grandmother from Hamburg.

Living Area Reproduction
Album Cover Display

In the Abbey Road Studios exhibit, you can sing along with the Beatles and make your own recording, but I didn’t do it. If I had been with someone else, I might have been tempted to record one of my favorites, but I was by myself and a little self-conscious.

Abbey Road Studio Exhibit

I don’t think I’d want to live in a YELLOW SUBMARINE.

Yellow Submarine

This exhibit puts you inside the “Yellow Submarine”. It was a rainy weekend morning in December, which may be why there were so few visitors to the museum that day.

SHE’S A WOMAN who was very important to the Beatles

John Lennon’s Book given to Astrid Kirchherr

The above display is of an autographed copy of Lennon’s book, In His Own Write, given to Astrid Kirchherr. Kirchherr first met the Beatles at the Kaiserkeller. She was a close friend of each of them, but was eventually engaged to Stuart. In 1962, Stuart died of cerebral hemorrhage. Baby’s in Black was written about her mourning after Stuart’s death.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

Beatles Dolls

During the famous British Invasion of the Fab Four to the United States, Beatles items such as albums, magazines, school supplies, bubble gum and clothing were in huge demand. I’ll disclose here that I actually had one of these dolls — Paul. He was my favorite. I have no idea what happened to that doll. Maybe that’s mine in the case.

Memorabilia

There’s SOMETHING about Yoko ….

“Still Pissed at Yoko?” – graffiti on wall at Beatlemania

The walls of the Abbey Road Studios exhibit are filled with visitors’ graffiti, much like that on the wall around the real Abbey Road Studio in London. As evidenced here, many people blame Yoko Ono, who John met in 1967 and married him in 1969, for the breakup of the Beatles. Where do you fall on the issue?

My opinion: LET IT BE

HELP! by sharing your comments about the Beatles below.

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30 thoughts on “Beatles on the Reeperbahn

    1. Cathy Post author

      Haha! You’re right about the Ringo doll — I didn’t notice it before. The museum wasn’t there 15 yrs ago, (opened in 2009) so you didn’t miss it. Check it out next time!

    1. Cathy Post author

      I was really young when they were on the Sullivan show, too But it was such a big deal at the time that we all still remember it (just not in much detail!).

    1. Cathy Post author

      There are actually quite a few Beatles songs that I appreciate more now than I did when they were first out. I definitely want to see “Love” in Vegas.

      1. Cathy Post author

        I’m probably better off leaving the singing to the Beatles, too. But ever since I started writing this post, I’ve been singing lots of their tunes — out loud!

    1. Cathy Post author

      The Beatles ushered in a whole new era. I hope that even those who weren’t around during that time appreciate their influence on music & culture. What a sensation they were worldwide! It’s so interesting to me now learning about their time in Hamburg.

    1. Cathy Post author

      The Beatles hairstyles were a big deal back then. It seems pretty tame now, but at the time it was considered outrageous. I remember my parents laughing when we first saw them on the Ed Sullivan show. But it was very exciting time.

  1. Christy @ Technosyncratic

    Ha, I love your opinion on Yoko Ono – let it be!! Why do people always have to hate on the ladies in these types of situations?

    I’m way too young to have been around during the craze of the Beatles, but their music still gets regular play-time on my iPod. I definitely would have owned a doll or two if I was alive in the 60s. 🙂

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