23 APRIL, 1960: THE FOX AND THE HOUNDS, CAVERSHAM, BERKSHIRE
The first performance by John and Paul as a duo. Billed as the Nerk Twins, they appeared for the second and final time the following night.
20-28 MAY, 1960: JOHNNY GENTLE TOUR OF SCOTLAND (SEVEN SHOWS)
When the Silver Beatles - John, Paul, George, Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and drummer Tommy Moore - failed their audition to back Billy Fury, one fo the few Liverpool acts that attracted a national following, Allan Williams booked them with another of his acts, singer Johnny Gentle.
FIRST TRIP TO HAMBURG
German club owner Bruno Koschmeider was persuaded by Allan Williams to take a chance with a Merseyside band. He was pleased with Derry and the Seniors, the first group that Williams had supplied and asked for another. When it turned out that Rory Storm and the Hurricanes had previous commitments, Williams contacted the Silver Beatles. Drummer Pete Best was recruited hastily to round out the band and their name was shortened to the Beatles.
Derry Wilkie of the Seniors wrote to Williams to warn him that a group as unprofessional as the Beatles would ruin the chances for all of the other Liverpool bands, but it was too late. The group’s booking at the Indra Club in Hamburg was frim.
17 AUGUST - 3 OCTOBER, 1960: INDRA CLUB, HAMBURG (FORTY-EIGHT NIGHTS)
The Indra was the smaller and more recent of Koschmeider’s two clubs. Introducing live music there was something of an experiment. Unfortunately, it failed. Neighbours and customers began to complain about the new band’s volume and repertoire. Consequently, the German entrepreneur decied to move the Beatles to his rock ‘n’ roll club in the heart of Hamburg’s red light district, the Reeperbahn.
4 OCTOBER - 30 NOVEMBER, 1960: KAISERKELLER, HAMBURG (FIFTY-EIGHT NIGHTS)
Koschmeider’s move was the right one. The Kaiserkeller audience, a drunken melle almost constantly on the verge of an all out brawl, was ready for a group of unkept Englishmen in black leather and jumped up and down on the stage until the floorboards broke. The Beatles were a hit.
Toward the end of their residency at the Kaiserkeller, the Fabs accepted an offer to play at the rival Top Ten Club. Their relationship with Kaiserkeller owner Bruno Koschmeider - and their visit to Hamburg - came to an abrupt end when the police, acting on an anonymous tip that British youth were playing at the Top Ten Club without proper documentation, hauled the Beatles off to jail. They were promptly deported.