June 26, 1966 - The Beatles hadn't been to Hamburg
since January 1, 1963, following their final residency at the city's Star-Club
venue. On this day, however, they were greeting as conquering heroes by
an adoring crowd.
They arrived at Hamburg's central train station soon after
6am, and were taken to the grand Schloss Hotel in Tremsbuttel just outside
the city. They slept until 1.30pm, then waved to the fans gathered underneath
the hotel balcony.
During their short time in Hamburg The Beatles were reacquainted
with a number of faces from their past. John Lennon paid a visit to Astrid
Kirchherr, who gave him several letters written by Stuart Sutcliffe. They
were also visited by Bert Kaempfert, who had produced My Bonnie and their
other recordings with Tony Sheridan.
The Beatles played two shows at the city's Ernst Merck
Halle on Jungtusstrasse, each of which was seen by 5,600 people. A press
conference was held between the sets. Forty-four people were arrested for
rioting during the shows, both inside and outside the venue.
The group played the same 11 songs that constituted their
standard set throughout the tour: Rock And Roll Music, She's A Woman, If
I Needed Someone, Day Tripper, Baby's In Black, I Feel Fine, Yesterday,
I Wanna Be Your Man, Nowhere Man, Paperback Writer and I'm Down. The Ernst
Merck Hall, on Hamburg's Jungiusstraße, was later demolished, but
not before a number of major bands including Queen and Pink Floyd performed
there.
After the shows John Lennon and Paul McCartney paid a
nostalgic visit to the Reeperbahn where they visited a number of people
and places from their past.
