The Beatles early days to be focus of new BBC series

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The Fab Four’s time in Hamburg in the early 1960s was highly influential on their career

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A new six-part BBC series, "Hamburg Days," is set to chronicle the formative years of The Beatles, drawing inspiration from a memoir detailing the band's early experiences.

The programme will trace the remarkable transformation of a group of teenagers into one of the world’s most iconic musical acts.

Based on the book of the same name, co-authored by German musician Klaus Voormann and German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, the series is set against the backdrop of Hamburg’s St Pauli red-light district in the early 1960s.

The original publication, released in 1999, documented Voormann and Kirchherr’s time with the band before their global ascent.

Klaus Voormann, 87, will serve as a consultant on the "fascinating" new series, which the broadcaster acquired from UK-based independent film and television company Turbine Studios.

Voormann’s extensive history with The Beatles includes designing the Grammy-winning cover for their album Revolver and playing bass on numerous solo projects for Sir Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and John Lennon following the band’s 1970 split. He also collaborated with artists such as Manfred Mann, Carly Simon, and Eric Clapton.

The series will be helmed by German director Christian Schwochow, known for his work on Netflix’s The Crown, with Bafta-winner David Holmes, who contributed to Killing Eve and the Ocean’s franchise, curating the music. Astrid Kirchherr, remembered for her early photographs of The Beatles, passed away in 2020.

Sue Deeks, Head of Scripted Pre-buy Acquisitions at the BBC, says: “Hamburg Days is the fascinating story of how, in the space of two short years, a raw young band from Liverpool honed their music skills in Hamburg, before returning home to become an overnight worldwide success. It is an incredible story, accompanied (of course) by an amazing soundtrack!”

"Hamburg Days" will focus on the original line-up of John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best during their pivotal period in Germany. The series is scheduled to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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The series is among a number of Beatles projects, with Martin Scorsese releasing a documentary about the Fab Four’s first US tour. The Scorsese-produced Disney+ film Beatles ‘64 was directed by David Tedeschi and will stream exclusively from the online platform from 29 November 2024.

Elsewhere, four feature film biopics about each individual member of the group are being made by director Sam Mendes.

Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.

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