The Time Travel Handbook

by James Wyllie

  Tonight is CELEBRITY NIGHT, sponsored by Bobby Schiffman, manager of the Apollo Theatre, which is closed Mondays. Minton’s offers an open invitation to the bands booked in there, plus free drinks and munchies. This, and Minton’s reputation as a happening place, guarantees their presence. By 10pm the room will be packed for the beginning of THE JAM. On stage already are KENNY CLARKE, the prodigal nineteen-year-old pianist BUD POWELL, who is depping for Monk (though Thelonious will probably sit in on a few numbers), and ebullient tenor man DON BYAS. Soon they will be joined by the likes of BIRD, DIZZY, BILLIE HOLIDAY, COLEMAN HAWKINS, HOT LIPS PAGE, BEN WEBSTER, LESTER YOUNG, and many more. At some points there will be as many as fifteen musicians on the bandstand. Not that it’s a place for the faint hearted. Any jammer who hasn’t got their shit together won’t survive long. The others will carve them up with high-velocity tempos, unusual chord patterns and esoteric key signatures.

  THELONIOUS MONK, HOWARD MCGHEE, ROY ELDRIDGE AND TEDDY HILL OUTSIDE MINTON’S PLAYHOUSE.

  Nevertheless, aside from the odd wounded apprentice, the atmosphere is collegiate, though when the temperature rises you’ll see two titans of the tenor, LESTER YOUNG and BEN WEBSTER, locked in combat: barman Herman Pritchard compares their duels to dogs fighting in the road. But it’s a communal, collective vibe that prevails as the musicians astound and dazzle the audience and each other with their takes on standards like Body and Soul, I Got Rhythm, How High The Moon, April in Paris and Get Happy. It’s Dizzy who best sums up the mood: ‘on Monday nights we had a ball’.

  JAMMING AT MONROE’S

  You may want to stay at Minton’s until it closes at 4am, but a number of the younger players – Bird, Diz, et al. – will leave at around 2am to get to MONROE’S for when its jam begins. Be prepared for considerably less salubrious surroundings. The club is essentially a basement dive with a rudimentary bar, small kitchen and barely adequate stage. Yet it exudes an edgy, dark cool befitting its owner, CLARKE MONROE, a hustler who knows all the pushers and dopers, and fences stolen goods in his spare time – silverware, jewellery, furs and watches. He is here every night from midnight, digging the sounds and making deals. Handsome, charming, six-feet-tall, with light-brown skin, straightened hair, flashy suits, glossy shoes and women hanging offa him, Clarke will stand out.

  What transforms his venue from a seedy fleapit into a place of magic is the music. Zinging with ideas after their workout at Minton’s, BIRD and co will join the house band – AL TINNEY piano; RUSS ‘POPEYE’ GILLON trumpet; VICTOR COULSON tenor sax; EBENEZER PAUL bass; and the teenage MAX ROACH, who will go on to raise jazz drumming to a new level – for hours of experimentation. You will hear them stretch time, rhythm and harmony to the limit, take snatches of melody and fragments of riffs and run with them, speaking a language that will translate later into bonafide bebop tunes; every note hinting towards the future, every bar leading Jazz into the unknown.

  Monroe’s shuts its doors at 7am. Stumble out into the light of day, head singing, and go grab breakfast at SIMON JOUB’S RESTAURANT on 161st and Lenox, the epicentre of the growing Latino presence in Harlem. Not only can you get strong black coffee and yummy sweet and savoury Cuban pastelitos (pastries) – made from puff pastry and filled with either cream cheese, guava, pineapple and coconut, or ground beef in a tomato sauce with raisins and green olives – you will also be nodding your head and tapping your feet to some seriously infectious beats; the set of conga drums in the corner are always in use.

  DEPARTURE

  Once you’ve had your fill at Simon Joub’s, make your way back to your room at the THERESA, from where you will DEPART.

  The Beatles in Hamburg

  1960–1962 HAMBURG, GERMANY

  EACH YEAR HALF A MILLION VISITORS from across the world – many not even born when the Fab Four were making records – make the pilgrimage to a nondescript zebra crossing next to Abbey Road studios in northwest London to recreate the band’s celebrated 1969 album cover. But how much more fun to hang out with The Beatles themselves – and before they were famous. This trip offers the chance to follow the original Fab Five as they transform themselves from a teenage beat group into a successful working band during a series of engagements in Hamburg. This will lead them to the cusp of Beatlemania and enduring fame and fortune. To chart their progress, you will take THREE SEPARATE TRIPS, each in a different year – 1960, 1961 and 1962 – to see three different gigs at three different venues on three separate weekends.

  BRIEFING: ST PAULI

  Each visit is designed to reflect the Beatles’ own experience of Hamburg; the money in your pocket, the clothes on your back, the hours you keep, the places you hang out, will all be dictated by the Beatles’ own habits and life-style at the time. This way, you will be able to chart the changes they went through en route to stardom.

  You will spend the majority of your time in St Pauli, a tough working-class neighbourhood close to the docks and home to the notorious red-light district. Nowadays, the area is something of a tourist attraction. At the time of your visit, it is a quarter avoided by most Hamburg residents, due to its reputation for violence and crime. St Pauli’s transient population of prostitutes, pimps and assorted low-life, its sex shops, strip clubs, bars and brothels, make it the favoured haunt of the Hamburg underworld, and attract tough guys of all shapes and sizes. Adding to this volatile mix is a constant stream of sailors and seamen looking for a good time while on shore leave. As a result, fights are constantly breaking out and murders are not uncommon. It is in this heated environment that The Beatles become The Beatles.

  TRIP ONE

  On Monday 8 August 1960, Bruno Koschmider, a squat, hard-nosed ex-circus performer and owner of the Kaiserkeller club in Hamburg, is in London trying to find a five-piece band to open his new club, the INDRA CABARET, in a week’s time. Allan Williams, the Beatles’ booking agent, convinces Bruno to hire them and they are contracted to play nightly from 17 August to 16 October, with Mondays off.

  After a scramble to sort out their passports – none of them had ever left the country before – JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE, STUART SUTCLIFFE (Stu) and PETE BEST (who was reluctantly added at the last minute, making him the group’s fourth drummer in 13 weeks), make the thirty-six-hour journey, Williams driving them in his Austin J4 minibus to save money. They travel down from Liverpool, through London (the boys’ first glimpse of the capital), then on to Harwich for the night boat to the Hook of Holland, followed by a long haul across Germany, arriving in Hamburg just after midnight on Wednesday 17 August. That evening, they step out on the Indra stage for the first time.

  FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 1960

  You will arrive nine days later, at 5pm, in the darkened stalls of the BAMBIKINO, a pornographic movie theatre. It is around an hour into the afternoon feature. A few feet away from you, the Beatles will be just stirring from their slumbers in their tiny digs in the back room of the cinema, located beyond the screen with its own side entrance.

  While you may be tempted to remain in your seats to catch the climax of the film, we suggest you slip out early and explore the area while it’s still light, and less dangerous. However, before leaving the BambiKino, check out the toilets, as this may be your first chance to cast your eyes on the band. This is where they wash, shave and clean up before their night’s work begins. Stepping out onto the street, you will find yourself directly opposite the INDRA club at Grosse Freiheit 64, with its crimson red frontage, Indian elephant signage and gated entrance adorned by a guitar and saxophone.

  THE FAB FIVE IN THEIR LEATHERS, PHOTOGRAPHED BY ASTRID KIRCHHERR: FROM LEFT, PETE BEST, GEORGE, JOHN, PAUL AND STU SUTCLIFFE.

  Male travellers will be DRESSED as the band: Teddy boy style, with quiffs, shades, lilac jackets, black shirts, black drainpipes, and crocodile shoes; women travellers will be wearing cream or polka-dot dresses with the skirt above the knee, bobby socks and flat shoes. You will each have 30 Deutschmarks SPENDING MONEY, the same amount as the band gets paid per night. This is a comparativel
y meagre sum, less than the wages of a manual labourer. Therefore, you will have to be economical, which may prove tricky, as there will be no shortage of people trying to con you out of your last pfennig. As the Beatles have no fixed abode, neither do you, but you don’t need one, as you (like the band) will be pulling an all-nighter.

  The Beatles spend most of their time on GROSSE FREIHEIT, and so will you. Note the contrast between the tall older buildings, some still bomb-damaged from the war, and the squat, almost shack-like ones hosting an array of bars, sex clubs and fast-food joints, patrolled by hulking employees ‘barking’ for your custom, and watched over by a hoarding of a giant bikini-clad lady, a fake Eiffel Tower on the horizon – the whole thing is reminiscent of a Wild West or Gold Rush town. As you walk the narrow cobbled street, you will see a substantial venue next to a strip joint, Studio X; this is the KAISERKELLER, where the band will have an ill-fated residency later in their stay.

  Reaching the end of Grosse Freiheit, turn left onto the main drag, the REEPERBAHN (Ropemaker’s Way). Somewhat glitzier, busier and a shade more cosmopolitan, this offers the same range of facilities but on a slighter grander and more expensive scale. Don’t be fooled, though, it’s still very rough and ready. Here neon rules the night, turning the whole strip into a flashing and blinking carnival of sex and debauchery.

  Those keen to see more of St Pauli’s seamy underbelly should turn off Reeperbahn into DAVIDSTRASSE, which leads to the docks, and take the third right into HERBERTSTRASSE, a dingy alleyway where prostitutes stand in windows offering their wares.

  THE GIG

  Aim to be back at the Indra by 8pm. The venue is tiny, with the small stage at the back of the room, a heavy, faded red curtain behind it, and tables gathered in front. The clientele are a mix of strippers, hookers, transvestites – drag acts are popular here and at many of the St Pauli clubs – some sailors and a scattering of ‘rock kids’, young local music fans who have summoned the courage to venture into Grosse Freiheit at night. You are best off taking a seat as close to them as possible. Chances of a brawl breaking out are fairly high, especially as the waiters, often ex-Nazi thugs with a grudge, are looking for any excuse to start one. According to George Harrison, ‘all the waiters had tear gas guns, truncheons, knuckle-dusters’. As far as drinks go, bottled beer is the cheapest option; avoid the over-priced schnaps and ersatz champagne.

  The Beatles will be doing four one-hour sets: 8.30–9.30pm, 10–11pm, 11.30pm–12.30am and 1–2am. Filling this amount of time will stretch the band’s catalogue of covers to the limits; you will be treated to versions of the whole of their favourite albums by artists like Carl Perkins, Elvis and Gene Vincent, some Jazz Age standards like “Summertime”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Moonglow”, classic hits by Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, current chart-toppers such as The Shadow’s “Apache”, and a fifteen-minute version of Ray Charles’s R&B stonker “What’d I Say”.

  Their renditions will be often clumsy and incoherent, not helped by the constant flow of free drinks sent to them by appreciative punters, and the fact that Paul is on rhythm guitar, an instrument he is uncomfortable with, Stu is almost a beginner on bass, and Pete is a barely adequate drummer, unable to keep time properly. To try and help him hold onto a beat, the rest of the band will stomp their feet hard on the stage; Pete will respond by giving his bass drum a hefty kick – thomp, thomp – raising the noise level to such an extent that the old woman who lives above the Indra is forced to complain to the manager, Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Limpensal. Despite these flaws, it’s hard not to be impressed by the boys’ sheer energy and charisma, enough to send a shiver up your spine. Most startling will be their attitude, not dissimilar to early punk bands; you will see them spit, belch, curse and hurl abuse at the crowd. John is particularly fond of taunting them about Hitler.

  At 9.45pm, you will hear an announcement come over the PA, and fifteen minutes later you will notice members of staff going round to check the IDs of anyone young-looking – it is against the law for anybody under the age of eighteen to be in a club after 10pm – and chucking out all the offending punters. Luckily, nobody seems to mind that George is only seventeen!

  POST-GIG

  After the Indra closes at 3am, you may well be in the mood to hit the Reeperbahn and check out other clubs like the BEER SHOP, MAMBO, WAGABOND and CHUGS. Don’t: they all operate a system known as the nep – ‘additional charges’ added to your bill so that when it arrives it will be considerably larger than you expect and considerably more than you can afford. Failure to pay will result in a severe beating.

  Instead, head over to HAROLD’S CAFÉ at 15 Grosse Freiheit, one of the Beatles’ favoured post-show hangouts. There you can get cheap eats – burgers, fries, hot dogs – and bottled beer. Occupy one of the booths with plain wood tables and hopefully you will see the band come in and order their regular breakfast of cornflakes and milk, a choice that reflects their lack of cash and sophistication.

  JOHN LENNON IN HAMBURG, 1960, ON HIS ROCK’N’ROLL ALBUM. YOU’LL BE DEPARTING FROM THIS VERY DOORWAY.

  DEPARTURE

  By 8am, the Beatles will be ready to stagger off to their makeshift beds at the BambiKino. This is your cue to leave. Walk along Grosse Freiheit to the corner of Paul-Roosen-Strasse. Turn into it and proceed to Wohiwillstrasse – second on the left. Carry on a few yards until you reach an alley way that leads into an OPEN COURTYARD flanked by tenement buildings. You will depart from here, the spot where a few weeks later John will have his photo taken standing nonchalantly in a doorway, an image that will later grace the cover of his 1975 Rock’n’Roll album, which features many of the tunes bashed out night after night in Hamburg.

  TRIP TWO

  The Beatles’ stint at the Indra ends prematurely on 4 October 1960, due to the din they are making. Bruno Koschmider shifts them over to his Kaiserkeller, but there things go from bad to worse. Their already fraught relationship with Bruno descends into open conflict. Matters come to a head after George is deported when the authorities find out his true age, while Bruno has the rest of the band arrested for damaging the stage. By 10th December 1960, John, Paul and Pete have all been sent packing.

  One bright spot during this period is their burgeoning friendship with two young Hamburgers: Klaus Voormann, an art-school graduate, and Astrid Kirchherr, a graduate in fashion and photography. At twenty-two, they are a touch older than the band and will open their eyes to different aspects of the city beyond St Pauli. Stu and Astrid quickly fall head over heels in love, getting engaged on 28th November and Stu remains in Hamburg, where he plans to continue his art studies.

  Despite the debacle at the Kaiserkeller, the band had made an impression and are invited back to Hamburg to do a seven-night residency at the TOP TEN CLUB. On Tuesday 28 March 1961, John and George, travelling by train this time, set off from Liverpool Lime Street, arriving via the Harwich–Hook of Holland route at Hamburg’s main station, Hauptbahnhof, at 3.16am on Thursday 30th, where they are met by Stu and Astrid. Two days later, Paul and (for want of a better alternative) Pete join them, and the band open at the Top Ten on Saturday 1 April. George will describe this residency as ‘fantastic’.

  SATURDAY 15 APRIL 1961

  At 5pm on Saturday 15 April, you will arrive at the courtyard in Wohlwillstrasse with 35 Deutschmarks in your pocket, slightly more than last time. Men will be dressed to match the Beatles’ latest HAMBURG LOOK – black leather jackets, black velvet shirts, black leather trousers, cowboy boots. Women will be wearing black leather jackets, black polo necks, black leather skirts, black tights and boots. All these items have been sourced for you from the uptown HAMBURGER LEDERMODEN, where the band saw the gear that inspired their new style (the store proved too expensive for them, so they engaged the services of a St Pauli tailor to reproduce its clothes at a fraction of the price).

  Again you have no accommodation; you will spend another night on the tiles. This time it will be a good idea to fill your belly before the gig; it’s never
wise to take amphetamines on an empty stomach. Make your way to SCHMUCKSTRASSE, just off Grosse Freiheit, where transvestite hookers linger in doorways, and at number 9 you will find CHUG-RU, a cheap and cheerful Chinese restaurant where the Beatles often go to eat – they are very fond of the pancakes. Once you are done, head to the Top Ten Club at 136 Reeperbahn.

  THE GIG

  You will enter the TOP TEN CLUB, housed in an old, narrow-gabled building, with an extended lip over the entrance bearing large blue signage, at 7.30pm. Consisting of one large room, the raised stage is set alongside one wall, the sizable dance floor (Tanzfläche) directly in front of it, the bar to its right.

  You may well encounter the owner, HORST FASCHER, a thirty-six-year-old former champion amateur boxer who did nine months in jail for killing a man in a St Pauli street fight, and you will certainly see his younger brothers, UWE and MANFRED, also boxers, whose job it is to shield the band from any unwarranted attention. On the whole, however, the Top Ten’s clientele is a bit less seedy than at the Indra and there is a larger proportion of rock fans. Horst wants Top Ten to be all about the music and has had his manager, Peter Eckhorn, instal a state-of-the-art sound system and Binso echo microphones – which The Beatles love using.