HAMBURG DAYS, LIVERPOOL NIGHTS
65 years ago a number of Liverpool artists developed their musical prowess by playing regular sets in Hamburg. Gerry and The Pacemakers, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, The Liverbirds and of course The Beatles were all well known in The Star Club and many other Hamburg dives.
Last week Hamburg was once again alive with a whole new generation of Mersey sounds.
Kev McManus sets the scene with his views on why it shouldn’t always be just about the Beatles, while Dan Astles, who played in Hamburg last week, shares his diary of an eventful few days when Liverpool music was centre stage in Hamburg once again
There have been loads of Beatles stories lately: McCartney’s new album is obviously the big one but we have also had Apple announcing the launch of a new Beatles attraction at 3 Saville Row. Both attracted massive global coverage, evidencing once again the endless fascination the world still has for our most famous sons. And their appeal isn’t just for oldies like me – last week 16 year old actor Owen Cooper, when accepting a BAFTA for his performance in Adolescence finished his speech by saying ‘ you need three things in life to succeed and one of them is The Beatles’.
Alongside this you have almost constant mentions of the four Beatles biog films directed by Sam Mendes and currently being shot in Liverpool and elsewhere.
Then last week there was the slightly less high profile announcement of the cast for the BBC drama Hamburg Days which will focus on this key period in the Fab Four’s history.
Our very own Ellis Murphy is playing the part of McCartney with another local lad Patrick Gilmore taking on the role of Pete Best
The timing of the announcement couldn’t have been better because it came in the same week that there was a Liverpool musical takeover of the annual Hamburg River Festival.
When we started conversations with the people behind the festival in Hamburg they were really only interested in us bringing over Beatles cover bands. I get the fascination and that historical links but we pushed back against this train of thought. I love The Beatles as much or more than the next music fan but what I don’t like is the inherent implication that we always have to look backwards for great music in the city.
Alongside the celebration of our musical heroes we always need to be careful to ensure that we don’t detract from what’s happening now. And what’s happening now is incredibly exciting as our line up in Hamburg showed.
I’d argue that The Beatles themselves wouldn’t want to see a load of Beatles cover bands filling the stage in Hamburg. Part of what made the group so special was a relentless drive to move forward and innovate. The Beatles never did ‘more of the same’ and as a result they changed music forever. 1966’s Revolver sounds like it came from an entirely different world than Please Please Me, made only three years earlier and in an interview for his new album I’ve seen that McCartney is still talking about how he wanted to try different things on the record.
Hamburg helped make The Beatles and I’m sure they would approve that we used this opportunity to showcase some of our best emerging artists in the city that was integral to their development. As a gift to the German port city we sent them some of Liverpool’s finest from 2026. Koj, Astles, Tonia, Michael Aldag, Ni Maxine and The Kowloons, all alumni of LIMF Academy, were ready and able to show the Hamburgers (if that’s what they are called) what Liverpool music is about today. That’s a brilliant line up showing the incredible strength and diversity of Liverpool’s current music offer.
A young local tribute band called Beatles Complete were also on the line up because that felt right too and was a nice nod to that historic link to the city.
Hopefully the exposure all the artists received in Hamburg will help further their careers as well as encouraging music fans there to check out what’s happening in Liverpool.
And for Ellis Murphy, the exposure he will get from the BBC drama should propel him to get the level of attention his talent deserves. He wasn’t in the official Liverpool line up for the Hamburg gig but made a surprise guest appearance by jumping on stage with his mate Astles. He even brought the rest of the cast and crew down from the TV series so that they could get a proper feel for Liverpool, it’s music, and it’s people.
Ellis is a great songwriter and if playing McCartney on TV supercharges his own career as a then it’s job done. We can chalk that up as history repeating itself. Hamburg made The Beatles and now hopefully it will make a star of Ellis.
KEV MCMANUS
Below Astles, one of the artists who featured in Hamburg gives us a lovely insight into what the Hamburg trip meant to him
Thursday 7th May 2026
The journey to Hamburg begins with a 5:15 wake up after just getting my head down at about midnight. Dreams filled the 4 or so hours repeating what was to come. Dreaming of waking up, and getting going. Until the alarm goes off and it becomes true. I woke up myself and then Louie who was staying at ours on the coach in the living room. Make myself a strong black coffee which was beyond needed. Dad and Matt arrive in quick succession at 6:15 and we head to Manchester airport in my dads new hybrid car, he’s telling us all about how great it is. It is far too early for Top Gear chat but I nod along.
The journey is easy and the traffic is kind and we fly through baggage and checking, by 7:45 we are having our breakfast in Manchester airport. Before long we start bumping into the rest of the Liverpool artists making the trip alongside us. Koj and his band Jude and Tee, Ni, Kieran and Ni’s band which is shared with Koj with the expectation of an added Max Ohara, all 4 of The Kowloons and Michael who travels solo. We sat at gate A1 and boarded the flight, which I spent sat next to Michael. We chatted a while and then entertained ourselves, playing Minecraft and reading a book on the Rat Pack. I won’t say who was doing what.
It doesn’t take us long to get our feet under the table in Hamburg, We go to the hotel after a brief train from the airport. Looking out the window at the gorgeous green trees and the sun sat staring down from the sky. We have a quick wash and meet Matt Owen, our friend and incredible photographer and person overall, who is staying with Ellis for a month, documenting him whilst his journey in playing Paul McCartney in a BBC series Hamburg days. More on that later on.
On Ellis’ recommendation Matt takes us to a bar called Zum Silbersack and we have a small bottle of Astra, that is key information. The bar is nice, with small wooden tables, a jukebox in the corner and no natural light whatsoever seeping in. It is comparable to the Swan in town. Except everyone is smoking inside everywhere. Maybe it is like the Swan before the smoking ban came in. Ashtrays cover every table and a dim fog follows you round the room. The walls are covered in Anti Fascist stickers. Louie asked for a gluten free beer but it seemingly does not exist here. He sticks to the red wine.
We frequent a few more bars to similar effect. The stag do’s starting to slowly fill up the city around us. There is an open seediness to the whole place which is a shocking experience. Everything is so out in the open. Bottled Astras go down very easily to say the least. We embarked on the Reeperbahn for the first time, sat in a small bar where again smoking is encouraged. We bump into the people from the Beatles story and the Cavern club. It turns out Matt’s mum, who is a midwife, has delivered one of their babies. It is a small world.
The feeling of home comes back in spades when we go to meet Ellis and the rest of the Beatles on a street corner outside a Kiosk drinking beers. In England we’d call this shop a Gastropub or something daft. Seeing Ellis fills me with pride and it is just so nice to see him. When in Liverpool me and Ellis see each other at least a few times a week, to write or just to knock about. Seeing him take on the world is amazing. This is where we Facetime Kev to say hello, the only thing that could be better is him being here. Fin our bassist and our friends Ryan and Pat arrive and the night goes on for another good few hours. Before we get our heads down for a half 9 soundcheck the next day.
Friday 8th May 2026
The 9:30 soundcheck feels earlier than it should but it is made easier by the hotel’s proximity to the stage and how amazing the team working on the whole event is. The sound engineer Erik, who is dressed in a pirate snood and has an almost pirate adjacent beard and his team are completely on it. They set up our stuff before we even arrive.The gear has all been hired for us and will be shared, which makes things beyond easier. All we have to bring is ourselves, which shouldn’t be too hard. Soundcheck goes really well and it relaxes any nerves I had. I have set us the challenge of playing about 80% new songs, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but now seems intimidating and there is no looking back.
We speak to Kate, Chloe from Culture Liverpool and Rhiannon from Combined Authorities who have set up this incredible event for us to play. They have smashed it out of the park with the set up,there are representatives from The Cavern Club, The Beatles Story, the Bluecoat, Western Approaches and many more. There is also a chance for the locals (and all of us) to buy some scouse, for the authentic experience. It is a credit to our city, and the locals absolutely love it with our stage being busy all day, in the sunny still weather right next to the water, it is the perfect place to sit and enjoy some Mersey sound. All of the acts on the bill have been a part of the incredible LIMF Academy, a talent development program which has helped so many artists in our city to develop their skills and artistry. All day long between acts we are treated to classics by The La’s, The Coral, The Zutons and of course the big ones, Atomic Kitten.
We then have some time to kill before our first and longest show of the festival at half 6 that evening. Some of us go back to bed but I am in search of some proper coffee, fearing going back to bed will be the end of me. I met up with my friends from school Ryan and Pat who are joining us on the trip. We head to St Nicholas Church, which is a gothic tower which rises high into the sky. The Church was bombed in world war 2 and all that remains is the spiking tower which was once the tallest building in the whole of Hamburg. We get a lift up to the top where the views of the city are just incredible. It is a beautiful place with a mismatch of old and modern architecture. After that, we find a nice place in the sun and let a few hours drift by. It is peaceful and glorious, but the preshow nerves are beginning to creep in. I like to be nervous for a show so I embrace it none the less.
We head back over to the stage and watch an incredible set by Ni Maxine. Since I have met Ni i have been beyond captivated by their music, she winds storytelling seamlessly into everything she does, and you hang on every single word. She is coolness personified and it is hard not to be in awe of her and her incredible band. As we go backstage for our gig we meet Norman the stage announcer, he is a legend and someone we all become very fond of over the trip. We must get him to Liverpool as he claims to be a world class japanese disco DJ. That sounds pretty good to me.
Show time comes and the set flies by, with new songs going really well and old ones connecting well with the new audience. Highlights of mine are playing Remember Us, as it seems to get a few toes tapping all over the place and our final song, Life Is Not a Race, which insights a lovely moment of a couple dancing like no one is watching right in front of the stage. I promise them we will play at their wedding but I am unsure if they hear our offer. If you are reading this then the offer is still there. The show makes us feel excited for tomorrow, we can change and adapt and by the end of the weekend, we will be so tight. Lets hope so. Afterwards we stay around and watch Koj deliver a truly unbelievable set, full of energy. It packs a punch all the way through and every word is important and powerful. Koj is another great friend of mine who I have been lucky to collaborate with, as well as Ni and Tonia. I feel lucky to know them.
We head out for another night on the town with ‘new’ Beatles as well as the lads from the Kowloons and our friends Tonia, Zander and Louis. It is a boss night and we are thankful there is no 9:30 wake up call tomorrow.
Saturday 9th May 2026
I wake up and I promise myself I will not miss the free hotel breakfast. I grab two bread rolls, some cheese, coffee, orange juice and some fruit. I can never afford a hotel with breakfast so this is a special treat. Our show today is at 3:30, so there is little time to do stuff before, which suits me down to the ground. I walk around 15 minutes from our hotel with Matt to a coffee place called Playground Coffee. It is Bold Street Coffee adjacent. The type of posh coffee me and Matt can’t get enough of. We get two filter coffees and then an iced americano, Matt even buys some beans to take home with him. I don’t know when I became a coffee snob, but it is who I am now and I am happy to sit there for a few hours.
We head to the stage for 2:30 and this will be the biggest show of them all. Ellis is bringing down the whole of the cast and crew to come and see us. And they all come down, around 30 of them. Including writer Jamie Carragher, Producer Andrew Eaton, all of the Beatles (Who I met back in Liverpool, whilst they were practicing in Elevator a few months ago) and the other actors. Over the course of the night we get to know them really well, and they are beyond lovely and talented.
The set is a real highlight for me and we are on topform. The gig the day before has warmed us up to the point where we are confident and just enjoy it. Ellis joins me for two songs and we play two songs we have written back home in Liverpool. ‘Evan Dando’s Art’(which we wrote with our friend Callum Thompson) and Gladders Street – the latter being a story song about a script writer who blows her money in the pub. It seems fitting more than ever now. The set we play is below, the highlights being new song Strangers, with me inciting the crowd to sway their hands, like a coldplay concert, I think they appreciate the irony but either way it is enjoyable.
The feedback we receive is amazing and it leads the conversations throughout the night. We really connect with everyone we meet. The city is alive that night as the festival spreads across the city. Heavy Metal stages popping up on random street corners, Techno tents outside bars. We are there for it all and it is overwhelming but incredible. The night ends in McDonalds with us all trying stuff you can’t buy back home. It is still crap but there is something romantic about trying something new. My heart is full as I get my head down.
Sunday 10th May 2026
I met the hotel breakfast again, I don’t want to miss it. We spend the morning taking in some culture that we don’t want to miss too. We head to the world war two bunker which is intimidating and impressive in equal measure, is an incredibly unique building, one which I have never seen before. These days it is used for arts events as well as being a tourist spot. It takes you a while to walk through the whole thing but at the top you get an incredible view of Hamburg, as well as a few Sunday league pitches below. We stop and watch a game between two teams. It is nice to see that the Sunday league standard is equally as bad across the continent as it is back home.
Our last set of the trip is the shortest meaning we try and cram in all of the ones we have enjoyed most into it. We also have Ellis joining us again for the last time before we say goodbye. What an absolute pleasure it has been to have all of us so far away from home doing what we love.
The highlights being the opener and strangers once again, with a few of the cast crew even remembering the chorus to Strangers. One of the biggest things artistically that has come out of the trip is the love that song has got. It has given me a lot of confidence to get back home and get it finished off properly. Watch this space. The set ends and I am sad that it is all over. I would play here everyday and keep this going and going. But nothing ever lasts forever, a bloke in sunglasses once said, and he is right.
We stick around the Liverpool stage for the rest of the afternoon and we watch incredible sets by Tonia, Koj and Ni. Each one represents Liverpool in their own unique way and each one steals hearts all over Hamburg. The headline slot goes to The Beatles Complete, who in all fairness completely smash it. I find myself in a conga line to Obla Di Obla Da that seems to never end, at one point am i scared where it is leading but i find myself back in one piece. The set ends as every Beatles covers band set should end with a big singalong of Hey Jude. It is the busiest set of the weekend and it is no wonder why. They smash it out the park.
At this point the candle has been burnt at either end and we enjoy the last part of our time in Hamburg sitting at the hotel bar. Memories have been made that will not be forgotten and some of the best shows of our lives have set new standards. Thank you to all who made it special. Thank you to Culture Liverpool for supporting me and Liverpool artists, we appreciate it more than you can imagine.
Hamburg Over and Out.
All photos Matt Owen
