BEATLES Day By Day – 4/1/61
Saturday, April 1st, 1961
The Beatles opened at the Top Ten Club on the Reeperbhan (#136)Â in Hamburg at the start of their second trip to the German city. Their contract would be extended twice during their stay and they would end up playing a staggering 503 hours over the next 92 nights.
The Beatles sets would run 7 hours a night on weekdays and 8 hours on weekends, with a 15 minute break every hour. This was the crucible that gave birth to The Beatles as we know them, the gruelling shcedule honed their musical abilities to a previously unimagined level transforming them from just another Liverpool group into the best.
The boys lived in a small apartment above the club.
It is during this trip that The Beatles (with the exception of drummer Pete Best) adopt thier famous hair style copied from former band member, and now Hamburg resident, Stuart Sutcliffe. It was Sutcliffe’s German girl friend, Astrid, who first trimed his hair into the style that would become known as “The Beatles cut.” While no-longer a member of the group, Sutcliffe would still occasionally join them on stage.
