No Hamburg, No Beatles

“We were born in Liverpool but grew up in Hamburg”, John Lennon once said. This feature documentary seeks to find the truth in those words. The long and winding road that the Beatles took to worldwide fame passed through Hamburg, Germany in the early 1960s. Only a couple of years before they became household names, the former Quarrymen were cutting their musical teeth on nightclub stages in the city. Hamburg had become the vice capital of Europe after World War Two, its neon-lit streets home to sailors, sex workers, drug dealers, gangs and low life. Meanwhile, the English band was still developing, still young and virtually unknown. By the time of their last German visit in 1966, the Beatles were an international phenomenon. 'No Hamburg, No Beatles' explains how learning their trade in this fascinating city helped propel them to global stardom.

• 
  Roger Appleton

• 
  Frank McDonough
  Self
• 
  John Lennon
  Self (voice) (archive footage)
• 
  Paul McCartney
  Self (voice) (archive footage)
• 
  Pete Best
  Self
• 
  Rosie McGinnity
  Self
• 
  Carol Phillips
  Self
• 
  Allan Williams
  Self
• 
  Ulf Krüger
  Self
• 
  Howie Casey
  Self
• 
  Ian Hines
  Self (archive footage)
• 
  Barry Chang
  Self
• 
  Stef Hempel
  Self
• 
  Horst Fascher
  Self
• 
  George Harrison
  Self (voice) (archive footage)
• 
  Bruno Koschmider
  Self (archive footage)
• 
  Gibson Kemp
  Self
• 
  Jürgen Vollmer
  Self
• 
  Peter Eckhorn
  Self (archive footage)
• 
  The Shadows
  Themselves
• 
  Chas Newby
  Self