This is
the year
the boys change the name of their band several times, trying to present
a fresh name at various auditions and to please promoters and
prospective
record producers.
The
group goes
from 'The Quarry Men' to 'The Silver Beetles', to 'Long John and the
Silver
Beetles' and several variations on that theme.
John and
Paul
even do an act as 'The Nerk Twins'!
Nobody
knows for
sure who actually thought of it first, but one day John and Stu
Sutcliffe
jointly announce that the band ought to be called 'The Beatles', with
an
"a"! The rest is history.
May 5:
Allan
Williams,
the owner of the 'Jacaranda' and 'The Blue Angel" clubs, signs on as
the
band's first (and part time) manager.
(Williams
later
wrote a book "The Man who Gave the Beatles Away" about the experience.)
August
17:
The
Beatles,
including their new drummer Pete Best and Allan Williams, driving his
van,
make their first trip to Germany for an engagement at the Indra Club in
Hamburg. The club, located on the 'Grosse Freiheit' near the
Reeperbahn,
in a seedy harbor section of town, is raided and closed down by police
on October 3rd.
October
4:
The band
moves
to the 'Kaiserkeller', a somewhat better establishment, where they meet
Ringo Starr, who's playing there with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
October
15:
John, Paul,
George,
Ringo and Lou Walters, a member of the Hurricanes, play a recording
session
doing George Gershwin's "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess.
November
21:
After
occasionally
performing at the 'Top Ten Club' in addition to their 'Kaiserkeller'
contract
work (angering their Kk employer), and planning to move to the Top Ten
altogether, the Beatles' first Hamburg engagement comes to an abrupt
halt,
when the band is found to be working without a work permit. Underage
George
Harrison is served deportation papers for illegally working in a night
club.
December
5:
Paul and
Pete
Best are arrested for allegedly starting a fire. They are taken
from
the Reeperbahn Police Station to the airport in handcuffs and shipped
back
to England.
George,
already
making his way back by boat and train, arrives home soon after them and
John follows a few days later. Stuart Sutcliffe decides to stay on in
Germany
with his fiancee Astrid Kirchherr and quits the band.
December
27:
Regrouping
in
Liverpool, the Beatles perform at the Litherland Town Hall and create
something
of an unexpected fan frenzy.
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