The Beatles at Ernst-Merck-Halle in Hamburg on June 26, 1966. Photos from OK magazine and by Peter Brüchmann and Bent Rej.
“We went back to Hamburg in June 1966, for the first time since 1962. We played concerts in Munich and Essen first, and then got on a train to Hamburg. It was the train that was used when the royal party toured Germany, and it was very nice; we each had our own little compartment with marble bathtubs, really luxuriously decorated.
Hamburg had a good and bad feeling for me. The good side was that we were coming back to play after all our fame and fortune, and when we’d been there before we’d been playing dirty nightclubs to work our way up. The bad bit was that a lot of ghosts materialized out of the woodwork — people you didn’t necessarily want to see again, who had been your best friend one drunken Preludin night back in 1960. It’s 1966, you’ve been through a million changes, and suddenly one of those ghosts jumps out at you.” - George Harrison, The Beatles Anthology
Among the local friends The Beatles met up wth in Hamburg that day were Astrid Kirchherr (pictured with Brian Epstein and Gibson Kemp; Astrid remained lifelong friends with them all, particularly with George); Bettina "Betty" Derlien, Hans-Walther "Icke" Braun (accompanied by his wife at the time, actress Evelyn Hamann), and Kathia Berger (who painted a portrait of Paul, visible in the background of some of these backstage photos).
For those interested in this detail: Kathia had first seen The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller in 1960. She was nicknamed (at least by The Beatles) “strawberry,” owing to her hair color and to the fact that, according to Thorsten Knublauch’s interview with her for his book about the ’66 tour, because she used to bring them strawberries from her fieldwork in the early ‘60s. Her painting, seen in the background backstage, featured (according to an article in the magazine OK) Paul with his MBE, a letter in one hand and the other hand a bowl holding a heart with an arrow through it.
“The girls in particular, who made up about 65 percent of the audience, writhed, moaned and screamed hoarsely to their idols’ driving rhythm. It was the biggest mass frenzy ever witnessed in this hall, a venue that has certainly seen its fair share of such scenes.” - review of the matinee and evening concerts, translated from Hamburger Morgenpost (June 27, 1966)
In 1966 the Beatles returned to Hamburg, this time as international mega-stars. Icke and several of their other Hamburg friends greeted them at the train station, and were later invited in to meet them backstage.
Paul spotted Icke at the train station and called out to him before the band were rushed through. Later, at the venue, Paul made sure that Icke was invited back to spend time with the band.
George brought up Till There Was You at this meeting, and Icke explained that there had been some confusion, but we don't know if Paul ever found out. (more info at the end of the translation)
Thanks as always to the wonderful @didwemeetsomewherebefore and her mum for the translation of Icke's autobiography (original German is at the end).
The tour was booked from the 24th - 26th June; three days in three cities. Through the press photographer, Peter Bruchmann, I found out the Beatles would be arriving at 5 30 am on a special train at the Ahrensburg station, so I got up at 4 in the morning not to miss this moment. As the train approached, I stood very close to the edge of the platform. A mass of journalists, fans and other commuters also stood on the platform. It was terribly noisy and nobody could understand a word anyone was saying. Luckily, I found a favourable place on the platform - facing the wagon in which the Beatles were basically stood right outside my nose. I saw the guys standing at the window and Paul saw me too. He moved his lips as though he wanted to say something to me, and pointed to the front where they were going to disembark. Unfortunately this was about 10 meters deep with people who were all trying to see the band. I tried with all my might to push through but I was still stuck in the middle. It was just impossible to get through. The Beatles had already disembarked. They were corralled straight away by the bodyguards who had freed a walkway through the crowd. However, Paul managed to turn around, he called to me, ‘We’ll see you later!’, and then they ran at speed through the walkway, out to where the cars were standing, surrounded by journalists and fans who were waiting for them. They were taken with a police escort to the Castle Tremsbuttel, where they were staying the night.
The fact that Paul could even see him even with so many people is remarkable, and even though they hadn't seen each other in 3 years, and had no idea he would even be there, is a testament to how much Icke meant to Paul. Spoilers for the next part, but he never did forget Icke.
There is also footage of the train station arrival here, and interviews from earlier in the week with Icke, Bettina, and others in Hamburg here. A lot of stories we've already shared in this series are included, and some that we haven't as well.
The whole thing happened so quickly that on the way home, I thought it had been a dream. On the way back in the car, I asked myself, what did Paul mean when he called out to me? How should I approach him, how was it going to work that we would see each other when the instructions had been so vague. The two concerts were scheduled for 3pm - 4.45pm and then 7pm - 8 45 pm. In between both concerts there were press conferences being held, to which unfortunately I wasn’t invited. I managed to get a ticket for the second concert, but I still hung around for three hours with the other fans in the hall. Suddenly on the loudspeaker I heard my name. ‘Icke Braun is asked to come to the desk’. I thought to myself, what do I need to come to the desk for? but I went anyway. A man was standing there who I had met before - he was from the newspaper, Der Bild. He told me that Paul McCartney wanted to speak to me, then turned around and went into the conference room and I followed him. Already outside I could hear John Lennon’s voice and as the door opened, I saw him joking with the journalists. As everyone was only speaking English, I didn’t understand much of it. The Beatles were sitting on a podium together with a man I didn’t know. Later I discovered that that was Neil Aspinall who was the personal assistant to the Beatles.
George saw me and waved me to his side. I went a bit nearer to the stage but kept my distance. Why should I stand around on the stage looking stupid when I had nothing to say? So I stayed where I was and waited until the end of the conference until I said hello to the guys. A few journalists then left the room but most stayed. When the Beatles came down from the stage, George asked me ‘how are you and what are you doing with yourself’? I said, ‘yes I’m good, I’m now married!’, John heard that and called, “Where’s your wife, let’s see your wife!” and Neil said to me; the Beatles wishes must be obeyed! So I called Evelyn and told her the Beatles wanted to meet her. She was able to come straight away because we had talked about something like this happening.
We wonder if John wanted to see her to see how much she looked like Paul, which, if you look at the picture above, there is a bit of a resemblance (she's between Icke and Ringo, the woman on the other side of Paul is Kathia Berger).
We withdrew into a little room, and suddenly I saw that there was Kathia and Bettina from the the Star Club. I must have overlooked them amongst all the chaos. When Evelyn appeared, she was the first to be introduced to the Beatles. Everything revolved around her and as they were all speaking in English, I stood by looking stupid, and I also took the chance to go to the toilet. in order to do that, I had to go through the hustle of journalists who were waiting to grab one of the Beatles. When I came back from the toilet, they were begging me to take them back into the conference room. One said, if you take me with you, I will give you 1000 Marks. When I got back to the Beatles, I asked if I could bring a few people in to meet them, but John and the others were emphatic; no way, we want this to be just us. Bettina took a few photos out of her bag, which showed the Beatles in the Top Ten and the Star Club. The boys were delighted and told her that they would like to have the photos. I told them that the photographer who took them was standing outside the door. ‘Fetch him in, fetch him!’ said John excitedly. The photographer was called Peter Bruchmann, and was absolutely delighted to be the only journalist to be allowed into the conference room. It was he who had given me the tip that the band would be alighting off the train at Ahrensburg . I knew him from the time when the Beatles played at the Top Ten. At that point he hadn’t heard anything about them, and I had to persuade him to come and see them and take a few photos. These became the most famous photos he had ever taken.
Even three years later, we see how important Hamburg was to them.
And here are some photos from that day! You've probably seen some of them, but now you know who everyone is!
Paul told me before the band went onstage that we would see him afterwards, however they disappeared from the stage straight away; while the public was still clapping and calling for more, they were already in their cars. That was the only way to take them from their fans in safety. This was the only contact that my wife Evelyn had with the Beatles.
There are stories that Paul and John wandered around St Pauli after the show. Based on this we wonder if they realized they hadn't given Icke any actual information and were hoping that maybe somehow he'd be nostalgic too and they'd run into him.
This paragraph is from the introductory part of Icke's chapter about the Beatles, which is why it's more retrospective:
Years later, when the boys were already famous, and I was allowed backstage, we were sitting in the Ernst Merck hall and George Harrison mentioned ‘Till There Was You. I told him that it was actually Kathia’s music taste and not mine. So he understood, but there is still footage from The Star Club where one can hear ‘And now we will play ‘till there was you’ for Icke’
It sounds like George always assumed Icke had a crush on Paul or was gay or that they were together or something based on thinking "Till There Was You" was Icke's favorite song. Icke sounds quick to correct him, and quick to mention it in the book, as this is near the beginning of the Beatles chapter. As you've seen throughout these parts, Icke does a lot of questioning his sexuality and trying to make it clear something doesn't mean what it sounds like. This book is only from 2018. It's very sad to us that he's still doing that even now in his 80s.
Let us know what your thoughts are!
Icke and Paul saw each other one more time (as far as we know, though Icke is still alive so that could potentially change) but we have one more part before we get there, so stay tuned!
Original German of the translation is below!
Original German
Vom 24. bis zum 26. Juni, also an drei Tagen, waren für die Tournee in drei Städten jeweils zwei Konzerte vorgesehen. Hamburg war nach München und Essen die dritte Station. Von dem Pressefotografen Peter Brüch-mann wusste ich, dass die Beatles morgens um 5:30 Uhr mit einem Sonderzug am Bahnhof Ahrensburg ankommen sollten. Also war ich schon vor 4 Uhr aufge-standen, um diesen Moment nicht zu verpassen. Als der Zug einrollte, stand ich ziemlich nah an der Bahnsteigkante. Jede Menge Journalisten, Fans und zufällige Fahrgäste standen auf dem Bahnsteig. Es herrschte ein fürchterliches Gedränge und ein Lärm, bei dem man sein eigenes Wort nicht verstand. Zum Glück hatte ich einen günstigen Platz erwischt. Der Waggon, in dem die Beatles waren, hielt praktisch genau vor meiner Nase. Ich sah die Jungs am Fenster stehen, und Paul sah mich auch. Er bewegte seine Lippen, als ob er mir etwas sagen wollte und zeigte nach vorne, wo sie aussteigen würden. Bis dahin waren es ungefähr noch zehn Meter voller Menschen, die alle zu den Beatles drängten. Ich versuchte mit aller Kraft, mich zu ihnen durchzukämpfen, legte mich mit den Leuten an, die ich dabei anrempelte, und blieb trotzdem in der Menge stecken. Es war einfach kein Durchkommen. Die Beatles waren schon ausgestiegen. Sie wurden sofort in die Gasse geschoben, die die Bodygards für sie freigemacht hatten. Trotzdem schaffte Paul es noch, sich umzudrehen. Er rief mir zu, wir sehen uns nachher, dann liefen sie im Eiltempo weiter durch die Bahnhofshalle nach draußen, wo ihre Autos in einer riesigen Ansammlung von Journalisten und Zuschauern auf sie warteten.
Unter Polizeischutz wurden sie zum Schloss Tremsbüttel gefahren, in dem sie übernachteten.
Das Ganze war so blitzschnell gegangen, dass es mir auf dem Weg nach Hause wie ein Traum vorkam. Auf der Heimfahrt im Auto fragte ich mich, wie Paul das meinte, was er mir zuletzt zugerufen hatte. Wie wollte er es denn anstel-len, dass wir uns nachher noch sahen?
Die beiden Konzerte waren von 15:00 bis16:45 Uhr und von 19:00 bis 20:45 Uhr
angesetzt. Zwischen den beiden Konzerten gab es die erwähnte Pressekonferenz, zu der ich leider keinen Zutritt hatte. Ich hatte für 20 Mark eine Karte für das zweite Konzert ergattert, trieb mich aber schon drei Stunden vorher mit vielen anderen Fans vor der Ernst-Merck-Halle rum. Da hörte ich plötzlich über Lautsprecher meinen Namen: Icke Braun wird gebeten, zur Kasse zu kommen. Ich dachte, nanu, was soll ich denn an der Kasse, ging aber hin. Da stand ein Mann, den ich von der Begegnung an meiner Wohnungstür kannte, also der Mann von der Bild-Zeitung.
Er sagte, Paul McCartney will Sie sprechen, drehte sich um und ging zum Konfe-renzraum. Ich hinterher. Schon von draußen hörte ich John Lennons Stimme, und als die Tür aufging, sah ich, wie er sich heftig mit einem Journalisten zoffte. Da alle nur Englisch sprachen, verstand ich natürlich nicht viel davon. Die Beatles saßen auf einem Podium zusammen mit einem Mann, den ich nicht kannte. Später erfuhr ich, dass er Neil Aspinall hieß und der persönliche Assistent der Beatles war. George sah mich und winkte mich zu sich ran. Ich ging ein bisschen näher zum Podium und blieb in einiger Entfernung stehen. Warum sollte ich auf der Bühne blöd rumstehen, wenn ich gar nichts zu sagen hatte. Also blieb ich, wo ich war, und wartete das Ende der Konferenz ab, bevor ich die Jungs begrüßte.
Einige Journalisten verließen den Raum, aber die meisten blieben da. Als die Beatles von der Bühne runterkamen, fragte George:
„Wie geht es dir, was machst du so? Ich sagte, ja gut, ich bin ja jetzt verheiratet."
John hatte das mitgehört und rief
„Und wo ist deine Frau? Zeig sie uns mal." Aspinall sagte zu mir:
„Der Wunsch der Beatles muss dir Befehl sein."
Also rief ich Evelyn an und sagte ihr, die Beatles wollten sie kennenlernen. Sie konnte sich sofort auf den Weg machen, weil wir vorher schon darüber gesprochen hatten, dass sowas passieren könnte. Wir zogen uns in ein kleineres Zimmer zu-rück, das hinter dem Konferenzraum lag, und plötzlich waren auch Kathia und Bet-tina, die Barfrau aus dem Star-Club dabei. Die beiden musste ich bei dem ganzen Trubel übersehen haben. Als Evelyn eintraf, war ich erstmal bei den Beatles abge-meldet. Alles drehte sich um sie, und da sie sich, na klar, auf Englisch unterhielten, stand ich nur blöd daneben und nutzte die Gelegenheit, um auf die Toilette zu gehen. Dazu musste ich mich durch die Journalisten drängeln, die darauf lauerten, einen der Beatles zu erwischen. Als ich von der Toilette zurückkam, bettelten sie, ich sollte sie mit reinnehmen. Einer sagte, wenn du mich mitnimmst, kriegst du
1000 Mark von mir. Zurück bei den Beatles, fragte ich, ob wir nicht ein paar Leute ruhig reinnehmen sollten, aber John und die anderen meinten sofort, auf keinen Fall, wir wollen unter uns bleiben.
The Beatles mit uns im Backstage der Ernst-Merck-Halle. Zwischen George und Paul steht Kathia, zwischen Paul und Ringo sind Evelyn und ich, und neben John sitzt Betty, die damalige Barfrau des Star Clubs.
Bettina holte aus ihrer Tasche ein paar Fotos, die die Beatles im Top Ten und im Star Club zeigten. Sie waren begeistert und sagten, die hätten sie auch gerne. O.k., sagte ich, der Fotograf, der die aufgenommen hat, steht vor der Tür. - Hol ihn rein, hol ihn rein, sagte John. Der Fotograf hieß Peter Brüchmann und freute sich wie ein Schneekönig, dass er als einziger Journalist ins Hinterzimmer durfte.
Er war es übrigens gewesen, der mir den Tip gegeben hatte, dass die Band am Bahnhof Ahrensburg aussteigen würde. Ich kannte ihn noch aus der Zeit, als die Beatles im Top Ten spielten. Von denen hatte er damals noch nie gehört, und ich hatte ihn mit Mühe überredet, sie sich mal anzusehen und ein paar Fotos zu ma-chen. Es wurden die berühmtesten Fotos, die er jemals gemacht hat.
Vor der Vorstellung hatte Paul noch zu uns gesagt, wir sehen uns hinterher. Aber als sie von der Bühne verschwunden waren und das Publikum noch klatschte, saßen sie schon wieder in ihren Autos. Das war ja auch die einzige Möglichkeit, wie sie sich vor den Fans in Sicherheit bringen konnte. Für Evelyn war dies der einzige Kontakt zu den Beatles geblieben.
Viel später, als die Jungs schon berühmt waren und ich mal in den Backstage durfte, wir saßen da in der Ernst-Merck-Halle, hat mich George Harrison auf Till there was you angesprochen. Da habe ich ihm das dann erzählt, dass der Musikwunsch eigentlich auf Katja zurückging. Das hat er auch verstanden. Aber es gibt Auf-nahmen, die irgendwann im Starclub mitgeschnitten wurden, auf denen man hören kann: „Und nun spielen wir für Icke Till there was you."
Bettina Derlien (from a documentary about The Beatles in Germany before the fame and I presume that is from 1964~1965)
Bettina Derlien has a soft spot in my heart. She was a good friend of John at the time The Beatles were in Germany - there's even a tape where you hear John screaming "Bettina!!" while the band played at the Star-Club where Bettina worked. There are rumors that John and Betty were more than friends, rumors that are strongly endorsed by Tony Sheridan, Rosi Weber, Klaus Voormann, Spencer Leigh, Peter Best and Bettina's family. Even Bettina herself says that John and she went out to the movies together and that he was her first love. What I really like about Bettina is how she took care of John. When John was sad or angry, she would talk to and help him, she would buy him things to make him happy and defend him from nasty comments. No matter what they had together, she sure made him happy when they were close.
n/t: It's good to remember that the rumors that she would have gained weight by having an abortion are unreasonable and, to some extent, a fat-shaming (and I'm not surprised that Goldman who started this shit). She was always a FAT woman who remained FAT and it's okay, her own nickname was "Big Betty" when The Beatles played in the club. If John was attracted to her, it wasn't because he had "exotic tastes" or because "he was crazy," he saw her as a woman like any other and didn't care about standards. Fat women are not zoo animals.
Do you think any of the boys would have been with a plus size girl???
Well, my first thought was of Bettina Derlien, pictured here with John:
Bettina (also called Betty sometimes) was a girlfriend of John’s in Hamburg. This photo is from 1966 when the Beatles were playing in Hamburg. I can’t find any photos to verify what she looked like c. 1959-61, but I believe she gained weight after dating John. Saying that, this drawing of her by Klaus still suggests (to me) that she was curvy:
Bettina was a barmaid at the Star Club. If you listen to the Star Club recording from 1962, you can here John shout out her name at one point.
There’s a story about John and Bettina, which I must say I think is probably untrue - but Bettina is alleged to have fallen pregnant by John during the Beatles Hamburg period. Although illegal at the time, she went to have an abortion from a dodgy backstreet abortionist. Complications from the abortion led to her developing a glandular condition which made her gain the weight. This is the legend, but I don’t think it’s true. I can’t think why an abortion would give someone a glandular problem, but I could be wrong.
I think it’s true to say that it was during the 60s that this modern preoccupation with weight and size began. Obviously, this was a thing before too, but during the 60s the fashion for being very skinny (women) seemed to take hold - models like Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, our Pattie Boyd and lots of others, were very skinny, very straight figured women and they were the top models. In the 50s and before it feels like women who had more curvy figures were popular.
However, I do think that for all the Beatles the women they chose as partners stimulated their minds as well as their libidos. I think most of the boys grew into this - as younger lads they went for very pretty girls without much thought for compatibility on other levels, but as they matured, their taste in women did too - but I think John in particular was always attracted to women who interested him in ways other than aesthetic beauty. I think he always picked women who were bright, intelligent, talented, with different outlooks on life and who could hold a conversation with him and make him laugh. I think that was more important to John than perhaps what they looked like. I think he lost interest in women that he thought were attractive but who he didn’t click with on an intellectual level very quickly.
So to answer your question, yes, I think they would/could have had relationships with plus size girls - I think they probably had women of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and whatever else you’d like to name.
