Sunday 6 November 1960 · The Beatles · Live performance · Hamburg, Germany
The Beatles played their 34th night at the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg on 6 November 1960. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best returned to the club at Große Freiheit 36, sharing the nightly programme with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
Ringo Starr was the Hurricanes’ drummer. He and his future bandmates worked in alternating shifts through the night, while Best remained behind The Beatles’ drum kit and Sutcliffe played bass.
The Kaiserkeller performance: key facts
| Date | Sunday 6 November 1960 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Kaiserkeller, Hamburg, Germany |
| Address | Große Freiheit 36, 22767 Hamburg |
| Residency position | 34th night in the 56-performance chronology |
| The Beatles | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best |
| Shared bill | Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, featuring Ringo Starr |
| Performance format | Alternating sets through the night |
| Previous night | 5 November 1960 |
The 34th night of the residency
The Sunday appearance followed the 33rd night on 5 November. The Kaiserkeller engagement had begun on 4 October, after the group’s initial Hamburg booking at the Indra Club.
By 6 November, The Beatles had been working in Hamburg since August. This was an extended nightclub engagement, with the same musicians returning to the stage night after night rather than travelling between concert halls.
The alternating programme meant that The Beatles and the Hurricanes each supplied several stretches of live music. The groups shared both the venue and the demands of keeping its late-night audience entertained.
The five-piece Beatles
| Musician | Role |
|---|---|
| John Lennon | Guitar and vocals |
| Paul McCartney | Guitar and vocals |
| George Harrison | Guitar and vocals |
| Stuart Sutcliffe | Bass guitar |
| Pete Best | Drums |
Pete Best had joined the group shortly before its departure for Germany. He played throughout the first Hamburg engagement, with Lennon, McCartney and Harrison on guitars.
Stuart Sutcliffe was still the bass player. McCartney’s familiar later position on bass had not yet become his regular role in the group.
The line-up preceded both Brian Epstein’s management and the EMI recording contract. Best and Sutcliffe were part of the band’s working life in Hamburg, while Ringo belonged to the other Liverpool group on the bill.
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes alternated with The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller. Their drummer, Ringo Starr, was already an experienced performer in Liverpool’s music scene.
Working in the same room brought the musicians into repeated contact. They heard each other play and spent the engagement sharing the club’s stage. Ringo joined The Beatles in August 1962, almost two years after this performance.
The Hurricanes were fellow resident performers rather than simply an opening act for one short Beatles concert. The continuous club programme depended on both groups returning for their turns on stage.
Hamburg’s clubs and the first German visit
The Beatles’ first Hamburg engagement began at the Indra on 17 August 1960. Both the Indra and the Kaiserkeller were associated with club owner Bruno Koschmider, with the move to the Kaiserkeller taking place in early October.
The Indra stood at Große Freiheit 64; the Kaiserkeller was at number 36. The later Star-Club stood at number 39 on the same street. The Top Ten was a separate club on the Reeperbahn.
These venues belonged to different stages of the group’s Hamburg work. The 6 November 1960 appearance was at the Kaiserkeller during the first visit, before the later Top Ten engagement and Star-Club seasons.
Astrid Kirchherr and the first Hamburg photographs
Astrid Kirchherr’s fairground portraits preserve the five-piece group from the first Hamburg visit. Best stands beside a drum, with Harrison, Lennon, McCartney and Sutcliffe holding their instruments around a fairground wagon.
The National Portrait Gallery identifies the setting as the Hamburger Dom fairground at Heiligengeistfeld. Kirchherr had met the musicians through Klaus Voormann, who brought her to hear them at the Kaiserkeller.
Kirchherr’s friendship with the group and relationship with Sutcliffe became lasting parts of their Hamburg story. Her portraits documented the musicians before the suited four-piece line-up of their British recording career.
Complete Kaiserkeller residency calendar
The 56-performance chronology runs from 4 October to 28 November 1960, placing 6 November at night 34. Some general histories extend the engagement to 30 November; the calendar below follows the dated performance sequence used in this series.
October 1960: nights 1–28
- 4 October 1960
- 5 October 1960
- 6 October 1960
- 7 October 1960
- 8 October 1960
- 9 October 1960
- 10 October 1960
- 11 October 1960
- 12 October 1960
- 13 October 1960
- 14 October 1960
- 15 October 1960
- 16 October 1960
- 17 October 1960
- 18 October 1960
- 19 October 1960
- 20 October 1960
- 21 October 1960
- 22 October 1960
- 23 October 1960
- 24 October 1960
- 25 October 1960
- 26 October 1960
- 27 October 1960
- 28 October 1960
- 29 October 1960
- 30 October 1960
- 31 October 1960
November 1960: nights 29–56
- 1 November 1960
- 2 November 1960
- 3 November 1960
- 4 November 1960
- 5 November 1960
- 6 November 1960: this performance
- 7 November 1960
- 8 November 1960
- 9 November 1960
- 10 November 1960
- 11 November 1960
- 12 November 1960
- 13 November 1960
- 14 November 1960
- 15 November 1960
- 16 November 1960
- 17 November 1960
- 18 November 1960
- 19 November 1960
- 20 November 1960
- 21 November 1960
- 22 November 1960
- 23 November 1960
- 24 November 1960
- 25 November 1960
- 26 November 1960
- 27 November 1960
- 28 November 1960
The final weeks of the engagement
The 6 November appearance came several weeks before the arrests of McCartney and Best on 29 November, during the troubled end of the first Hamburg visit.
For this Sunday, the engagement continued with the five Beatles and the Hurricanes sharing the programme. Further nightly appearances lay ahead as the band approached the end of its first season working in Germany.
Location map: Kaiserkeller, Hamburg
The Kaiserkeller is at Große Freiheit 36, 22767 Hamburg, Germany, in St. Pauli near the Reeperbahn. The basement venue forms part of the Große Freiheit 36 complex.
View the Kaiserkeller address on Google Maps
The Beatles’ Hamburg designs
The Beatles Star Club Hamburg T-shirt draws on the later Hamburg chapter, with December 1962 lettering.
Frequently asked questions
Where did The Beatles play on 6 November 1960?
They performed at the Kaiserkeller, Große Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Germany.
Which night of the residency was it?
It was the 34th night in the 56-performance chronology beginning on 4 October 1960.
Who was The Beatles’ drummer?
Pete Best played drums during this engagement.
Was Ringo Starr on the same bill?
Yes. Ringo played drums in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, who alternated sets with The Beatles.
Who played bass for The Beatles?
Stuart Sutcliffe was the bass player, while Paul McCartney played guitar.
When were Paul McCartney and Pete Best arrested?
They were arrested on 29 November 1960 during the conclusion of the first Hamburg visit.
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