A new drama series, Hamburg Days, charting the early days of the Beatles as a band is coming to the BBC.
The show is based on the autobiography by Klaus Voormann, who is also a consultant on the series and is set in the early 1960s.
A synopsis reads: “In the smoke-filled clubs of Hamburg’s St. Pauli’s red-light district, an
inexperienced young rock ‘n’ roll band from Liverpool collide with two young artists, Klaus Voormann and Astrid Kirchherr. Together they help spark a transformation that turns a scrappy group of teenagers into the greatest music phenomenon the world has ever known: The Beatles.”
Sue Deeks, Head of Scripted Pre-buy Acquisitions at the BBC, said in a press release: “Hamburg Days is the fascinating story of how, in the space of two short years, a raw young band from Liverpool honed their music skills in Hamburg, before returning home to become an overnight worldwide success. It is an incredible story, accompanied (of course) by an amazing soundtrack!”
It’s not the only retelling of the Fab Four’s story to have been announced or released lately. The most recent is ‘The Beatles Anthology’, a remastered version of a 1995 documentary series that expands it from eight episodes to nine.
Producer and collaborator Giles Martin spoke to NME about giving the documentary a new lease of life. He noted a vast improvement in the audio and video quality, as well as the sense of togetherness in the band that it showcases.
“The episodes first came out in the ‘90s in the days of things being shot on video,” explained. “Peter Jackson’s team can restore everything. It’s amazing with the benefit of hindsight. In the years before ‘Anthology’ first came out, no one was talking about The Beatles in that whole chasm of time. Since then, that triggered a plethora of stuff.”
It earned a four-star review from NME, which read: “This entire rerelease, though, is more than justified by the genuinely eye-opening final episode, which sees the lads work up ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’, the Lennon demos put out as Beatles tracks alongside the original documentary. There is, Macca hints, a third that they may complete someday. Indeed, the elegiac ‘Now And Then’ was famously finally released in 2023. “With The Beatles,” as Paul says, “you’ve gotta watch out. There’s always a surprise somewhere along the line.”
Meanwhile, Sam Mendes is directing four Beatles biopics, one for each member. The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is currently slated for an April 2028 release.
Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon and Paul Mescal will portray Paul McCartney, while Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan will play George Harrison and Ringo Starr respectively.
More recently, Saoirse Ronan was confirmed for the role of Linda McCartney. In addition, Aimee Lou Wood will play George Harrison’s partner Pattie Boyd, Anna Sawai will portray Yoko Ono and Mia McKenna-Bruce will take on the role of Maureen Starkey, the wife of Starr.
