Beatles contract for Hamburg residency set to fetch up to £30,000
The Beatles played the opening night of a new club which had a capacity for 2,000 people.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The original contract for The Beatles to perform at one of their Hamburg residencies is expected to fetch up to £30,000 at auction.
Drummer Pete Best played in the band’s first stint at the Star-Club from April 13 to May 31 1962 after previous trips to the then West German city to hone their craft.
The Beatles played the opening night of the new club which had a capacity for 2,000 people.
When The Beatles returned in November 1962, Ringo Starr was the drummer after their manager Brian Epstein sacked Best three months earlier.
The contract for the residence between November 1 and 14 stipulated The Beatles would perform three hours a day in separate stints with an hour’s break after every performance.
The group went on to perform seven days a week with a weekly payment of 600 Deutsche Marks (DM) to each band member.
In total, they played for 42 hours and also shared a bill with Little Richard.
The contract was signed in black ink by Epstein and in black felt-tipped pen by Star-Club owner Manfred Weissleder.
They had another residency at the Star-Club from December 18 to New Year’s Eve 1962 before stardom followed.
The contract, from the estate of Mr Weissleder, will go on sale at an online Beatles memorabilia auction which runs from September 27 to October 6.
More details are available at Tracksauctions.com