{"id":68405,"date":"2026-07-13T15:29:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/long-erased-beatles-mentor-to-get-his-due-on-new-tv-series\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:29:47","slug":"long-erased-beatles-mentor-to-get-his-due-on-new-tv-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/long-erased-beatles-mentor-to-get-his-due-on-new-tv-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Erased Beatles Mentor to Get His Due on New TV Series"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A six-part TV drama exploring The Beatles<\/a>\u2019 two-year stint in the German city of Hamburg will reintroduce a forgotten key player in the band\u2019s early years, its writer said.<\/p>\n

Hamburg Days<\/em> is expected to air via the BBC in 2027 or 2028. Filming began in May, with a script by Succession writer Jamie Carragher and production by Christian Schwochow (The Crown<\/em>) and Mat Whitecross.<\/p>\n

It follows the period 1960-62 in which John Lennon<\/a> (played by Rhys Mannion), Paul McCartney<\/a> (Ellis Murphy), George Harrison<\/a> (Harvey Brett), Stuart Sutcliffe (Louis Landau) and Pete Best (Patrick Gilmore) endured a grueling schedule of over 750 concerts, learning the discipline that led to success.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> When the Beatles Played Their First Hamburg Show<\/a><\/p>\n

In a new interview with the Guardian<\/em><\/a>, Carragher explained why he\u2019d made a point of bringing calypso musician Lord Woodbine back into the Beatles story.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcCartney and Lennon respected him in a musical sense,\u201d the writer said. \u201cThere weren\u2019t many people in their lives at this point who wrote their own songs, and Lord Woodbine did that via the calypso tradition.\u201d One of Lennon\u2019s earliest songs was titled \u201cCalypso Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trinidad-born Woodbine \u2013 real name Harold Adolphus Phillips \u2013 came to Liverpool during the Second World War with the Royal Air Force. He later ran the city\u2019s famed Jacaranda club, and became the Beatles co-manager, along with friend and business partner Allan Williams.<\/p>\n

Early Beatles Manager Was Airbrushed Out of Hamburg Photo<\/h3>\n

Academic and author Malik Al Nasir told the Guardian: that Lennon and McCartney \u201cused to come and offer to clean and collect glasses for Woodbine. In return Woodbine would feed them and help them out by teaching them chords.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know if Woodbine even had a contract with the Beatles. But he certainly picked them up when no one else cared; he took them to Hamburg, a place that nobody else really thought about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodbine died in a house fire in 2000, aged 72. By then he\u2019d spoken about having been effectively written out of the Fab Four\u2019s history, outshone by Epstein\u2019s contribution to their success.<\/p>\n

In 1992 he saw a photo from the Hamburg era at a promotional event \u2013 but he\u2019d been removed from the image. \u201cWhen I saw that it hurt me,\u201d Woodbine said soon before his death. \u201cThat was the end of the Beatles memory and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the photo below, Woodbine can be seen third from left, along with Alan Williams, Bery Williams, Stuart Sutcliffe, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best. (Not pictured: John Lennon.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Barry Chang, Getty Images<\/figcaption>Barry Chang, Getty Images<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Beatles Live Albums Ranked<\/h2>\n
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Beatles live albums didn’t really used to be a thing \u2013 then they started arriving in bunches. Let’s count them down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n