By the time the Beatles returned to Germany in 1966 they were huge international rock stars. For the "Bravo-Blitz-Tournee" the Beatles flew from London to Munich on June 23, 1966. (No more riding in vans!) The opening acts for the sold-out German concerts, two in each of three cities, included The Rattles and Peter and Gordon. The Beatles traveled by train from Munich to Essen for two more performances. From Essen a special train took them back to Hamburg for the first time since 1962. On Sunday, June 26th the Beatles gave two concerts in Hamburg's Ernst-Merck-Halle in the Planten un Blomen park (the hall was demolished a few years later), managing to hold a press conference in between performances. There are bootleg audio and video recordings of the concert and the Beatles trying to speak Deutsch for the German media (Die Beatles in Deutschland, 1966). Some over-exuberant fans caused minor street riots in Hamburg, but it was mostly a case of broken glass.
For the German concerts, George Harrison sang an old jazz number from 1929, "Am Sonntag will mein Süßer mit mir segeln gehen" (On Sunday my sweetie wants to go sailing with me). The Beatles performed their usual songs, including "I Feel Fine," "Yesterday," "Nowhere Man," and "Paperback Writer." The former Hamburg residents didn't find time to visit their 1962 venue, the Star Club, or the Reeperbahn at all, before they boarded a special Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo the next day. The "Blitz" tour was truly a blitz: the Beatles had spent just three days in Germany.
The Beatles' first manager, Alan Williams, regretted his decision to stop managing the Beatles after the early Hamburg days. He later wrote a book entitled The Man Who Gave Away the Beatles. After Bert Kaempfert (the first of the "men in suits"), the Beatles' next manager would be the famous Brian Epstein. Epstein managed the Fab Four until their infamous breakup in 1969-70. But the Beatles had become a true part of German and musical history.
More > The Beatles in German:
• Beatles Songs in German and English - Introduction
• Hamburg Photos
• Kaempfert.de