Backbeat Beatles Movie Becomes a Play

A new play based on the Backbeat Beatles film is set to open. The play tells the tale of the pre-fame Early Beatles days of Hamburg Germany.

The Backbeat Beatles movie was directed by Ian Softley in 1994. Director Softley will be adapting the film for the stage. He says that he was visualizing a theater production when he directed the film. He saw the dramatic paintings of the original Beatles Bass player, Stewart Sutcliffe and stunning photography of his girlfriend and Beatles photographer Astrid Kirchherr woven into a narrative with the energy and excitement of great live music. He notes that the early day Beatles had the rawness and energy like a punk band. He hopes to recreate that rawness and energy in the stage production.

Stewart Sutcliffe stayed behind in Germany with his girlfriend Astrid when the rest of the lads returned to their native Liverpool. Stewart Sutcliffe tragically died in 1962 at only 21 years old. He never saw the meteoric rise of his pals in the band.

The story of Backbeat Beatles is basically a love triangle between best friends John Lennon and Stewart Sutcliffe, and Stewart’s girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr. The love story is set to a backdrop of the Beatles playing raucous all night sets in the Beatles Hamburg Club.

Stewart Sutcliffe was the original Beatles bass player (Paul was on guitar at the time) and Stewart was Johns best friend. Stu’s girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr will also be involved in the development of the play.

The play is not what you would call a “musical”. It is a play with songs. The music will include 22 early rock standards that the Beatles performed in their early Beatles Hamburg club days. Paul McCartney was not impressed though. He felt the Rock-n-Roll-ness (is that a word Paul?) was taken off of him especially when they showed Lennon singing Long Tall Sally, which was a song Paul sung live.

The play starts it’s journey in Scotland at the Citizens Theatre. Softley wanted the play to open on it’s own merit as a piece of theater and worried that opening in a place like Liverpool would have rested too much on Beatles Nostalgia. The Citizens Theater has a reputation for new writings and new plays. He wanted to start somewhere that had a great history for artistic and creative interpretation. (Or, maybe he just wanted to work the bugs out before opening somewhere with a higher profile.)

The stage production of Backbeat Beatles has hopes of next playing in London and eventually making an international tour. Stay tuned to this blog for future updates.

You can read more about Backbeat Beatles, Stewart Sutcliffe & Astrid Kirchherr and the Early Beatles Hamburg Club days here…

The Beatles’ Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe & His Lonely Hearts Club

- Beatles Geek Pete
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