Hamburg, Germany, made the Beatles into the band they became. John Lennon, left, Paul McCartney and George Harrison on stage in May 1962 at the Star-Club in Hamburg. He grew up around the corner from the Indra club, one of four venues the group played.

Liverpool, England

Sixty years ago, two young musicians happened upon each other in Liverpool, England, in a meeting that would change the course of popular music forever. It was July 6, 1957. John Lennon, then 16, was playing with his skiffle group The Quarrymen at a church garden party in the midst of a stultifying heat wave.

And the German I’ve heard The Beatles speaking is actually quite good. There is only a slight bit of accent – close to none! They did live in Germany for a long time, so I guess it is natural that you learn the language pretty well. IIRC someone did the translating for them.

On January 29, 1964 in a Paris recording studio, The Beatles recorded two of their hit songs in German. With Felgen’s guidance, the Fab Four managed to sing the German words to “Sie liebt dich” (“She Loves You”) and “Komm gib mir deine Hand” (“I Want to Hold Your Hand”).

Executives from Odeon insisted with George Martin and Brian Epstein that in order for them to penetrate the German market, the Beatles would need to record German versions of their biggest songs. The Beatles opposed the idea until Martin convinced them to record.

I like languages. In school I learnt Latin, Spanish and German. On tour I have good translators that I work with. They translate what I want to say to the audience, I write it down and learn it.

Although the Beatles’ spoken English was clearly Liverpool-ish – or “Scouse” as it is also known – their Liverpool accent also appeared in their music. The details of Liverpool English come from Wells, 1982.

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