The BBC has announced a new six-part drama series, Hamburg Days, which will explore the Beatles' formative years in Hamburg, Germany, and shine a spotlight on an often overlooked figure: Lord Woodbine, the band's early co-manager and mentor. The series, written by Jamie Carragher, will delve into the period from 1960 to 1962 when the Beatles played over 250 gigs near the notorious Reeperbahn, honing their skills while entertaining rowdy sailors.
Lord Woodbine's Role in Beatles History
Lord Woodbine, whose real name was Harold Adolphus Phillips, was a Trinidadian calypso musician who became a key influence on the young band. Carragher explained to the Guardian that Woodbine is portrayed as a close friend and partner of Allan Williams, the Beatles' first manager. "Woodbine was older than the Beatles, but also played music himself. He knew about music," Carragher said. Phillips, who served as a Royal Air Force flight engineer during World War II, came to Britain in 1943 and later returned on the Empire Windrush, standing beside Lord Kitchener in the famous footage of the calypsonian singing London Is The Place For Me at Tilbury Dock.
Overlooked Influence on Lennon and McCartney
According to Carragher, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney respected Woodbine musically. "There weren't many people in their lives at this point who wrote their own songs, and Lord Woodbine did that via the calypso tradition," he noted. The academic Malik Al Nasir, who researched Phillips for the British Library's Beyond the Bassline exhibition, highlighted how Woodbine's influence had been "airbrushed" out of history. Phillips managed the Jacaranda club in Liverpool and, along with Williams, co-managed the Beatles early in their career. "They used to come and offer to clean and collect glasses for Woodbine," Al Nasir said of Lennon and McCartney. "In return Woodbine would feed them and help them out by teaching them chords." One of Lennon's first songs was called Calypso Rock.
The Hamburg Connection
Some histories claim that Phillips initiated the move to Hamburg, driving the Beatles there in a beaten-up Volkswagen. "I don't even know if Woodbine even had a contract with the Beatles," Al Nasir said. "But he certainly picked them up when no one else cared; he took them to Hamburg, a place that nobody else really thought about." After the Beatles began being managed by Brian Epstein, Woodbine's influence and legacy were mostly left out of the official story. He briefly appeared in the 1994 film Backbeat, played by Charlie Caine. In 1992, while attending a Beatles-themed play in Liverpool, Phillips saw a group photo used on stage from a Hamburg trip that had been edited to remove him. "When I saw that it hurt me," he said in 2000. "That was the end of the Beatles memory and me."
Legacy and Recognition
Phillips died in a house fire at age 72 in 2000. Last summer, his family unveiled a plaque from the Windrush Foundation dedicated to him outside the Jacaranda in Liverpool, recognizing his cultural impact. The BBC series, shot in Liverpool and Germany, is inspired by the memoirs of Klaus Voormann, who met the band in Hamburg as a young artist and later designed the cover of their 1966 album Revolver. The actor Jorden Myrie, known for Sherwood, will play Phillips.
Upcoming Beatles Projects
In addition to Hamburg Days, Sam Mendes is directing four Beatles biopics due in 2028, each dedicated to a different member: Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
