Nada Surf Drummer Recreates Beatles' First Hamburg Date

It was 50 years ago next month that an unheralded Scouse outfit played the opening set in a marathon residency in Hamburg's red light district. This legendary series of gigs has been celebrated in many art forms, most notably the film 'Backbeat.' Now a bunch of US indie heads has formed a band to recreate the experience.

Bambi Kino are named after the Beatles' first insalubrious accommodation at the back of a porn cinema in the German port city. They include Nada Surf drummer Ira Elliot (pictured) and Mark Rozzo, who features in Elliot's country-inflected side-project Maplewood. Also on board are Doug Gillard, a guitarist for Guided by Voices from 1996-2005, and Erik Paparazzi, bassist in Cat Power's backing group the Dirty Delta Blues band.

On their MySpace page, Rozzo explains the band aims to capture the spirit of the Beatles' early years, rather than slavishly recreate the events of the time. "There's no role-playing or leather suits," he says. "We're not a tribute band, except in the sense that it's our generation paying homage to what the Beatles made possible for all musicians everywhere."

This four-piece has already played its debut gig, last month at New York's Bowery Electric, though they formed last summer with the aim of playing the Indra -- the first venue the Beatles played in Hamburg on Aug. 17, 1960. To celebrate the anniversary, local label Tapete Records is pressing a seven-inch of the Yanks proving their chops on a a lively 'Some Other Guy,' recorded in mono, naturally.

Bambi Kino play Indra Musikklub, Hamburg, Aug. 17 to 20.