'We need a little help from our friends': YouTube plea to Paul McCartney to save Beatles museum in Hamburg

A personal plea on YouTube has been made to Paul McCartney to save a museum in Hamburg dedicated to the Beatles.

To the sound of the Fab Four songs like 'With a Little help From My Friends', 'Help'  and 'Don't Let Me Down', staff appear in a six-minute video.

They tell of the love of the band and their fears that the five-storey Beatlemania museum in the German city's red-light district will have to close at the end of this month unless it gets financial support.

Under threat: The Beatlemania museum in Hamburg's red-light district where the band played in the Sixties

Icons: Waxworks of the Beatles in their Sgt Pepper's Band outfits are in glass cases at the museum

The Beatles regularly played in the city between 1960 and 1962 at several clubs in the area, including the Star-Club, Kaiserkeller, Top Ten and Indra.

John Lennon once said: 'I might have been born in Liverpool - but I grew up in Hamburg.'

The museum, which boasts a giant Yellow Submarine mock-up jutting out from its facade, has failed to draw enough paying customers since it opened three years ago.

Staff worker Sarah is filmed pleading: 'I love this museum and the Beatles, I never want to work anywhere else. I literally bound to work every day because I'm so happy.

 

Appeal: Museum worker Sarah and Sabrina pour their hearts out on YouTube in a bid to keep Beatlemania open

'It would be a crying shame if this place were to close.'

Colleague Sabrina adds: 'It wouldn't be the same for Hamburg if not for Beatlemania. Closing this museum should not be seen as finalising a further chapter of the Beatles story.'

Another museum guide begs Sir Paul: 'You have been here, you have walked these streets. You played one of your first concerts right around the corner and I know this must mean something to you.

'So please if you see any possibility to support us, or you know someone who might be interested in keeping this unique museum alive, please contact us.'

Yesteryear: Museum memorabilia of the days the Beatles used to play in Hamburg clubs before their music conquered the world

Drumming up business: The percussion instruments used by the Beatles when they toured Hamburg

In a direct message to YouTube users, the staff posted: 'This initiative is not driven by the owners of the museum or the management- this is a personal message from the employees who want to save their beloved museum. 

'Please share this video with as many people as you can- we are hoping to reach Paul McCartney and we need your help! Please help save Beatlemania! LOVE from the team.'

The museum, has over 1,000 pieces of memorabilia, and has drawn around 150,000 visitors since its opening, but according to museum manager Folkert Koopmans Hamburg city council have not provided enough support.

He said: 'A privately-run museum as big as Beatlemania is condemned to fail without public support. That's a fact that we fought against until enthusiasm turned into resignation – a bitter experience.

Showtime: The Beatles played in clubs like Top Ten in Hamburg's red-light district when they first started playing in Germany in the early Sixties

Koopmans spoke about the disappointing the run the museum has had. 'We had many hopes and wishes unfortunately, only some of them were fulfilled,' he said.

When Paul McCartney staged a sold-out show in Hamburg a few months after the Beatlemania opening, he told a German newspaper that Hamburg was the city where the band learned its craft playing night after night for more than two years.

“The city opened our eyes,” he told the Frankfurter Rundschau.

You can read the original article HERE