Filming for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles films has continued in Liverpool, with new scenes appearing to recreate a pivotal moment from the band’s early years, their departure for Hamburg in 1960.
Scenes were filmed around Gambier Terrace on Friday 2 October, with a period vehicle packed with luggage and musical equipment used as part of the sequence.
New images from the set show large instrument cases strapped to the roof of the vehicle, with several marked with the initials “PB”, a reference to drummer Pete Best.
Best joined The Beatles shortly before their first journey to Hamburg in August 1960 and travelled alongside John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe.
The sequence filmed in Liverpool appears to depict John Lennon being collected before the group began their journey to Germany, while another part of the scene features a woman waving from a balcony.
Morfydd Clark has been officially cast as Cynthia Lennon in The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Cynthia was still known as Cynthia Powell during the period recreated in the scene, as she and Lennon did not marry until 1962.
John Lennon and Gambier Terrace
Gambier Terrace has an important place in the early Beatles story.
John Lennon lived at 3 Gambier Terrace in 1960, sharing accommodation with fellow Liverpool College of Art students including Stuart Sutcliffe and Rod Murray.
A Christie’s archive relating to belongings Lennon gave to Murray even records the address as 3 Gambier Terrace in early 1960 and refers to Lennon and Sutcliffe sharing the property while they were art students.
The flat also became a meeting and rehearsal space during the period immediately before The Beatles left Liverpool for Germany.
It is therefore fitting that the area has now been transformed into part of the band’s story once again, more than 65 years later.
The Beatles’ first journey to Hamburg
The Beatles’ move to Hamburg proved to be one of the most significant periods in their development.
Their early manager and booking agent Allan Williams arranged the Hamburg residency, driving the group south in August 1960.
George Harrison later recalled that the musicians were packed into the vehicle with their equipment before travelling to Harwich, where they caught a ferry to the Hook of Holland, continuing onwards to Hamburg.
The Beatles arrived in Hamburg on 17 August 1960 and began performing at the Indra Club, playing lengthy sets that helped transform them into a much tighter live band.
That makes the sequence captured on Gambier Terrace particularly interesting: it appears to portray the moment immediately before one of the defining chapters in The Beatles’ early history began.
Liverpool continues to feature in the new Beatles films
The latest scenes follow several other filming locations spotted across Liverpool as production continues on Sam Mendes’ ambitious Beatles project.
The director is making four interconnected feature films, each telling the story from the perspective of a different Beatle.
Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Paul Mescal will portray Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison and Barry Keoghan will appear as Ringo Starr. The project has the backing of Apple Corps and is the first scripted film project to receive full music and life-story rights from The Beatles and their families.
The films are currently scheduled for theatrical release in April 2028.
Liverpool has already been used extensively during filming, with locations across the city helping recreate different periods from the band’s history.
These latest scenes offer another glimpse into how Mendes and his production team are bringing the early Liverpool years of The Beatles back to life.
