Captain Haddock wrote:Just been watching Dame Elton on the TV and wondering how the Beatles managed to play in Hamburg before we joined the EEC.
The Beatles needed work permits, I don´t know if West Germany was using the carnet system, though
On the 1960 trip, their promoter didn´t have a work permit, and he was detained at Harwich, before lying his way out of the UK. Harrison was deported for underage working. McCartney and Best deported for arson, and Lennon had his work permit revoked. They had a hard job recovering their equipment from Hamburg. Not exactly the best advert for the good ole days!
I´m not so sure that opportunities that the Beatles had even exist much these days for playing out of the country, . Most bands don´t play the same city for weeks on end, they are more likely to have shorter tours, playing the festival circuit, or even one off gigs