Beatles Had Fish For Christmas Dinner!

The following article appeared in New Musical Express on December 20, 1963, page 3

It was Christmas, 1962, as four almost unkown musicians trudged through the snowy streets of Hamburg on their way to a party. One of them pulled his scarf tighter and blew hard on his hands, trying to ward off the cold of that bitter German winter.
If anything cheered them up as they walked along the rather lonely pavements, it was the thought of the party. Their pace quickened as each one had his own mouth-watering vision of roast turkey, pudding and all the trimmings of a typical English Christmas.
That was 1962's festive season for The Beatles-and it's an occasion they now remember with good humour as their fantastic year of success draws to a close.
Says Paul McCartney: "We got to the party in the end. But what a let-down! They don't quite have the hang of it over there, you see.
"We found our longed-for Christmas dinner was fish and horse-radish sauce!"
It wasn't an entirely un-English Yuletide for The Beatles, however, for on Boxing Day they went to a real turkey-and-crackers party given by the owner of Hamburg's famous Star Club, where The Beatles were playing.
"Johnny And The Hurricanes, Tony Sheridan, and Liverpool's Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes were there. We had a lot of fun!
"But that fish-ugh! It was a great skinny looking carp, with a big eye in the middle, staring right at you.
"We were dining wiht some German friends and you can appreciate we didn't want to say anything after their kindness. So we just went ahead and forced it down!"
This year, Beatle fans won't need reminding of their location over the holiday season. The group will be appearing in its eagerly-awaited Christmas show at the Finsbury Park Astoria.

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