Backbeat - Songs From The Original Motion Picture / Virgin ‎Audio CD 1994 / CDV 2729

UPC 724383950829

Backbeat is a 1994 Anglo-German independent drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) and John Lennon (Ian Hart), and also with Sutcliffe's German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee). It has subsequently been made into a stage production.

Due to the film's focus on the early days of the band, the soundtrack includes no songs written by members of the Beatles but various songs the group performed in Hamburg, written and recorded by other artists. In this respect, rather than re-create the sounds of the period, iconoclastic, rebellious musicians were recruited (as a producer noted, the Beatles' pre-recording stage act was "the punk of its day") to better convey the way the music was appreciated by audiences of the time. All musicians were members of contemporary American rock bands:

• Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum): vocals (Paul McCartney)
• Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs): vocals (John Lennon)
• Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth): guitar
• Don Fleming (Gumball): guitar
• Mike Mills (R.E.M.): bass guitar
• Dave Grohl (Nirvana): drums
• Henry Rollins (Black Flag): vocals (Stuart Sutcliffe)

The film's distributor happened to be PolyGram Filmed Entertainment which was then under common ownership with Polydor Records, the label that owned the rights to the Beatles' music from the Hamburg days.

Tracklist: