Beatles museum to close in Germany

HAMBURG, Germany, June 8 (UPI) -- The Beatlemania museum in Hamburg, Germany, says it is closing its doors at the end of this month after three years because of low attendance.

The British rock group, which rocketed to stardom with John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, performed in Hamburg's nightclubs for two years in the early 1960s.

A five-story museum dedicated to the iconic band is to close due to a lack of state funding and too few visitors, the German edition of The Local reported.

"In view of the high deficits, there is no solution left but closure, if you want to act responsibly," museum manager Folkert Koopmanns 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."

The Local did not say what will be done with the more than 1,000 Beatles artifacts in the museum's collection.

The Beatles formed in 1960 in Liverpool, England, and initially included bass player Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. Sutcliffe left the band in 1961 and Best was replaced by Starr in 1962. The band disbanded in 1970. Lennon was shot to death in 1980 and Harrison died of cancer in 2001.