The Beatles Live in Munich, Germany (June 23-24, 1966)

Beatle People: Klaus Voormann

Klaus Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer known for his long association with the The Beatles, for whom he designed the cover of their album Revolver, as well as for being the bassist with the British Invasion group Manfred Mann and later a respected session player and record producer.

Early years

Voormann was the son of a doctor, was born and grew up in the suburbs of North Berlin as one of six brothers. The Voormann family were interested in art, classical music, and literature, with respect for history and tradition. Although Voormann had studied classical piano from eight to 15-years-old, his parents decided that instead of studying music it would be best for Klaus to study commercial art in Berlin at the "Meisterschule für Grafik und Buchgewerbe." He later moved to Hamburg to study at the "Meisterschule für Gestaltung," but before his graphic art education was finished Voormann started work as a commercial artist, graphic designer, and illustrator, spending eight months in Dusseldorf working for magazines.

It was in Hamburg that Voormann first met Astrid Kirchherr. After an argument with her and Jürgen Vollmer one day, Voormann wandered down the Reeperbahn, which is in the St.Pauli district of Hamburg, and heard music coming from the Kaiserkeller club. He walked in and watched a performance by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and the next group scheduled to play were The Beatles. Voormann stayed and watched both groups, and was left "speechless" by the performances. Voormann had never heard this new music called Rock 'n Roll before, having previously only listened to traditional Jazz, with some Nat King Cole and The Platters mixed in. Voormann invited Kirchherr and Vollmer to watch the performances the next day. After hearing this new music, Voormann and the other two decided that all they wanted was to listen to it, watch groups perform it, and to be as close to The Beatles as they could.

The St. Pauli district was well-known as being an area where prostitutes were to be found, and was dangerous for anyone that looked different than the usual clientele. As a trio Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer stood out in the Kaiserkeller—dressed in their suede coats, wool sweaters, jeans and round-toed shoes—when most of the customers had greased-back Teddy boy hairstyles and wore black leather jackets and pointed boots. During a break, Voormann tried to talk (in faltering English) to Lennon, and pressed a crumpled record sleeve he had designed into Lennon's hands. Lennon took little interest, and brushed Voormann off, suggesting that he talk to Stuart Sutcliffe, who, as Lennon said, "is the artist round here."

Sutcliffe didn't share Lennon's attitude, and was fascinated by the trio, who he thought looked like "real bohemians." He later wrote that he could hardly take his eyes off them, and had tried to talk to them during the next break, but they had already left the club. This was due to the strict German law at the time which prohibited young people from frequenting bars after 10 o'clock at night, and bars like the Kaiserkeller were dangerous for anybody that looked as different as Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer did when customers became drunk and aggressive.

Sutcliffe managed to meet them eventually, and learned that all three had attended the "Meisterschule für Mode," which was the Hamburg equivalent of the Liverpool art college that both Sutcliffe and Lennon had attended. Lennon dubbed the trio the Exies, as a joke about their affectation for existentialism.

Voormann was in a relationship with Kirchherr at the time, and lived just around the corner from her parents' upper-class home in the Altona district of Hamburg. Kirchherr's bedroom (which was all in black, including the walls and furniture) was decorated especially for Voormann, although after the visits to the Kaiserkeller their relationship became purely platonic. This was because Astrid started dating Sutcliffe, who was fascinated by her, although she always remained close friends with Voormann.

London

In the early 1960s, Voormann decided to leave Germany and move to London. George Harrison invited him to live in the Green Street flat formerly shared by all four Beatles; John Lennon and Paul McCartney having moved out to live with their respective partners (Cynthia Lennon and Jane Asher). Voorman lived with Harrison and Ringo Starr for a time before finding work as a commercial artist and renting an apartment of his own. Voormann returned to Hamburg in 1963, founded the beat band with Paddy Chambers (guitar/vocals) Voormann (bass/vocals) and Gibson Kemp (drums) called Paddy, Klaus & Gibson.

In 1966, Voormann returned to London and was asked by Lennon to design the sleeve for The Beatles' album Revolver. Klaus had a style of "scrapbook collage" art in mind, as it is later shown on the sleeve of Revolver. When showing his efforts to the band and their manager Brian Epstein, the band loved it, although Voormann's payment for the album cover was £40 pounds. Voormann later produced an updated image of Harrison for the cover of his 1988 single, "When We Was Fab," which also included the image of Harrison from the cover of Revolver. For this work, Klaus won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.

Around the same time another group was about to release their international debut album. The Bee Gees had recorded their first album and Klaus was hired to design the cover of that album. The album cover featured all five group members standing above a colorful, psychedelic collage painted by Voormann.

In 1973, Voormann created the sleeve and booklet artwork for Ringo Starr's album Ringo, on which he also played bass.

Bassist

In 1966, at the same time he was designing the cover of Revolver, Voormann became a member of the 1960s band Manfred Mann. Voormann played bass for the band from 1966 to 1969, appearing on all their UK hits from "Just Like a Woman" (July 1966) through to their final single "Ragamuffin Man" (April 1969). As well, he played bass and flutes on Manfred Mann's 1968 international hit "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" (#1 UK, #10 US).

After that, he became a session musician, playing on solo projects by Lou Reed, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Harry Nilsson and others. Voormann was a member of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, with Yoko Ono, Alan White (future Yes drummer) and Eric Clapton, which played at the Live Peace in Toronto 1969-recorded prior to the breakup of The Beatles-in Toronto on 13 September 1969.

In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles with his second wife and his first son Otto. In an interview with EMI about his album Walls and Bridges, John Lennon was asked who was playing bass on the album. John answered with a hard German accent: "Klaus Voormann. We all know Klaus, ja (German: "yes")." He also played in Harrison's assembled band in the 1971 The Concert for Bangladesh; Harrison fittingly introduced him to the audience by saying, "There's somebody on bass who many people have heard about, but they've never actually seen him, Klaus Voormann." In the Concert for George on 29 November 2002, he played bass as part of the supporting band on the song "All Things Must Pass."

After the breakup of The Beatles, there were rumors of The Beatles reforming as The Ladders, with Voormann on bass as a replacement for Paul McCartney. An announcement to this effect filtered out of the Apple offices in 1971, but was ultimately withdrawn before it got very far. This lineup (Voormann, Lennon, Harrison and Starr) did perform in various combinations on Lennon's albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) (Voormann, Lennon, and Starr) and Imagine (1971) (Voormann, Lennon & Harrison) as well as on Ringo Starr's Ringo (1973), and Yoko Ono's Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (1970) (Voormann, Lennon, Starr, and Ono). Starr's album features the Lennon-penned hit single "I'm The Greatest" which is the only song in which all four musicians appear together, joined by Billy Preston.

In 1979 Voormann moved back to Germany. He produced three studio-albums and a live-album by the German band Trio. He also produced their worldwide hit "Da Da Da." After the 1986 breakup of Trio he produced the first solo album by their singer Stephan Remmler and played bass on some songs of the album. The following year he produced a single by former Trio drummer Peter Behrens.

Later years

Voormann retired from the music business in 1989, concentrating on his family. He lives near Munich with his second wife Christine and their two children, born in 1989 and 1991. From time to time he appears on TV shows, mainly when the shows are about the '60s in general or the Beatles in particular, or when he is asked to talk about his famous album sleeve for Revolver.

In the 1994 movie Backbeat, about the Hamburg days of the Beatles, Voormann was portrayed by the German actor Kai Wiesinger.

In 1996 Klaus was asked by Apple Records to design the covers for the Beatles Anthology albums. He painted the covers along with his friend, fellow artist Alfons Kiefer.

In April 2003, Voormann designed the cover of Scandinavian Leather for the Norwegian band Turbonegro.

In October 2003, Voormann published his autobiography, Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? Erinnerungen an die Beatles und viele andere Freunde (Why Don't You Play "Imagine" on the White Piano, John?: Memories of the Beatles and Many Other Friends). The book gives special focus to the 1960s and 1970s, and covers Voormann's close friendship with the Beatles and other musicians and artists, as well as his private life.

A 2005 BBC documentary, Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle features interviews with Voormann and shows drawings he made of the Beatles in Hamburg.

In 2007, Voormann designed the sleeve for the album Timeless by Wet Wet Wet.

In 2008 he recorded the song "For What It's Worth" with Eric Burdon and Max Buskohl.

Voormann will be designing and producing the artwork for the latest release by New York Psychedelic Blues band Super 400, called Sweet Fist to be released on May 19, 2009.

Discography

With Manfred Mann:

UK Albums:

* As Is
* Soul of Mann
* Up The Junction (Original Soundtrack Recording)
* What A Mann
* Mighty Garvey!

US Albums:

* Pretty Flamingo
* Up The Junction (Original Soundtrack Recording)
* Mighty Garvey!

With Plastic Ono Band:

* Live Peace in Toronto 1969
* John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
* Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band

With John Lennon:

* Wedding Album
* Imagine
* Some Time in New York City
* Walls and Bridges
* Rock 'n' Roll

With George Harrison:

* All Things Must Pass
* The Concert for Bangla Desh
* Living in the Material World
* Extra Texture (Read All About It)
* Concert for George

With Ringo Starr:

* Sentimental Journey - Arrangement on "I'm A Fool To Care"
* Ringo
* Goodnight Vienna
* Ringo's Rotogravure

Other artists:

* Transformer by Lou Reed
* No Secrets by Carly Simon

Wikipedia

Beatle People: Bruno Koschmider

Bruno Koschmider was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, Germany. He controlled various businesses, such as the Bambi Kino, which was a porn cinema. Allan Williams booked The Beatles (in May 1960) into Koschmider's Indra club.

The Beatles first played at the Indra club - sleeping in small, dirty rooms in the Bambi Kino - and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller In October 1960, they left Koschmider's club and worked at the "Top Ten Club," which was run by Peter Eckhorn. When Paul McCartney and Pete Best went back to the Bambi Kino to get their belongings they found it in almost total darkness. As a snub to Koschmider, they found a condom, attached it to a nail on the concrete wall of their room, and set fire to it. There was no real damage, but Koschmider reported them for attempted arson. McCartney and Best spent three hours in a local jail and were deported, as was George Harrison (for working under the legal age limit).

Wikipedia

Beatle People: Tony Sheridan

Tony Sheridan (born Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity on May 21, 1940 in Norwich, Norfolk) is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as an early collaborator of The Beatles, and one of two non-Beatles (the other being Billy Preston) to receive label performance credit on a record with the group.

Biography

In his early life, Sheridan was influenced by his parents' interest in classical music, and by age seven, he had learned to play the violin. He eventually came to play guitar, and in 1956, formed his first band. In 1958, at 18, he began appearing on the BBC's Oh Boy, playing electric guitar. He was eventually offered a contract to perform at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, Germany.

While performing in Hamburg between 1960 and 1963, Sheridan employed various backup bands. In 1961, one such band, who had met Sheridan during their first visit to Hamburg in 1960, and who worked with him on their second, was The Beatles (with their line-up at the time as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best). When German Polydor agent Bert Kaempfert saw the pairing on stage, he suggested that they make some recordings together. In 1962, after a series of singles (the first of which, "My Bonnie"/"The Saints" made it to #5 in the Hit Parade), the record was released in America on Decca with a black label and also in a pink label for demo play. The record has the distinction of being the most expensive collectible 45 rpm with the black label in mint condition going for $15,000 (2007) and the pink label selling for $3,000.

Also in 1962, Polydor released the album My Bonnie across Germany. The word Beatles was judged to sound too similar to the German Pidels (pronounced peedles), the plural of a slang term for penis, hence the album was credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers. After The Beatles had gained fame, the album was re-released in Britain, with the credit altered to Tony Sheridan and The Beatles. The Beatles' Hamburg studio recordings, as well as some live recordings from the same period, have been reissued several times over the decades.

By 1967, Sheridan had become disillusioned with his Beatle-brought fame. As he was more concerned by the Vietnam War, Sheridan agreed to perform for the Allied troops. While in Vietnam however, the band that he had assembled was fired upon and one of the members was killed. Reuters reported that Sheridan himself had died. For his work entertaining the Allies, Sheridan was made an honorary Captain of the United States army.

In the early 1970s, Sheridan managed a West German radio programme of blues music, which was well-received. In 1978, the Star Club was reopened, and Sheridan performed there along with Elvis Presley's TCB Band.

On August 13, 2002, Sheridan released Vagabond, a collection largely of his own material, but also including a new cover version of "Skinny Minnie," a song he had years earlier recorded for his first album. Tony played guitar and sang for the Argentinean rock musician Charly Garcia. The album was called Influencia and it was released in 2002.

Today, Tony Sheridan lives with his wife Anna in Seestermühe, a village north of Hamburg. In addition to music, he is interested in heraldry and designs coats of arms.

Discography

* 1962: My Bonnie with The Beat Brothers/Beatles
* 1964: Just A Little Bit of Tony Sheridan with The Big Six
* 1964: "Ain't She Sweet" (side 1) with the Beatles, recorded 1961
* 1965: My Babe with The Big Six
* 1974: Live in Berlin '73
* 1976: On My Mind (private release)
* 1984: Novus
* 1986: Ich lieb Dich so
* 1994: Here & Now!
* 2002: Vagabond
* 2008: ...and so it goes by Dave Humphries; Sheridan plays on 5 of 11 tracks.

Wikipedia

Deported

by Iain Hines

So the boys' first trip to Hamburg ended, sadly, with a deportation order slapped on them. Ridiculous, especially remembering their recent fan-worshipping trip to Germany when they played the conquering heroes role so well.

It wasn't until March, 1961, after much haggling and rowing with the Hamburg Police Chief, Herr Knoop, that the Beatles were allowed to return to the Top Ten. Peter Eckhorn still has a letter from Paul saying "Peter, please speak with Knoop as we can't return unless it's made O.K. with him." Paul added that he had a new amplifier "almost as big as me".

Back, then, came the Beatles for their return stint at the Top Ten. They appeared with Tony Sheridan who, meanwhile, had married a German girl, Rosie. They all lived together in a tiny garret flat, over the Club. Six Army-type beds made up the main furniture and there was always a party going on. Three washing lines, always weighed down by shirts freshly washed by various Frauleins. I guess it was best described as an off-beat Chinese laundry.

Then, one evening, top bandleader Bert Kaempfert arrived at the Club. He said he'd heard about Tony Sheridan and wanted to sign him for Polydor. So with the Beatles as backing group Tony recorded "My Bonnie" and "The Saints". Funny thing is that Brian Epstein wouldn't have met the Beatles but for fans asking in his store for this particular record.

Bert liked the boys, too. He gave them a recording date--they did "Cry For A Shadow", an instrumental, and John sang on "Ain't She Sweet".

On, then, to 1962, when I next met the Beatles I was with the Echoes, Dusty Springfield's backing group, and we were doing a week in variety at Chester. With Gerry Marsden, we ended up at the Cavern later, doing a show for old times sake. A young Indian singer named Roley Daniels had been on, crossed his hands over his chest and bowed when taking applause. At the Cavern, Paul did the same thing--and Roley didn't much like it. I had to step in and break up quite a row. . . .

By Christmas, 1962, we were all back in Hamburg. I was with a new band, the Carl Fenn Combo, but the Beatles were the opposition at the Star. Still the same ravers, but that little bit subdued. They gave me the impression that they were on the brink of something big. Anyway, there was a dispute with the management and John went on stage, wearing a toilet seat round his head. His way of registering a protest. There were plenty of other stunts, but I honestly don't care to write about them!

Ringo was with the boys by now. And that was the last time I saw the Beatles and the last time they played the club scene in Hamburg. But the local kids still think of them as "their own Pilzenkopfs". If they boys did go back to those still-swinging clubs in Hamburg, they'd be greeted as long-lost friends!

Their First Visit to Hamburg

by Iain Hines

It was a dodgy, difficult day for the Jets, our own group, when bass player Colin Milander and I went to the Fleurs Schanke Club to try to land us another job. It was about ten in the evening when I got back to the Top Ten and the Beatles were already in full swing.

Tony Sheridan and I joined them on stage and we had a ridiculous rave-up, ad-lib style, with the five of them. Perhaps the most memorable session ever, ending with a seventy-minute version of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say". If I'd only remembered to tape it, I'd probably make a fortune out of it right now!

More drama for the Beatles the next day. Colin and I had decided to return home to London so we went up to the main station for our tickets. Outside the Club was a Hamburg Peter wagon--that's the German equivalent of a Black Maria. We were paying the taxi-driver and suddenly noticed the Beatles being ushered into the police van.

Off we went to the Top Ten, to manager Peter Eckhorn, and were told the Jets' contract was being renewed for two months as somebody had somehow "framed" the Beatles. It appears that he was jealous of them signing a contract with the Top Ten, and accused them of trying to burn down a Club and got them DEPORTED . . . via BEA.

I can assure you that the story was completely false. Truth was that the boys were so cold in their accommodation that they'd burned newspapers in the grate in an effort to keep warm. But the police or "Nasties" as John called them believed the lies. The boys had to leave all their gear in Hamburg, but Peter later sent it on to Liverpool. . . .