Kaiserkeller is a music club in the
St. Pauli
St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...
quarter of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, near the
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also nickn ...
. It was opened by
Bruno Koschmider
Bruno Koschmider (1926 – 2000) was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, best known for employing the Beatles in the early 1960s. He controlled various businesses, such as the Bambi Kino, which was a cinema, the Indra club and the Kaiserkeller.
Pe ...
on 14 October 1959.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
had a contract with Kaiserkeller to play there in 1960.
History
A Caribbean steel band that had played at
Allan Williams
Allan Richard Williams (21 February 1930 – 30 December 2016) was a British businessman and promoter who was the original booking agent and first manager of the Beatles. He personally drove the van to take the young band to Hamburg, Germany, in ...
'
The Jacaranda club in Liverpool took an offer to play in Hamburg. After receiving letters enthusing about Hamburg's club scene, Williams made contact with Koschmider, offering to act as a booking agent, to which Koschmider agreed. Koschmider had previously booked
Derry and the Seniors after seeing them perform in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and as they were successful in Hamburg, he asked Williams to look for additional groups.
[Cynthia Lennon – “John” 2006 p76] Rory Storm and The Hurricanes
Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...
were Williams' first choice, but as they were committed to a season at a
Butlins
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
holiday camp, they turned his offer down, as did
Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...
, so Williams sent The Beatles to Hamburg instead.
[Spitz 2005 p202] They were required to play six or seven hours a night, seven nights a week.
[Lennon (2006), p.93] The Beatles first played at Koschmider's
Indra club
The original lineup of the Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best regularly performed at different clubs in Hamburg, West Germany, during the period from August 1960 to December 1962; a chapter in ...
, sleeping in small, "dirty" rooms in the
Bambi Kino, and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller.
[Miles 1998. pp57-8.]
![Hamburg - Grosse Freiheit 36 und Kaiserkeller - 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Hamburg_-_Grosse_Freiheit_36_und_Kaiserkeller_-_2016.JPG)
After the summer season ended in early October 1960, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes were free to travel to Hamburg, replacing Derry and The Seniors at the Kaiserkeller. They arrived in Hamburg on 1 October 1960, having negotiated to be paid more than The Seniors or the Beatles.
[Spitz 2005 p201] They played five or six 90-minute sets every day, alternating with the Beatles.
[Spitz 2005 p216] Rory Storm and The Hurricanes were later presented with a special certificate by Koschmider for their performances.
The St. Pauli quarter was well known as being an area where prostitutes were to be found, and was dangerous for anyone that looked different from the usual clientele.
[Spitz 2005. p221] The stage of the Kaiserkeller was made of planks of wood balanced on the top of beer crates, so the two groups made a bet to see to who would be the first to break it.
[Spitz 2005 p219] After punishing the stage for days, a slight crack appeared, and when Storm jumped off the top of the upright piano, it finally broke.
[Spitz 2005 p219] Storm's guitarist, Johnny 'Guitar' Byrne, remembered that as Storm hit the stage, it cracked loudly and formed a V-shape around Storm. He disappeared into it, and all the amplifiers and drummer
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
's cymbals slid into the hole. Koschmider was furious, and had to replace the live music with a juke box. Both groups went across the road to ''Harold's cafe'' for breakfast, but were followed by Koschmider's doormen with
coshes, who beat the musicians as punishment.
[Spitz 2005 p220] Horst Fascher
Horst Fascher (born 5 February 1936) is a German music business figure who was a friend and business associate of the Beatles during their early career playing in Hamburg, Germany.
Biography Early life
Horst Fascher was born in Hamburg, Ger ...
was Koschmider's nightclub
bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
, whose career as a boxer had been cut short (he had unintentionally killed a sailor in a street fight)
although he later became a friend of the Beatles, and protected them.
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...
once watched performances by The Hurricanes and the Beatles in the club,
[Spitz 2005. p222] and invited photographer
Astrid Kirchherr
Astrid Kirchherr (; 20 May 1938 – 12 May 2020) was a German photographer and artist known for her association with the Beatles (along with her friends Klaus Voormann and Jürgen Vollmer) and her photographs of the band's original memb ...
and friend
Jürgen Vollmer
Jürgen Vollmer (born 11 July 1939) is a German photographer known for his association with the Beatles during the band's time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. Vollmer, along with Astrid Kirchherr and Klaus Voormann (the " Exis"), befriended th ...
to watch the performances the next day.
[Spitz 2005. p223] The Beatles bass player,
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a Scottish painter and musician best known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a paint ...
, met Kirchherr between sets, and began dating Kirchherr shortly thereafter.
[Spitz 2005. p224] Voormann was in a relationship with Kirchherr at the time, although after other visits to the Kaiserkeller their relationship became purely platonic, although she always remained close friends with Voormann.
[Spitz 2005. p224]
![Gedenktafel Kaiserkeller - Hamburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Gedenktafel_Kaiserkeller_-_Hamburg.jpg)
In October 1960, The Beatles left Koschmider's club and worked at the
Top Ten Club
The Top Ten Club was a music club in Hamburg's St. Pauli district at Reeperbahn 136, which opened on 31 October 1960 and kept its name until 1994.
In 1961, the Beatles performed 92 times at the Top Ten Club.
History
At the beginning of the 2 ...
, which was run by Peter Eckhorn.
[Miles 1998. pp. 71–72.] When McCartney and drummer
Pete Best
Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...
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
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
, 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
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
. McCartney and Best spent three hours in a local jail and were deported, as was Harrison, for working under the legal age limit.
[Miles 1998. pp72-73.] Lennon's
work permit was revoked a few days later and he went home by train, but Sutcliffe had a cold and stayed in Hamburg, and then flew home.
[Cynthia Lennon “John” 2006. p79.]
Later years
Today the Kaiserkeller is an alternative Rock Club that belongs to the "
Große Freiheit 36
Große Freiheit 36 is a music club on Große Freiheit street in Hamburg's St. Pauli district. The Kaiserkeller is in its basement.
History
Already in the 1940s, the address was home to the "Hippodrom", a club that had been made famous in the fi ...
".
Notes
References
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External links
Kaiserkeller websiteHarrison talking about HamburgBruno Koschmider bioThe Tragic Story of Rory Storm & the Hurricanes by Bill Harry
{{Authority control
Nightclubs in Hamburg
Music in Hamburg
Music venues in Germany
Music venues completed in 1959
Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte
Culture in Hamburg
Tourist attractions in Hamburg
1959 establishments in West Germany