The Star-Club was a music club in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

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 betwee ...

, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and

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 ...

. In the 1960s, many of the giants of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

played at the club. The club closed on 31 December 1969 and the building it occupied was destroyed by a fire in 1987. The address of the club was ''Große Freiheit 39'' in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. ''

Große Freiheit The Große Freiheit ( German for: "Great Freedom") is a cross street on the North Side to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. Pauli quarter. It is part of the red-light district. History The street was named in 1610 after the fact that Count ...

'' is a side street of 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 nick ...

. The club had a capacity of 2,000 people, and cinema-style seating. The club achieved worldwide renown through the performances of

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 ...

, who played three residencies there between April and December 1962. An amateur tape recording of one of the performances (or parts of several performances) during their December engagement was remixed and released in 1977 as ''

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Live! (2007 film), ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film *Live (2014 film), ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *''Live (Apocalyptica DVD), ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *L ...

''. The club remained a popular venue for British and American rock and roll acts through the mid-1960s; its success was such that it spun off a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

bearing the Star Club name that operated from 1964 to 1966, often recording acts who performed at the club.

Musicians who played at Star-Club

List of musicians who played in the Star-Club: * American musicians: **

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

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Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

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Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

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** Johnny and the Hurricanes **

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Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

(who released a highly praised

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

recorded at the club in 1964) **

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

, who at that point had

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

in his band **

The Monks The Monks, referred to by the name monks on record sleeves, were an American garage rock band formed in Gelnhausen, West Germany in 1964. Assembled by five American GIs stationed in the country, the group grew tired of the traditional format ...

, with

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, Eddie Shaw, Dave Day, Roger Johnston and Larry Clark played at the Top Ten Club a number of time 1965, 1966, and 1967. * English musicians: **

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 ...

(13 April-31 May, 1-14 November, and 18–31 December 1962.) **

Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers are a 1960s British rhythm and blues, soul and beat group who had two Top 10 hits with " One Way Love" (No. 9 UK, 1964) and "Got to Get You into My Life" (No. 6 UK, 1966). Well-known members include Bennett ...

** The Big Three **

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Chicken Shack Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine Perfect (later McVie) (vocals and keyboards) in 196 ...

, featuring

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

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** Lee Curtis and the All-Stars **

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

(pre-

) **The Graduates ** Gun **

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

(US/UK, March 1967) **

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band. The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...

**The Jaybirds, featuring

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, Leo Lyons and Pete Evans. ** Innocent Child – Blackpool Rock Band (originally Cherry Blossom Clinic) ** Billy J. Kramer **

The Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

The Liverbirds The Liverbirds were an English all-female rock band from Liverpool, active between 1963 and 1968. The group consisted of vocalist and guitarist Valerie Gell, guitarist and vocalist Pamela Birch, bassist and vocalist Mary McGlory, and drumme ...

**The Londoners **Maze featuring

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...

and

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later of

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** The Overlanders **

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** Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes ** Richard Thompson **

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

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** The V.I.P.'s (band) **Tony Vincent and The Giants **Jane Cane (jazz singer) ** The Roadrunners – Liverpool's original R & B band of the 60s **Katch 22 – London band formed in 1966 **Terry Slater and The Flintstones **The Undertakers(Band) * German musicians:

The Rattles The Rattles are a German rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1960, best known for their 1970 psychedelic hit single, "The Witch". Career The Rattles performed in Hamburg, and played at the same venues as The Beatles on several occasions in 1962. In ...

and many more **Casey Jones & The Governors * Italian musicians: **Benjamin & His Brothers – Rock 'n' Roll band featuring Mino Reitano * Swedish musician: ** Jerry Williams

Star-Club Records

In October 1962, Siegfried Loch, label manager for

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet i ...

, visited the Star-Club for a concert with

. Loch persuaded Manfred Weissleder, the manager of Star-Club, to give him permission to set up recording equipment in the club. He started a record label, Star-Club Records, subsidiary of Philips Records.

References

External links

*http://www.center-of-beat.com/ Information about the Star-Club *http://www.starclub-hamburg.eu/ Information about the Star-Club *http://www.merseycats.com/Maja's-Memories-of-the-Star-Club.html Reminisce to the opening of the Star-Club, with an original recording of the Beatles ("

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

") *http://beatles.ncf.ca/starclubtapes.html Eric Krasker, The Star-Club tapes : The set that never existed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Star-Club Nightclubs in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte Music venues in Germany Former music venues in Germany Culture in Hamburg 20th century in Hamburg Music venues completed in 1962 1962 establishments in West Germany 1969 disestablishments