Kaiserkeller

Coordinates: 53°33′04.3″N 9°57′29.0″E / 53.551194°N 9.958056°E / 53.551194; 9.958056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kaiserkeller
Night club
Genre(s)Rock
Capacityc. 550
Opened14 October 1959 (1959-10-14)
Website
grossefreiheit36.de

Kaiserkeller is a music club in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg, Germany, near the Reeperbahn. It was opened by Bruno Koschmider on 14 October 1959. The Beatles had a contract with Kaiserkeller to play there in 1960.

History

A Caribbean steel band that had played at

Indra club, sleeping in small, "dirty" rooms in the Bambi Kino, and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller.[5]

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.[6] They played five or six 90-minute sets every day, alternating with the Beatles.[1][7] Rory Storm and The Hurricanes were later presented with a special certificate by Koschmider for their performances.[3]

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.

bouncer, whose career as a boxer had been cut short (he had unintentionally killed a sailor in a street fight)[11]
although he later became a friend of the Beatles, and protected them.

Klaus Voormann once watched performances by The Hurricanes and the Beatles in the club,[12] and invited photographer Astrid Kirchherr and friend Jürgen Vollmer to watch the performances the next day.[13] The Beatles bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe, met Kirchherr between sets, and began dating Kirchherr shortly thereafter.[14] 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.[14]

A plaque detailing the history of the Kaiserkeller

In October 1960, The Beatles left Koschmider's club and worked at the

Top Ten Club, which was run by Peter Eckhorn.[4][15] When McCartney and drummer 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 Harrison, for working under the legal age limit.[16] 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.[17]

Later years

Today the Kaiserkeller is an alternative Rock Club that belongs to the "Große Freiheit 36".

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cynthia Lennon – “John” 2006 p76
  2. ^ Spitz 2005 p202
  3. ^ a b Harry, Bill. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Tragic Story of Rory Storm & the Hurricanes (page 4)". Triumph pc. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  4. ^ a b Lennon (2006), p.93
  5. ^ Miles 1998. pp57-8.
  6. ^ Spitz 2005 p201
  7. ^ Spitz 2005 p216
  8. ^ a b Spitz 2005. p221
  9. ^ a b Spitz 2005 p219
  10. ^ Spitz 2005 p220
  11. ^ Harry, Bill (1999-08-20). "A Man called Horst". Triumph pc. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  12. ^ Spitz 2005. p222
  13. ^ Spitz 2005. p223
  14. ^ a b Spitz 2005. p224
  15. ^ Miles 1998. pp. 71–72.
  16. ^ Miles 1998. pp72-73.
  17. ^ Cynthia Lennon “John” 2006. p79.

References

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaiserkeller.
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