Klaus Voormann
Klaus Voormann | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann |
Born | Berlin, German Reich | 29 April 1938
Origin | Hamburg, Germany |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Formerly of |
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Website | voormann |
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German
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 Vain" by Carly Simon, Lou Reed's Transformer album, and on many recordings of the former members of the Beatles. As a producer, Voormann worked with the band Trio on their worldwide hit "Da Da Da".
Voormann's association with the Beatles dates back to
In 2009, Voormann released his debut solo album A Sideman's Journey, which featured the two surviving Beatles, McCartney and Starr, performing as "Voormann and Friends".
Voormann has designed artwork for many bands, including the Beatles,
.Early life
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann[2] was born in Berlin, Germany, and raised in the suburbs of north Berlin. His father was a physician and Klaus was one of six brothers. In an interview for Talking Germany, broadcast in July 2010, Voormann discussed his dyslexia.[3]
The Voormann family were interested in art, classical music and books, with a feeling for history and tradition. 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. However, before finishing his education in the graphic arts, Voormann started work as a commercial artist graphic designer and illustrator, spending eight months in Düsseldorf working for magazines.[4]
It was in Hamburg that Voormann first met
The St. Pauli district was a dangerous section of town, with illicit behavior commonplace. It was an area where prostitutes worked, and anyone who looked different from the usual clientele was at risk of violence. As a trio, Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer stood out in the Kaiserkeller, dressed in suede coats, wool sweaters, jeans and round-toed shoes, when most of the customers had greased-back
Sutcliffe 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 wanted to talk to them during the next break, but they had already left the club.[7] 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 affection for existentialism.[5]
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. After the visits to the Kaiserkeller, their relationship became purely platonic as Astrid started dating Sutcliffe, who was fascinated by her. Nevertheless, she always remained a close friend of Voormann.[8]
Move to London and affiliation with the Beatles
In the early 1960s, Voormann decided to leave Germany and move to London. George Harrison invited him to live in the Green Street flat in London's Mayfair, formerly shared by all four members of the Beatles: Lennon had moved out to live with his wife Cynthia Lennon, and McCartney went to live in the attic of the home of the parents of his girlfriend Jane Asher. Voormann lived with Harrison and Ringo Starr for a time, before finding work as a commercial artist and renting an apartment of his own. He returned to Hamburg in 1963, where he founded a band called 'Paddy, Klaus & Gibson' with Paddy Chambers on guitar and vocals, Voormann on bass and vocals and Gibson Kemp on drums.[9]
In 1965, Voormann returned to London and was asked by Lennon to design the sleeve for the album
Around the same time, Voormann was hired to design the cover for
In 1966, Voormann became a member of
After that, Voormann became a session musician, playing on solo projects by Lou Reed, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Harry Nilsson, among others. He was a member of Yoko Ono and Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, with Ono, Alan White and Eric Clapton, playing on their album Live Peace in Toronto 1969, recorded in Toronto on 13 September that year, prior to the break-up of the Beatles.[14]
After the Beatles disbanded, there were rumours of them reforming as the Ladders, with Voormann on bass as a replacement for
Studio work in Los Angeles
In 1971, Voormann moved to Los Angeles. He played in Harrison's band at The Concert for Bangladesh, held at New York's Madison Square Garden in August 1971. Harrison 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."[17]
Return to Germany
In 1979, Voormann moved back to Germany; he had a cameo as Von Schnitzel the Conductor in the 1980 film adaptation of
Semi-retirement
Voormann retired from the music business in 1989, deciding to spend more time with his family. He lives at
On 29 November 2002 Voormann played bass on the song "All Things Must Pass" at the Concert for George, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. In an interview with author Simon Leng, he described Harrison as not only a "really great guitarist" but "the best friend I ever had".[19]
In April 2003 Voormann designed the cover of Scandinavian Leather for the Norwegian band Turbonegro. In October that same year, he 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 BBC documentary, Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle, broadcast in 2005, features interviews with Voormann and shows drawings he made of the Beatles in Hamburg. That year also saw the publication of his book Four Track Stories, which contains his experiences with the Beatles during the Hamburg days, stories narrated both in English and German, and pictures made by him. In 2007 he designed the sleeve for the album Timeless by Wet Wet Wet.
Comeback
On 7 July 2009, Voormann released his first solo album,
On 30 June 2010,
Art
In 2014, Voormann designed the cover to the album Music Life by Japanese rock band Glay; the image depicting the face of each member of the band is strongly reminiscent of the cover to The Beatles' Revolver.[20]
In 2016, Voormann created a graphic novel based on his experiences recording Revolver, calling it Revolver 50. Birth of an Icon.[21] In 2017, he designed the artwork featured in the deluxe box set edition of As You Were, the debut solo album from Liam Gallagher. He also made a surreal pencil drawing of Mad magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman for the publication's December 2017 issue.
Voormann designed the cover art and booklet sketch of the album ¡Spangled!, by Gaby Moreno and Van Dyke Parks, released in 2019.[22]
In 2020, Voormann did the cover art for Wreckless Abandon, an album by Mike Campbell's band The Dirty Knobs.
With Manfred Mann
Singles
- "Just Like a Woman"/"I Wanna Be Rich" (Fontana/Mercury/Philips) (1966)
- "When Will I Be Loved"/"Do You Have to Do That" (United Artist) (1966)
- "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"/"Morning After the Party" (Fontana) (1966) UK
- "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"/"Each and Every Day" (Mercury/Philips) (1966) US/Australia
- "You're My Girl"/"Box Office Draw" (Fontana) (1967)
- "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown"/"Feeling So Good" (Fontana) (1967)
- "Sweet Pea"/"One Way" (Fontana) (1967)
- "So Long, Dad"/"Funniest Gig" (Fontana) (1967)
- "Mighty Quinn"/"By Request-Edith Garvey" (Fontana/Mercury) (1968)
- "(Theme From) Up the Junction"/"Sleepy Hollow" (Fontana/Mercury) (1968)
- "My Name is Jack"/"There is a Man" (Fontana/Mercury) (1968)
- "Fox on the Run"/"Too Many People" (Fontana/Mercury) (1968)
- "Ragamuffin Man"/"A 'B' Side" (Fontana/Mercury) (1969)
Albums
- Pretty Flamingo (United Artist) (1966) US
- As Is (Fontana) (1966) UK
- Up The Junction (Fontana/Mercury) (1968) UK/US – movie soundtrack
- Mighty Garvey! (Fontana) (1968) UK
- The Mighty Quinn (Mercury) (1968) US
Collaborations
With Hoyt Axton
- Fearless (A&M Records, 1976)
With Badfinger
- Straight Up (Apple Records, 1971)
With Cate Brothers
- Cate Bros. (Asylum Records, 1975)
With Patti Dahlstrom
- Your Place or Mine (20th Century Records, 1975)
With Dion DiMucci
- Born to Be with You (Phil Spector Records, 1975)
With Donovan
- Slow Down World (Epic Records, 1976)
With Peter Frampton
- Wind of Change (A&M Records, 1972)
With Art Garfunkel
- Breakaway (Columbia Records, 1975)
With George Harrison
- All Things Must Pass (Apple Records, 1970)
- Living in the Material World (Apple Records, 1973)
- Dark Horse (Apple Records, 1974)
- Extra Texture (Read All About It) (Apple Records, 1975)
With
- B.B. King in London (ABC Records, 1971)
With Nicolette Larson
With John Lennon
- Imagine (Apple Records, 1971)
- Walls and Bridges (Apple Records, 1974)
- Rock 'n' Roll (Apple Records, 1975)
With Jackie Lomax
- Is This What You Want? (Apple Records, 1969)
With Geoff Muldaur
- Motion (Reprise Records, 1976)
With Maria Muldaur
- Maria Muldaur (Reprise Records, 1973)
With Randy Newman
- Little Criminals (Reprise Records, 1977)
With Harry Nilsson
- Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA Victor, 1971)
- Son of Schmilsson (RCA Records, 1972)
- Pussy Cats (RCA Victor, 1974)
- Duit on Mon Dei (RCA Victor, 1975)
- Sandman (RCA Victor, 1976)
- ...That's the Way It Is (RCA Victor, 1976)
- Flash Harry (Mercury Records, 1980)
With Yoko Ono
- Fly (Apple Records, 1971)
With Van Dyke Parks
- Clang of the Yankee Reaper (Warner Bros. Records, 1975)
With Billy Preston
- Encouraging Words (Apple Records, 1970)
With Lou Reed
- Transformer (RCA Records, 1972)
With Martha Reeves
- Martha Reeves (MCA Records, 1974)
With Stephan Remmler
- Stephan Remmler (Mercury Records, 1986)
- Lotto (Mercury Records, 1988)
- Vamos (Mercury Records, 1993)
With Leon Russell
- Leon Russell (A&M Records, 1970)
With Carly Simon
- No Secrets (Elektra Records, 1972)
- Hotcakes (Elektra Records, 1974)
- Playing Possum (Elektra Records, 1975)
- Another Passenger (Elektra Records, 1976)
With Splinter
- The Place I Love (Dark Horse Records, 1974)
With Ringo Starr
- Ringo (Apple Records, 1973)
- Goodnight Vienna (Apple Records, 1974)
- Ringo's Rotogravure (Polydor Records, 1976)
- Unrequited (Columbia Records, 1975)
With Howlin' Wolf
- The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Chess Records, 1971)
Notes
- ^ a b c Shea 2002, p. 59.
- ^ "Recording and Remixing Revolver Page 6". 28 October 2022.
- ^ Craven, Peter (11 July 2010). "Klaus Voormann, Graphic Designer and Musician". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Biography". Vormann. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ a b Spitz 2005, p. 222.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 223.
- ^ a b c Spitz 2005, p. 221.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 224.
- ^ "Paddy, Klaus & Gibson". iheartklaus.com. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Long, Molly (4 March 2020). "Aubrey Beardsley: depicting decadence and the grotesque in 1890s Britain". Design Week. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b "The Manfred Mann Band 1966–1969". iheartklaus.com. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Hindley, Philip (20 February 2011). "The Factotums". manchesterbeat.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Morley, Paul (4 September 2009). "Klaus Voorman". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Plastic Ono Band". iheartklaus.com. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ a b Ingham 2003, p. 310.
- ^ Rodriguez 2010, pp. 83–84.
- ^ "George Harrison". iheartklaus.com. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Papst, Manfred (3 October 2010). "Der älteste Freund der Beatles" (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Leng 2006, p. 317.
- ^ "Der älteste Freund der Beatles" (in Japanese). natalie.mu. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Klaus Voormann". Lambiek.net. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "Nonesuch Records ¡Spangled!". Nonesuch Records Official Website. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
References
- Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. Rough Guides Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84353-140-1.
- Leng, Simon (2006). While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1-4234-0609-9.
- Lennon, Cynthia (2006). John. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-89512-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7493-8658-0.
- Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.
- Shea, Stuart (2002). Rock and Roll's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Lame Lyrics, Egregious Egos and Other Oddities. Brassey's. ISBN 978-1-57488-477-7.
- ISBN 978-0-316-80352-6.
- Voormann, Klaus (2003). Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John ?. Heyne Verlag. ISBN 978-3-453-87313-1.
External links
- Official website
- Klaus Voormann Interview
- Hamburg Days book with unseen imagery by Astrid Kirchherr & Klaus Voormann & Foreword by George Harrison
- Klaus Voormann discography at Discogs