Fact #52649
When:
Short story:
Tony Sheridan and The Beatles sign a one-year recording contract with Bert Kaempfert of Polydor Records in Hamburg, Germany, Europe.
Full article:
Roy Young (rock musician) : John and George - you'd always see them there in the front watching Tony's every move, you know. They'd copied him. They really did copy a lot of his moves: styling; the way of play(ing); you know, the stand; and especially John stood just like Tony. And yet I've never heard too much of them ever mentioning much of it before they died, you know, which quite amazed me, you know.
Alfred Schacht (lawyer/music publisher) : These five boys I discovered playing the Top Ten, looked as if they seldom went to the barber's, and as if their not-so-new velvet collared jackets seldom went to the cleaners. I visited the club often because I liked their sound.
I also took along my musician friend Bert Kaempfert who wanted to sign them up.
Jan Olofsson (rock photographer) : He (Kaempfert) was a close friend of Tony Sheridanand made a couple of records with the Beat Brothers, as they were then known, backing Tony. I built up a nice relationship with them on a personal level and I guess they appreciated the fact that I tried to help them get a recording deal and also some bookings in Sweden, Europe. They were making about £20 a week and I was penniless, washing dishes all over the place. The Beatles performed at The Top Ten Club until 4am and had a vast supply of beers from the audience, so they used to pass over bottles and bottles to me every night. (Source : http://www.forces.org/writers/james/files/olof.htm)
Alfred Schacht (lawyer/music publisher) : A few weeks later my rather prim secretary told me that a group of tramplike people wanted to see me. It was those Beatles, of course, with some German girlfriends.
They signed the contract in my office.
Hal Fein (music publisher, owner of Roosevelt Music) : I discovered The Beatles. Yes, that's right, before Brian Epstein even entered the picture. I discovered the boys.
I'm the one who gave them to Brian Epstein. Everyone thinks that they were discovered in England. Well, that's not true. The truth is, that Bert Kaempfert and I actually discovered The Beatles and made their first record in 1961, in Hamburg, Germany, Europe.
I was in Hamburg for a recording session with German composer/arranger/producer Bert Kaempfert. I asked Kaempfert if there were any rock and roll groups in Hamburg. I also wanted to see how the kids were dancing there. Kaempfert said he had heard about this club on the Reeperbahn called The Top Ten Club, where there was supposed to be a good band. It was a nightclub where you could listen to rock and roll and dance. American and British bands would always wind up on the Reeperbahn; it was the only place where they had entertainment. And it was also a big red-light district.
Klaus Voorman (German musician) : Bert Kaempfert came to the Top Ten. He came to record Tony Sheridan. They were all saying 'Bert Kaempfert¹s here! Bert Kaempfert¹s here!' . When they heard the recording, they were very proud of themselves.
Tony Sheridan: Bert Kaempfert came into The Top Ten Club with his entourage and he bought us all drinks. He told us that he would like to record myself and The Beatles.
Hal Fein : I stopped, dead in my tracks, as soon as I heard them. I couldn't believe it. They sounded so good. I was out of my fucking head! I knew it at once I knew it. They were terrific.
Sure, they didn't have the polish they had after playing together a long time, but they did have something nobody else had. Those boys were giving a definitive white performance of black music. At that time there were no white musicians in the States who could play race music (early term for R'n'B) with any sense of conviction or authenticity. They captured something no one else could.
During the course of the evening, I learned that the boys did not have a recording contract or any other ties.
John Lennon : Bert Kaempfert I remember well. Hal Fein must have been one of the people working with him. We cut a few tracks for Kaempfert. My Bonnie was one in which The Beatles backed a London singer who was 'big' in Hamburg, Tony Sheridan. Bert K. et al thought The Beatles were too bluesy!
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Alfred Schacht (lawyer/music publisher) : These five boys I discovered playing the Top Ten, looked as if they seldom went to the barber's, and as if their not-so-new velvet collared jackets seldom went to the cleaners. I visited the club often because I liked their sound.
I also took along my musician friend Bert Kaempfert who wanted to sign them up.
Jan Olofsson (rock photographer) : He (Kaempfert) was a close friend of Tony Sheridanand made a couple of records with the Beat Brothers, as they were then known, backing Tony. I built up a nice relationship with them on a personal level and I guess they appreciated the fact that I tried to help them get a recording deal and also some bookings in Sweden, Europe. They were making about £20 a week and I was penniless, washing dishes all over the place. The Beatles performed at The Top Ten Club until 4am and had a vast supply of beers from the audience, so they used to pass over bottles and bottles to me every night. (Source : http://www.forces.org/writers/james/files/olof.htm)
Alfred Schacht (lawyer/music publisher) : A few weeks later my rather prim secretary told me that a group of tramplike people wanted to see me. It was those Beatles, of course, with some German girlfriends.
They signed the contract in my office.
Hal Fein (music publisher, owner of Roosevelt Music) : I discovered The Beatles. Yes, that's right, before Brian Epstein even entered the picture. I discovered the boys.
I'm the one who gave them to Brian Epstein. Everyone thinks that they were discovered in England. Well, that's not true. The truth is, that Bert Kaempfert and I actually discovered The Beatles and made their first record in 1961, in Hamburg, Germany, Europe.
I was in Hamburg for a recording session with German composer/arranger/producer Bert Kaempfert. I asked Kaempfert if there were any rock and roll groups in Hamburg. I also wanted to see how the kids were dancing there. Kaempfert said he had heard about this club on the Reeperbahn called The Top Ten Club, where there was supposed to be a good band. It was a nightclub where you could listen to rock and roll and dance. American and British bands would always wind up on the Reeperbahn; it was the only place where they had entertainment. And it was also a big red-light district.
Klaus Voorman (German musician) : Bert Kaempfert came to the Top Ten. He came to record Tony Sheridan. They were all saying 'Bert Kaempfert¹s here! Bert Kaempfert¹s here!' . When they heard the recording, they were very proud of themselves.
Tony Sheridan: Bert Kaempfert came into The Top Ten Club with his entourage and he bought us all drinks. He told us that he would like to record myself and The Beatles.
Hal Fein : I stopped, dead in my tracks, as soon as I heard them. I couldn't believe it. They sounded so good. I was out of my fucking head! I knew it at once I knew it. They were terrific.
Sure, they didn't have the polish they had after playing together a long time, but they did have something nobody else had. Those boys were giving a definitive white performance of black music. At that time there were no white musicians in the States who could play race music (early term for R'n'B) with any sense of conviction or authenticity. They captured something no one else could.
During the course of the evening, I learned that the boys did not have a recording contract or any other ties.
John Lennon : Bert Kaempfert I remember well. Hal Fein must have been one of the people working with him. We cut a few tracks for Kaempfert. My Bonnie was one in which The Beatles backed a London singer who was 'big' in Hamburg, Tony Sheridan. Bert K. et al thought The Beatles were too bluesy!