Bruno Koschmider (1926 – 2000) was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, best known for employing
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
in the early 1960s. He controlled various businesses, such as the Bambi Kino, which was a cinema, the Indra club and the
Kaiserkeller.
Personal life
Koschmider was born in 1926 in
Danzig (Gdańsk) and died in 2000 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.
The Beatles
Allan Williams booked the Beatles (in May 1960) into Koschmider's Indra club.
[Miles. p56.][Photos of Clubs in Hamburg](_blank)
/ref>
The Beatles first played at the Indra[Miles. pp. 57–58.] In October 1960, they left the Kaiserkeller to work at the " Top Ten Club",[Cynthia Lennon, ''John''. p93.] which was run by Peter Eckhorn.[Miles. pp. 71–72.] When Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
and Pete Best went back to the Bambi Kino to get their belongings they found it in total darkness.[Miles. p72.] Attaching 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 inte ...
to a nail on the wall of their room and setting fire to it gave McCartney and Best a source of light, which they used to pack their belongings.[Spitz pg.230] 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 George Harrison, for working under the legal age limit.[Miles. pp. 72–73.]
Legacy
Koschmider has been portrayed in films about the early career of the Beatles.
He was played by Richard Marner in the 1979 film '' Birth of the Beatles'', by Paul Humpoletz in the 1994 film '' Backbeat'', and by Alex Cox in the 2000 TV movie '' In His Life: The John Lennon Story''.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Koschmider, Bruno
Businesspeople from Hamburg
1926 births
2000 deaths
People from the Free City of Danzig