The Star-Club was a music club in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

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 St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Pau ...

quarter of Hamburg. ''

Große Freiheit The Große Freiheit (German for: "Great Freedom") is a street starting 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 Co ...

'' 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 n ...

. 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. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, 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 ''The Beatles Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962'' is a double album featuring live performances by the English rock band the Beatles, recorded in late December 1962 at the Star-Club during their final Hamburg residency. The alb ...

''. 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 "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

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

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

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

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Goldie and the Gingerbreads Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band formed in New York in 1962. The quartet, primarily consisting of vocalist Genya "Goldie" Zelkowitz (later Genya Ravan), drummer Ginger Bianco, organist/keyboardist Margo Lewis and ...

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 ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

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Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

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(who released a highly praised

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

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 singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, 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, backing Little Richa ...

in his band **

The Monks The Monks, referred to by the name monks on record sleeves, were an American 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 of ro ...

, with

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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. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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

Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers were 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). Members include Bennett himself ( ...

** The Big Three **

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

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, featuring

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...

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Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

(pre-

) **

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(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. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...

**The Jaybirds, featuring

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. ** Innocent Child, Blackpool Rock Band (originally Cherry Blossom Clinic) **

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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 drumm ...

**Maze featuring

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and

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later of

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** The Overlanders **

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** Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes **

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, Liverpool's original R & B band of the 60s ** Ian Hunter * German musicians:

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and many more * Italian musicians **Benjamin & His Brothers – Rock 'n' Roll band featuring

Mino Reitano Beniamino "Mino" Reitano (December 7, 1944 – January 27, 2009) was an Italian singer, songwriter and actor. Reitano was born in Fiumara, a small village in Calabria. His father, an employee at the local railway station, was very passiona ...

* Swedish musician: ** Jerry Williams

Star-Club records

In October 1962,

Siegfried Loch Siegfried Loch (born 9 August 1940) is a German record producer, a record industry executive, and the founder of the ACT Music record label. As both a producer and record label pioneer, Loch is considered to have had a significant impact on the ...

, label manager for

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

, 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 adapted into an award-winning film of the same title in 1961. Set in Salford in North West England, it tells the story of Jo, ...

") *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