Jazz Night at the legendary Indra Musikclub, “Where the Beatles played first”, Hamburg
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"How Hamburg's Indra Club shaped The Beatles, Far Out Magazine
On a quiet street in Hamburg’s old red-light district sits a small club painted blood-red. It’s not so large, and if it wasn’t for the emblems of musical instruments welded into the iron gates, you wouldn’t think it a club at all. But if you look closely, you’ll see a small sign reading: “Indra — where the Beatles played first.”
Many people imagine that the Beatles hometown of Liverpool forged the Fab Four, and whilst clubs like the Cavern Club offered them a launchpad, it was nearly impossible for the group to get reliable gigs elsewhere in the city. No, it was the fair port city of Hamburg, Germany, which allowed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, and their then-drummer Pete Best to hone their songs, style, and stagecraft. Back then, they were known as The Silver Beatles, but the group’s residency in The Indra Club was about to change everything.
They didn’t think too much about it. It was an opportunity where there had previously been none. Liverpool was a dead end, so when the owner of The Indra offered the boys a regular spot at his club, they jumped at the chance. But when they arrived in Hamburg, the reality of their situation became very clear. Of their accommodation, McCartney said: “We lived backstage in the Bambi Kino, next to the toilets, and you could always smell them. The room had been an old storeroom, and there were just concrete walls and nothing else. No heat, no wallpaper, not a lick of paint, and two sets of bunk beds, with not very much covers—Union Jack flags—we were frozen.”
They were paid 30 Deutschmarks a night for a seven-hour gig which would frequently last until the early hours of the morning. McCartney would later describe the band’s experience in Hamburg as “800 hours in the rehearsal room.” At this time (somewhat unsurprisingly), the Beatles were introduced to Amphetamines and began an exploration of drug culture, which would last until the band dissolved. McCartney would later recount his first experience of “Prellies”: “The waiters always had these pills [Preludin], so when they saw the musicians falling over with tiredness or drink, they’d give you the pill. You could work almost endlessly until the pill wore off, and then you’d have another.” McCartney would also claim that Lennon would sometimes take up to five whilst he would take only one.
" - https://lnkd.in/eaN6ak_P
"Technik im Indra:
- JBL Professional PA System
- 5 JBL JRX112 Wedges an 4 Wegen Monitorsystem
- Soundcraft SI3 Expression 32 In/16 Out
- Behringer X32
- 5 x Shure Incorporated SM 58
- 3 x Shure SM 57
- 3x E604 Sennheiser Drummikros
- 1x E602 II Sennheiser Drummikro
- 2x SC140 T-Bone Drummmikro" - https://lnkd.in/ev9RtiyN
