Bruno Koschmider

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Bruno Koschmider (born April 30, 1926 in Danzig ; † 2000 in Hamburg ) was a German entrepreneur. He ran strip bars in Hamburg from 1950 and was known as the " Kiez " in his time . He became known because the Beatles were engaged in his bars for the first time for a long time and also performed for the first time in Germany.

Life

Bruno Koschmider performed as a circus performer on the trapeze at a young age . After an accident he could no longer perform. He described himself as disabled during the war .

In 1950 he opened the "Indra" in the Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg as a small table dance -Bar. Later he opened the café “Heaven and Hell”, the sex cinema “Bambi” and in October 1959 the Kaiserkeller with space for 700 guests. At the time, he wanted to have music bands perform in addition to the strippers, with the intention that his guests would then stay longer and drink more. In the Kaiserkeller he set up a jukebox , where rock 'n' roll was the most popular. At the same time he began to let beat bands perform.

Memorial plaque to the performances of the Beatles in the Kaiserkeller

Allan Williams , a British restaurateur and music manager, brokered bands from the UK at the time. At the beginning Koschmider didn't want to let the Beatles perform because their name sounded like "penis" when pronounced in dialect . After he had already engaged two other groups, he signed a contract with Williams during a visit to London, according to which the Beatles should play at the Indra. They performed 4 ½ hours in the week and 6 hours on the weekend without a break and received DM 30 in return. At that time, the Indra was mainly visited by prostitutes and their suitors. They lived in the sex cinema. After neighbors complained about the noise, Koschmider closed the Indra and the Beatles performed in the Kaiserkeller. There they took turns with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes and there was always live music in the club. The band Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, which was more popular at the time and received a higher fee, was advertised more.

Koschmider urged all musicians not to eat or smoke on stage . They had to wear clean clothes and look well-groomed. They were not allowed to speak to the audience through the microphone. It was important to him that the musicians always kept moving and doing “show”. You should stand on the piano or jump into the audience - the main thing is that there is a good atmosphere in the hall.

The Beatles appeared several times in the Top Ten Club , which was the competition to Koschmider's bars. Koschmider was upset about it and showed the latest Beatles member George Harrison , because these are the minors stayed even after 22.00 in a nightclub. Harrison was expelled from Germany on November 21, 1960. The Beatles then wanted to appear in the Top Ten Club and move out of Koschmider's premises to do so. On November 29th, Paul McCartney and Pete Best packed their things and burned either a tapestry or condoms , according to various representations, allegedly to have light . The fire was still glowing when they left the room and Koschmider reported them for arson . They were arrested and after spending one night in a cell at the Davidwache deported from Germany.

Then Koschmider tried it again with pure strip bars without live music. He lost his premises and later worked as a ticket tipper and peepshow overseer.

He died impoverished in Hamburg.

A Beatles cover band from Hamburg has been calling itself "The Koschmiders" after him since 2011.

In the movie Birth of the Beatles (1979), he was represented by Richard Marner, in Blackbeat of Paul Humpoletz and In His Life: The John Lennon Story of Alex Cox .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Hunter Davis: The Beatles Book , Random House, 2016 ( preview on googlebooks )
  2. ↑ The Beatles: A Hamburg Music Career on hamburg.de (accessed on January 7, 2017)
  3. ↑ a b On the trail of the BEATLES in Hamburg on the website of Wolfgang Groehl (accessed on January 7, 2017)
  4. ↑ Bruno Koschmider club owner would have been 85 born April 30, 1926 in Danzig on diboland-world.blogspot.de (accessed on January 7, 2017)
  5. ^ Website of "Die Koschmiders" (accessed on January 7, 2017)
personal data
SURNAME Koschmider, Bruno
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig
DATE OF DEATH 2000
Place of death Hamburg