Butlers (band)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Butlers / The Butlers
General information
Genre (s) Beat music , blues , rock
founding 1962, 1992
resolution 1965, 2015
Website http://www.the-butlers.de
Founding members
Bass guitar
 Klaus Renft
Guitar, vocals
 Joachim Richter
Guitar, vocals
 Bernd Schlund
guitar
 Bernd Heron
Drums
 Hans-Dieter Schmidt
Last occupation
Guitar, vocals
 Falcon Johne
Bass guitar, vocals
 Rudi Ruhland
Guitar, vocals, harmonica
 Richard Zikeli
Piano, organ, vocals
 Gerolf Wodtke
Drums
 Hans-Dieter Schmidt
former members
saxophone
 Constantin Papamouscho
saxophone
 Hans-Dieter Schütz
singing
 Christiane Ufholz
Frank Greif
Robert Mau
Michael Kirchhof

Butlers (from 1992 The Butlers ) was a German beat band . In 1958 Klaus Renft founded the Klaus Renft Combo in Leipzig , from which the band Butlers emerged in 1962 . She is one of the pioneers of the beat movement in the GDR . The band was banned from performing in 1965 , which is considered a trigger for the " Leipzig Beatdemo ". It was re-established in 1992. The band is not to be confused with the Berlin ska band The Butlers, which was founded in 1987 .

Band history

Klaus Renft, actually Klaus Jentzsch, founded the school band Klaus Renft Combo at the beginning of 1958 at the age of 16 . When they were banned from performing in 1962, he formed the Butlers out of this band, initially called The Finders and then The Shadders . The Butlers' founding line-up included: Hans-Dieter Schmidt (drums), Joachim Richter (guitar, vocals), Bernd Schlund (guitar, vocals), Bernd Reiher (guitar) and Klaus Renft (bass guitar). The band quickly gained popularity and, along with the Sputniks, was one of the most famous bands in the beat movement, which was also expanding rapidly in the GDR.

The Butlers were not officially allowed to call themselves The Butlers because the addition The sounded too American to the authorities; The band performed all public appearances as butlers .

At first, the GDR leadership was still open to the young bands, as they saw an opportunity to influence the youth through the beat movement. Local FDJ and cultural officials in particular took care of the bands and even supported them. In May 1964, for example, the Butlers were awarded a “certificate for excellent performance in the preparation and implementation of the Germany meeting of young people in the capital of the GDR, Berlin ”, and in early 1965 they received the title “Best of choice” from the FDJ district leadership in Leipzig. very good ”awarded. In the meantime the band had developed musically and they began to experiment. With Constantin Papamouscho (saxophone) and Hans-Dieter Schütz (saxophone) they brought two wind instruments and with Christiane Ufholz a singer into the band. The first own titles were created and published on the GDR label Amiga . The compositions came from Joachim Richter.

After the riots at a Rolling Stones concert on September 15, 1965 in West Berlin's Waldbühne , the GDR leadership fundamentally changed its stance on the beat movement. The Leipzig cultural officials reacted by banning all Leipzig beat bands and canceled all planned concerts. On October 21, 1965, the Butlers were banned with the words: "... the appearance of their band is contrary to our moral and ethical principles". That meant the temporary end of the Butlers.

In 1992 the band was re-founded by Hans-Dieter Schmidt as The Butlers , but without Renft, who had revived his Klaus Renft combo after his return to the East . At that time, the Butlers were composed of Hans-Dieter Schmidt, Frank Greif, Robert Mau, Michael Kirchhof and Falk Johne. The band gave numerous concerts and appeared on stage with Mungo Jerry , Tony Sheridan , Dave Dee and as the opening act for Middle of the Road , The Mamas and the Papas and The Spencer Davis Group . Their repertoire included the hits of the 1960s in the original arrangements and with an authentic sound. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Leipzig events, Renft and the Butlers were back on stage together. In 2015 the band gave their last concert.

Discography

LP

  • 1965: Quartermasters Stores , Troika , Herbstlaub and Butlers Boogie on Big Beat II ( Amiga )

CD

  • 1996: Quartermasters Stores , Troika , Herbstlaub and Butlers Boogie on Big Beat (Amiga)

See also

literature

  • Yvonne Liebig: All you need is beat - youth subculture in Leipzig from 1957-1968 . Forum, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-931801-55-1 .
  • Michael Rauhut , Thomas Kochan (eds.): Bye bye, Lübben City - blues freaks, tramps and hippies in the GDR . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-602-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Official website , accessed October 7, 2016
  2. ↑ Michael Rauhut : Beat in the gray area. GDR rock 1964 to 1972 - politics and everyday life . Berlin 1993, p. 123.