Sound (Berlin discotheque)
Sound ( English noise, sound, loud ), also with the spelling SOUND , was the name of a Berlin discotheque , which in the 1970s and 1980s called itself "most modern discotheque in Europe" and because of the technology, at least in the 1970s , too was. Around 1975 there were laser projections , a fog machine and a professional video recording device. The stamp that you got at the entrance was only visible under black light.
history
1970s
The first opening date of the discotheque, which was located at Genthiner Straße 26 in what was then the Tiergarten district, is not known.
Herbert von Ramm was the tenant from 1969 to 1971. At that time it was called CENTRUM 2000 . Because of the drug problem within the discotheque, the next tenant founded a drug aid association. Nevertheless, the closure of the CENTRUM 2000 in April 1972 could not be prevented. A reopening was then achieved under the name SOUND . The discotheque was located in part of a converted underground car park, the entrance, recording room, toilets and video technology were on the level of Genthiner Strasse and was open daily from 7 p.m. Later there was the Café am Park on street level . A wide staircase led to the disco.
Progressive rock and a lot of experimental music were played in the disco . In addition to current music, musicians and groups also performed live, for example the Welsh rock band Man at the annual party on June 6, 1974.
In the sound, there was not only the opportunity to dance to the music, but also to make recordings of it. For this purpose, there was a room with power connections and recording sockets, the connections made it possible for visitors to record the music played by the DJs on tapes or cassettes. The DJ put the cover of the current music in a box, which transmitted the image to a monitor using a video camera, so nobody had to ask the DJs about the current record, and the image was also transferred to the recording room.
The discotheque had a small cinema in which current and classic films were shown, and in a video room you could see the current TV programs and video recordings on monitors . The corresponding headphones could be borrowed for a small deposit . To relax briefly, the visitors withdrew to the tea or wine room, and there were snacks and full meals in a bistro to counter hunger .
In the mid-1970s, the colorful, large-format sound posters showing a mouth in front of a radial rainbow pattern were part of the street scene in Berlin.
Drug scene
The level of popularity was increased by Christiane F.'s book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo . She became world famous for her drug use . Christiane F. was a regular visitor to Sound .
To prevent the discotheque from being closed for drug consumption and trafficking , only non-alcoholic drinks were served for a while ( milk bar license). Despite a strict ban on drugs, young people could get heroin here, among other things . The so-called baby streak was located on Kurfürstenstraße near the sound . There was heavy traffic in the vicinity of the discotheque, and customers were on the lookout for girls and / or boys. In order to curb trade and consumption in the sound, the toilet doors were designed like western saloon doors (half-height) so that no one could feel unobserved, especially when fixing . Despite many countermeasures, the sound was repeatedly ravaged by raids . Due to problems with the tax office , the sound finally had to be closed.
The Sound had not only supporters, but also fierce opponents, both officially and privately. Berlin's regional television SFB reported with the tone of indignation of raids. There were groups who tried to put an end to the discotheque with leaflets, and bitter petty wars were fought. The arguments sometimes took on very bizarre forms, for example the door of a former doorman on the 4th floor was walled up with bricks and quick-setting cement at night.
The Berlin night scene, however, was repeatedly drawn to the sound's reputation. Guests such as Mick Jagger and David Bowie visited this discotheque, and television also repeatedly showed interest in this scene. For example, a report was filmed for the program 45 Fieber im Sound to shed some light on the metal scene of that time .
1980s
A renewed opening under different management met with little approval on the official side as well as with the property management because of the senior citizens' home above . Sound was only reopened in 1981 by DIGA Gastronomie GmbH under various conditions and concessions. At the level of Genthiner Strasse there were now only the entrance, the toilets and a café. In the lower area there were two counters, a champagne bar, the tea room, the bistro and the cinema, in which current (video) films were shown non-stop. Due to copyright reasons there was no longer any possibility of recording music.
This era finally came to an end with an arson in the lower rooms in 1988.
Remakes and offshoots
In the 1980s, a branch of Sound was opened in Dillingen in Saarland , which is back (after it was officially closed in 2004). Due to the relationship with the Berlin parent company, the flair of sound was transported to the Saarland with Berlin DJs.
There were also several attempts to reopen a sound in Berlin. After the final closure of the Sound in Genthiner Straße, there was a brief comeback in Joachimstaler Straße above the Ku'dorf disco . After a few months this attempt failed due to internal problems. After a large new beginning on December 6, 2001 over several floors in Miraustraße 16 in Wittenau and a renewed closure, a fourth attempt was started in Bismarckstraße 90 in Charlottenburg . This last attempt to date was also ended with a closure in 2007. But it didn't have much in common with the original discotheque.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Who's Who in the Arts and Literature (Volume II)
- ↑ Who's Who in the Arts and Literature (Volume II)
- ^ The history of the drug info Berlin e. V. at: drogen-info-berlin.de
- ↑ It has become lonely for Christiane F. - and money is running out. on: morgenpost.de May 27, 2006.
- ^ Christiane F. - forever a child from the Zoo station. on: welt.de August 11, 2008.
- ↑ Love, Sex - and Nightmares . In: Der Tagesspiegel , October 13, 2007.
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^ BZ , February 13, 1976, front page: Berliner came home: the door to the apartment was bricked up!
BZ February 13, 1976, p. 4: ... bartender believes in an act of revenge - fire brigade had to free his friend who was scared to death . - ↑ SOUND, the CDU and the Musikantenstadl
- ^ Homepage of the Sound-Saarland discotheque
Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 11 ″ N , 13 ° 21 ′ 32 ″ E