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Klaus Voormann Biography
It was in Hamburg that Klaus Voormann first met Astrid Kirchherr. After an argument with her and Jürgen Vollmer one day, Voormann wandered down the Reeperbahn, which is in the St.Pauli district of Hamburg, and heard music coming from the Kaiserkeller club. He walked in and watched a performance by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and the next group scheduled to play were The Beatles. Voormann stayed and watched both groups, and was left "speechless" by the performances. Voormann had never heard this new music called Rock 'n Roll before, having previously only listened to traditional Jazz, with some Nat King Cole and The Platters mixed in. Klaus Voormann invited Kirchherr and Vollmer to watch the performances the next day. After hearing this new music, Klaus Voormann and the other two decided that all they wanted was to listen to it, watch groups perform it, and to be as close to The Beatles as they could.
Sutcliffe didn't share Lennon's attitude, and was fascinated by the trio, who he thought looked like "real bohemians". He later wrote that he could hardly take his eyes off them, and had tried to talk to them during the next break, but they had already left the club. This was due to the strict German law at the time which prohibited young people from frequenting bars after 10 o'clock at night, and bars like the Kaiserkeller were dangerous for anybody that looked as different as Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer did when customers became drunk and aggressive. Sutcliffe managed to meet them eventually, and learned that all three had attended the "Meisterschule für Mode", which was the Hamburg equivalent of the Liverpool art college that both Sutcliffe and Lennon had attended. Lennon dubbed the trio the Exies, as a joke about their affectation for existentialism. Voormann was in a relationship with Kirchherr at the time, and lived just around the corner from her parents' upper-class home in the Altona district of Hamburg. Kirchherr's bedroom (which was all in black, including the walls and furniture) was decorated especially for Voormann, although after the visits to the Kaiserkeller their relationship became purely platonic. This was because Astrid started dating Sutcliffe, who was fascinated by her, although she always remained close friends with Voormann.
Klaus Voormann - In His Own WordsOn Seeing the Beatles for the first time: On being a studio musician: 1973 -79 L.A. became my new home. I met up with great musicians and very special people like The Band, Van Dyke Parks, Phil Spector, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, Ry Cooder, Larry Carlton, to name but a few. Just before the end of my musical activities in the States, I had a very special encounter. I played on Randy Newman´s Short People LP. The "icing" of my musical cake was being asked to join Dr. John (Mac Rebenak) and his band. How can you top that!
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Klaus Voormann (b. April 29, 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer known for his long association with the The Beatles, for whom he designed the cover of their album, as well as for being the bassist with the British Invasion group Manfred Mann and later a respected session player and record producer.
The St.Pauli district was well-known as being an area where prostitutes were to be found, and was dangerous for anyone that looked different than the usual clientele. As a trio Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer stood out in the Kaiserkeller—dressed in their suede coats, wool sweaters, jeans and round-toed shoes—when most of the customers had greased-back Teddy boy hairstyles and wore black leather jackets and pointed boots. During a break, Voormann tried to talk (in faltering English) to Lennon, and pressed a crumpled record sleeve he had designed into Lennon's hands. Lennon took little interest, and brushed Voormann off, suggesting that he talk to Stuart Sutcliffe, who, as Lennon said, "is the artist round here".
