Beat-Club

For the 1998 The Black Sorrows album of same name, see Beat Club (album).
Beat-Club
Genre Music
Created by Gerhard Augustin and Mike Leckebusch
Presented by Uschi Nerke
Dave Lee Travis (1966–1969)
Dave Dee (1969–1970)
Gerhard Augustin (1965)
Eddie Vickers (1965–1966)
Opening theme Mood Mosaic: "A Touch of Velvet - A Sting of Brass"J
Composer(s) Mark Wirtz (theme)
Country of origin Germany
Original language(s) German, English
No. of episodes 83
Production
Producer(s) Radio Bremen, WDR (1969–1972)
Location(s) Bremen, Germany (unless stated below)
Tiles Club, London (episode 11)
Hamburg, Germany (episode 16)
Marquee Club, London (episode 18)
Berlin, Germany (episode 24)
Camera setup Studio Hamburg
Running time 30–60 minutes
Release
Original network ARD (Radio Bremen)
Picture format

PAL

B&W (1965-1970); Color (1970-1972)
Audio format Monaural
Original release 25 September 1965 – 9 December 1972
Chronology
Followed by Musikladen
External links
Website
Production website

Beat-Club was a German music program that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, West Germany on Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen, the national public TV channel of the ARD, and produced by one of its members, Radio Bremen, later co-produced by WDR following the 38th episode.

History

Beat-Club was co-created by Gerhard Augustin and Mike Leckebusch. The show premiered on 25 September 1965 with Augustin and Uschi Nerke hosting. German TV personality Wilhelm Wieben opened the first show with a short speech. After eight episodes, Augustin stepped down from his hosting role and was replaced by DJ Dave Lee Travis.

Uschi Nerke

The show's earlier episodes featured live performances, and was set in front of a plain brick wall. It underwent a revamp in 1967, when a more professional look was adapted with large cards in the background displaying the names of the performers. Around this time, a troupe of young women billed the "Go-Go-Girls," were introduced to dance to songs when their performers couldn't appear.

In early 1969, Travis was replaced by Dave Dee, of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. On 31 December 1969, Beat-Club switched to color and again featured live performances. Dee departed in 1970, leaving Nerke as the lone host.

In the later years of its run, the series was known for incorporating psychedelic visual effects during many performances, especially following the switch to color.

The Grateful Dead performed on the show on 21 April 1972, halfway through their European Tour (selections of which would make up the live album Europe '72). The band played a shorter set than usual, but still included crowd favourites such as "Truckin'".[1] The set is believed to be the last professionally filmed appearance of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who left the band shortly after the end of the tour. In 2014, the footage had its first theatrical screening in theatres across the US.[2]

Acts on the show

The show is notable for being the first German show dedicated to popular music, and featured artists such as The Moody Blues, MC5, The Equals, King Crimson, Grateful Dead, Captain Beefheart, Joe Cocker, Zager and Evans, Cream, Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Gene Pitney, Ten Years After, Iron Butterfly, Rory Gallagher, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Ike & Tina Turner, The Who, Harry Nilsson, David Bowie, Bee Gees, The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Doors, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Kraftwerk, Yes, and Robin Gibb in its seven-year run. In 1972, it was replaced by Musikladen.

Performances from the show were seen on VH1 Classic, and reruns air in several European countries. Several DVD collections have also been released.

Relaunch

Beat Club is now a weekly radio programme on Radio Bremen 1 and on a web channel offered by the radio station. Nerke reprised her role as presenter for the series.

In 2008, a Video on demand web portal was launched for Beat-Club and Musikladen. This was replaced by a YouTube channel in 2010.

References

  1. "Europe '72 : Beat Club, Bremen, West Germany". dead.net. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  2. Grow, Kory (June 9, 2014). "Grateful Dead's 1972 German Concert to Hit Movie Theaters This Summer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 28, 2016.

External links

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