Various Artist - The Story of The Beat Club I (1970)

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Beat-Club was a German music program that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, 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. It is notable for being the first German show to be based around popular music, and featured artists like Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, Gene Pitney, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Ike & Tina Turner, The Who, Black Sabbath, The Bee Gees, The Beach Boys, The Doors and Kraftwerk in its seven-year run. In 1972, it was replaced by Musikladen.

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.

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.

The legendary West German rock series Beat-Club was broadcast from September 1965 through December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, Germany and produced by the regional TV network Radio Bremen, which at that time was part of the German Government radio chain ARD. Radio Bremen was the sole producer for episodes 1 – 34. Episodes 35 through 74 were produced jointly by Radio Bremen and the WDR network. Beat-Club was co-created by Gerhard Augustin and Mike Leckebusch. Gerhard ("Gerd") Augustin was a well-known disc jockey in Bremen and northern Germany. In 1963 he was the first DJ to spin records at local clubs. He was a moderator (co-host) of the first seven Beat-Club shows. 

Michael Leckebusch, a former trumpet player in a theatre band in Hamburg, came to work for Radio Bremen's TV station in 1965. He became the director of Beat-Club. Uschi Nerke joined Augustin as co-host of Beat-Club. She started with the first show and remained with the series through the end of its run. (She was not, however, involved in the concept or creation of the show.) Beat-Club premiered September 25, 1965. While this premiere episode may appear tame, the TV network at the time feared complaints by parents and other adults who didn't like rock music. This show, in fact, began with a plea by German TV personality William Wieben for tolerance. Rough translation: "Good day, dear Beat friends. The time has come. In few seconds we will begin the first show on German television made especially for you. As for you Ladies and Gentlemen who do not like Beat (rock) music, we ask for your understanding: this is a live show for young people. And now we're taking off..."

Beat-Club is believed to have been Germany's first rock music series. Beat-Club should not be confused with another German TV series, Beat! Beat! Beat!, which premiered in 1966. Beat! Beat! Beat! was produced in a different city (Frankfurt am Main), by the regional network Hessischer Rundfunk. The series went through many format changes in its 7 years on the air. At first the show took on a (sort of) Cavern Club look. The walls behind the stage were brick - no fancy sets. The bands performed live while audience members were shown dancing. Sometime after show #8, Dave Lee Travis became a co-host. Travis had been a D.J. with "Radio Caroline," a pirate radio station that broadcasted into Britain from an offshore ship. Eddie Vickers, a soldier with the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), appeared sporadically as host during 1966-67. 

Dave Lee Travis' last appearance as host was on episode #45. His replacement was Dave Dee, of "Dave Dee, Dosy, Beaky, Mick & Titch." Dave Dee appeared on episodes 46 through 53. 

Around 1967, the series switched from live performances to lip-synching. The look of the set also changed, from the brick walls to the more familiar set with large cards in the background displaying the names of the performers. Another change around this time was the introduction of the "Go-Go-Girls," a troupe of young women who danced to recordings of current hits. (Note: Some of the performers mentioned on this guide did not actually appear. Their recordings were used for "Go-Go-Girls" segments. I'll try to clarify the "Go-Go Girls" segments in future updates.) "Beat Club" switched from black & white to color on December 31, 1969 (episode #50). Also around this time, the music guests started performing live again. 

The final Beat-Club program aired in December 1972. The series was replaced by Musikladen, which lasted until 1984. Uschi Nerke was a co-host on Musikladen from 1972-1980.

(((Excellent SoundQuality)))

SET I
Beat-Club 57 - 15.08.1970
01 Atomic Rooster - Save Me
02 Steamhammer - I Wouldn't Have Thought
03 Edgar Broughton Band - Apache Drop Out
04 Dr. John, The Night Tripper - Mardi Gras Day
05 Jethro Tull - With You There To Help Me
06 Jethro Tull - Nothing Is Easy
07 Edgar Broughton Band - Silver Needle

Beat-Club 58 - 05.09.1970
08 Hard Meat - The Ballad Of Marmelade Emma And Terry Grimes
09 The Pretty Things - Cries From The Midnight Circus
10 Cat Stevens - Lady d'Arbanville
11 Free - Fire And Water
12 Humble Pie - For Your Love
13 Cat Stevens - Hard Headed Woman
14 Free - All Right Now

Beat-Club 59 - 26.09.1970
15 Status Quo - Spinning Wheel Blues
16 Status Quo - (April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays
17 Third Ear Band - Hyde Park
18 Black Sabbath - Iron Man
19 Black Sabbath - Paranoid
20 Eric Burdon & War - Spill The Wine

SET II
Beat-Club 60 - 24.10.1970
01. Amon Duiil II - Between The Eyes
02. The Incredible String Band - Everything's Fine Right Now
03. Ginger Baker's Air Force - Early In The Morning
04. Ginger Baker's Air Force - Sunshine Of Your Love
05. Ginger Baker's Air Force - Toad

Beat-Club 61 - 28.11.1970
06. Stone The Crows - Danger Zone
07.. Colosseum - Take Me Back To Doomsday
08. Fotheringay - Too Much Of Nothing
09. Muddy Waters - Honey Bee
10. ColOSSeum - Tanglewood 63
11. StoneThe Crows - Love 74

Beat-Club 62 - 31.12.1970
12. UFO - Boogie
13. Warm Dust - Indian Rope Man
14. Warm Dust - Worm Dance

SET III
Beat-Club 54 - 18.04.1970
01. The Move - Brontosaurus
02. Taj Mahal - Tomorrow Will Not Be Another Day
03. Johnny Winter - Johnny B. Goode
04. It's A Beautiful Day - Soapstone Mountain
05. The Flock - Introduction
06. The Flock - Clown
07. Taj Mahal - Sweet Mama Janisse
08. The Who - The Seeker
09. Johnny Winter - Mean Town Business

Beat-Club 55 - 30.05.1970
10. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
11. Rare Bird - Sympathy
12. Rare Bird - Beautiful Scarlet
13. Black Sabbath - Blue Suede Shoes
14. Canned Heat - Future Blues

Beat-Club 56 - 27.06.1970
15. Van der Graaf Generator - What Ever Would Robert Have Said?
16. Brinsley Schwarz - Ebury Down
17. Santana - Jingo
18. Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime
19. Family - The Weaver's Answer
20. Santana - Incident At Neshabur
21. Mungo Jerry - Mighty Man

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