"All you need is ... Beatlemania"
Years ago, in October , there was mass hysteria after a spectacular TV performance by the founding
band The Beatles at the London Palladium. A few months earlier, on
months earlier, on March , John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo
Starr had released their first number one album "Please Please Me". With the single "I Want
single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", released in November of the same year, marked the beginning of their international triumph.
The new musical virus, known as "Beatlemania", infected musicians all over the
world - including in the GDR. Guitar and beat bands based on the Liverpool model were formed all over the country.
guitar and beat bands were formed all over the country. The GDR record label AMIGA released / three singles and a Beatles
singles and a Beatles long-playing record. However, when Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the GDR State Council
and SED party leader, in his speech at the . Plenum of the SED Central Committee against the
influences of decadent western rock music on the young beat scene in the GDR and demanded "....
and demanded that "... the monotony of Je-Je-Je ... should be stopped", it came to an abrupt end for the time being.
came to an abrupt end for the time being. But this only spurred the musicians on even more, because the Beatles had long been
The Beatles had long since become role models and mentors for numerous bands in the GDR. So the
influence of the Beatles on the East German rock landscape soon became indispensable. And even the
"official GDR" also developed a not-so-bad relationship with them over the years.
In this volume, music expert Wolfgang Martin describes how these developments took place.
This volume features interviews with well-known artists and representatives of Beatles fan clubs, which
Beatles fan clubs, which also existed in the GDR, to talk about their experiences. It becomes clear: For most of the
For most musicians and especially the fans in the GDR, the Beatles had become immortal.
And what began years ago and revolutionized the world of popular music will remain important
will remain important for generations to come.
