Label Guide: Star-Club

The Star-Club was a beat club in Hamburg, Germany that opened in April 1962 and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. The club is probably best known for introducing The Beatles who played dozens of gigs in Hamburg over 11 weeks in 1962. But the Star-Club was an important venue for both German and international acts during the early and mid-1960s, including The Searchers, The Liverbirds, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, The Rivets, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Fats Domino, The Remo Four, The Everly Brothers, Lee Curtis & The All Stars, The Rattles, The Blizzards and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The Star-Club recording history began in 1963 when Sigi Loch, then label manager and producer for German Philips, made a deal with Weissleder to record everything that happened live on stage with the intention to eventually compile an album and talk Philips into releasing it. This initiative led to a series of "Twist im Star-Club" albums for Philips Records, a big success for the label as the records sold very well, all the bands played for free and Weissleder only got a 5% revenue share.

Manfred Weissleder then struck a new deal for Star-Club with competitor Ariola Records for more records with better conditions for the club and the artists. But that arrangement left everyone unhappy, so Weissleder returned to Sigi Loch to be Star-Club's in house producer for all future releases and the idea of an own Star-Club label was born.

Star-Club Records was founded in late 1964 by Weissleder, Loch and Philips/Phonogram, and the first albums were released in early 1965 with a series named "Star-Club Show". The label released plenty of singles and albums from 1965 to 1967, both German acts and international artists as The Walker Brothers, Dave Dee and The Pretty Things. But the heyday of beat music was long gone and Weissleder sold the label including all rights to Phonogram.

Star-Club Records folded in 1968 and the Star-Club itself closed its doors on December 31, 1969.