I haven’t submitted a minimalist report for September yet, but one purchase from September is shown above: various components of a Braun Atelier system. The background is that sometimes I like to listen to something in peace on my headphones, but that’s not possible when a movie is being watched, since the same amplifier is used for both. However, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a new system, especially since today’s devices can do everything except what I actually need. For example, our NAD c700 is really great, but it doesn’t have a headphone output. Yes, you could connect AirPods to it, but as I mentioned above, if a movie is being watched, that doesn’t help me. So, I started searching for something used.
The Braun Atelier system caught my eye because it is also a classic. I don’t know how much influence Dieter Rams had on the design of this system, but it looks very much like it’s from the 80s and not as timeless as much of his other work. However, the system fits perfectly on a Vitsoe 606 wood shelf with the 36 cm depth. In the 80s, you only saw this system in movies, among the wealthy. The parents of my friends didn’t have such a system. It was available in black and a light grey that was very unusual for stereo systems at the time. What was special about it was that you didn’t see any cables because they were covered at the back with flaps. The stand and the cable sleeve in the photo below also show the simplicity that this design concept was meant to convey.
Another well-thought-out detail is that the functions you use frequently are immediately accessible, while special features, such as Dolby on the cassette deck, are hidden.
The search for a used system proved to be difficult. Many sellers are aware that their parents spent a fortune on the system, so they often try to get four-digit sums for it. That doesn’t work, at least not with me.
So, I started small with the receiver R1, the cassette deck C2 (both shown in the photo above), and a turntable P2 (not in the photo). The Braun P2 is a semi-automatic turntable without a quartz drive and is considered an entry-level model between the P1 and P3. To give you an idea of what these components cost back then:
R1: 1,250 DM (1981, today around 1,430 euros)
C2: 1,300 DM (1982, today around 1,400 euros)
P2: 800 DM (1982, today around 860 euros)
With the system, I received some speakers, unfortunately not original Braun, but very good CANTON GLE60, which were badly scratched. The potentiometers (volume controls) on the system were scratchy. A back cover was missing. However, the sound is great, except for a hum when idle. The system had been completely overhauled. The components, by the way, are incredibly heavy; I could barely carry them alone. And the thing you see at the top of the photo, I would never have been able to lift it.
Shortly after, I was offered the P4 turntable, a fully automatic model with some fun features, such as the ability to move the needle without lifting the lid. The turntable was sold from 1984 to 1990 and cost up to 1,550 DM, today around 1,400 euros. I sold the P2 within two days.
Then there was also a cheap CD4, originally priced over 2,000 DM in 1986, which I bought used. The CD player is still top-tier today. By the way, both the P4 and the CD4 now show that the power button is no longer green but black with a green ring.
My system, as seen in the photo above, would have cost nearly 6,000 euros today, accounting for inflation, etc. Crazy, right? I paid 780 euros, after buying and selling components. It’s a lot of money for an old system, but in terms of sound, it holds its own against the NAD c700. It can’t stream, but it’s ready to go as soon as you turn it on (unlike the NAD, which I never keep on standby). By the way, it’s also still hard to find old manuals. They aren’t available for download and are instead offered at high prices on eBay or as copies.
At the moment, I’m still looking for a Braun A2 amplifier to replace the R1. The R1 doesn’t have a CD input, and the A2 comes in two versions: one with two phono options on the front, and one with both a phono and a CD option. I’m specifically looking for that version.
Please don’t get me wrong. I love books. I love reading books. I’ve read thousands of books, and that’s no exaggeration. The question isn’t why we read books, but why we buy them. Admittedly, this is a strange question coming from an author who also makes some money from it, albeit not much.
Over ten years ago, I read an article that said the number of books in your house correlates with the intelligence of children. Back then, we had about 1,000 books in the house. And we bought even more books. Every book that I found interesting, I bought, because the theory went that if I buy the book, I’ll read it and learn from it. Unfortunately, I’m interested in a lot of topics. So, I ended up buying many books that ended up sitting unread on the shelf. You don’t learn just by owning a book. And while one could argue that at least visitors might be impressed by the sheer number of books in our library, that’s probably the least important reason to buy books. Even though there seems to be a connection between books and children’s intelligence, just having books isn’t enough.
What’s worse, all those unread books gave me a bad conscience every time I saw them. “Oh yes, I wanted to read that. I should get to it as soon as possible, but right now I don’t have the time.” These unread books became a testament to my impulse purchases. I saw them as a burden. All those reminders of what I should be doing or should have already done surrounded me. On the surface, I might have been proud when a visitor marveled at the number of books I owned, but in reality, I felt guilty because I was only pretending to be a reader. The things you own end up owning you—that saying from Fight Club applies here too.
On the other hand, isn’t having your own library, however small it may be, also a place of discovery? A place where you find a book you bought some time ago because it interested you, and now it might inspire you? Isn’t it even perfectly fine to have a library full of books that you haven’t read yet?
But all those books were money. Some of those books became worthless just a few years after I bought them; I couldn’t get a penny for them on the used book market. They were relevant when I bought them, but they weren’t anymore—for example, books about certain technologies or books by politicians, etc. When I bought most of these books, I had much less money than I do now. It hurt my bank account. I could have considered these book purchases as an investment in my future. But most of them didn’t pay off (though some books did).
Today, with digital books, it’s even worse. Perhaps we don’t see the unread books every day, as they sit somewhere on our hard drive. But every now and then, we remember them.
When I was a child and a teenager, I had a different relationship with books. We didn’t have the money to buy many books. But I had a library card. And I spent a large part of my time in the library. There, you could find books, records, tapes, sheet music, and videos. I’m not sure when or why I lost that connection to the library. Recently, I rediscovered the public library:
We need to return to conscious decision-making. Not every wish, not every book we see, needs to arrive in the mailbox the next day.
In Hamburg, I pay €40 a year for a library card, and I can borrow as many books as I want (maybe not all at once, but are you really able to read 10 books in 4 weeks?). You can’t find everything you want in a library, but at least I can find at least 95% of the books I want to read. You can also request that a book be acquired. But you have to be patient. Someone else may have borrowed the book you want to read. But why should a book be so urgent that you need it immediately?
Our library also offers digital books and magazines, at no extra cost. It’s very convenient, and sometimes you can even start reading something right away.
If you have children: In the past, we bought many books for our kids (books can’t be bad, can they?). Some books you might still want to buy because they are read frequently over several years (like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is still a favorite even after reading it 100 times). But many other books are not that important. For the kids, I pay €3 a year, and I could probably even just use my own card for them. But I wanted them to experience the library themselves with their own card. The first time we went to the library, it was like paradise for them. We spent hours there. And we still do.
Which of the books you’ve read would you buy again? Which books hold important memories for you?
In the end, it’s about conscious decisions. We can buy anything we want, and it will be delivered the next day, with Amazon Kindle or PDFs even the same moment. Everything is just a click away. But books can also create clutter if bought without a real need. The need could, of course, be to have a place where you can rediscover old purchases. A public library, however, helps you slow down and spend less money. And if you fall in love with a book and want to read it again and again, you can always buy it.
Ten years ago, I bought a 606 shelving system, the legendary shelf designed by Dieter Rams in 1960. By the way, the name comes from the fact that the first two digits of a Rams furniture piece indicate the year it was created. Since purchasing the shelf and learning more about Rams’ work, I’ve become a big fan, especially because I admire his motto “Less, but better” and his early focus on sustainability (as early as the 1970s, he was considering the impact of our consumption). His 10 principles for good design (also available in book form) are still relevant today. No wonder Apple often “quoted” Dieter Rams, whether with the iPod, iMac, or other products.
But back to the 606. Since the shelf has been produced for over 60 years, with minor adjustments over time, it can always be expanded, parts swapped, or added. The design is timeless, functional, and can be configured depending on one’s living situation. And I’ve done this over the years. Similar to USM furniture, which has been around for decades, the value of the 606 increases over time. The only difference is that, with USM furniture in the apartment, I might feel like I’m living in a law office! 🙂
However, the story about expandability is only half the truth. In 1995, the company SDR+ (System Dieter Rams, with the “Plus” representing expansion) obtained the license to distribute Rams’ shelving systems in Europe, but had to transfer this license to Vitsoe at the turn of 2012/2013. Why the license for Rams’ furniture was given to SDR+ in the first place is unclear. The reason for granting the exclusive license to Vitsoe was that Rams apparently wasn’t happy with the color choices of some of the SDR+ shelves. His original shelving system, which had always been in “light grey,” was now also available in “pure white” and other colors. In 2001, light grey was replaced by grey-white (RAL 9002), which Rams believed didn’t clash with other colors and was therefore more neutral than pure white. Allegedly, even the Table 621 was made in grey-white, but as can be seen in the following photo, it doesn’t necessarily look the same.
(By the way, it’s better to pack the metal shelf at the bottom and the wooden shelf at the top, unlike in the photo.) However, if you place the table exactly next to the 606 shelving unit, it is actually the same color. It seems that the material reflects the light differently. The shelves also seem to have been light grey in the past, as can be seen in the following photo.
The suspension system is also slightly different, which can be quite annoying with older shelves. If there’s a screw in the E-profile, I can’t hang the old shelves there.
The new shelves:
On our wall, there’s an SDR+. Not the one from the photo above. In photos, the difference is hardly noticeable anyway, as seen, for example, with an SDR+ 606, a Vitsoe 606, and the 621 table:
With a bit less light, the difference becomes more noticeable:
And if you search for the 606 on eBay or elsewhere, you should be very cautious, because most sellers don’t know exactly what they have—whether it’s Vitsoe or SDR+, white or light grey. The SDR+ version is no longer available for purchase new, though with a bit of luck, you might still find something online, but it’s rare. How do I know this? One of my sons climbed onto a metal shelf of the 606, and unfortunately, it was just too much, so the E-profile that holds the shelves broke and was torn off the wall. This doesn’t mean that the 606 is unsafe. But if you have a 90 cm shelf with some heavy art books, and then a child weighing more than 10 kilos climbs onto it, this can sometimes happen:
Fortunately, the little vandal didn’t get hurt. The E-profile can easily be replaced, but the bent shelf… well, that’s no longer available. You either buy a light grey shelf from Vitsoe and have it repainted, which costs a fortune, or you have to find one elsewhere. As mentioned, this is not so easy. And so, those who bought a Rams shelving system between the 1990s and early 2010s weren’t exactly pursuing the most sustainable route. Bookends from Vitsoe? Unfortunately, they don’t fit the SDR+ shelves.
Would I buy a 606 again? Yes. Because, at the end of the day, you end up spending more money when you buy something cheap than if you just go for something good, even if it’s more expensive. And the flexibility that you get with this shelf is unmatched. Plus, once you’ve bought something from Vitsoe, you’ll find it hard to find such great service anywhere else. Everything is well thought-out, everyone is incredibly friendly, and even for assembly, everything is included—right down to the correct drill bits.
Currently available from Rams’ furniture at Vitsoe, besides the 606, are the 620 armchair and the 621 table, both from 1962. However, this is not the case for other pieces, such as:
The 57/570 desk
The 601 chair
The 610 coat rack
The 680 reclining program
The 690 sliding door system
The 710 storage system
The 010 nesting table program
The 030 coat rack from 2003.
Until recently, the office of Dieter Rams, which he had as a professor at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, was displayed at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. There were stools on display for which I don’t know the number. Many of his design objects were also showcased, though this section has been significantly reduced, making a visit no longer worthwhile.
For those wanting to learn more about Dieter Rams: I helped fund Gary Hustwitt’s film about Rams on Kickstarter. Unfortunately, I was too stingy to pay for a package that would have included a mention in the credits. However, I did manage to shake hands with the director, Hustwit, at a screening at the Savoy Cinema in Hamburg. He hadn’t originally planned a showing there, but someone pushed so hard for it that a screening was arranged in Hamburg as well.
The Berlin Philharmonic’s series on the Golden 20s began with a symphony by Weill and Oedipus Rex by Stravinsky. And here, the bass Andrea Mastroni was seen and heard. In fact, I had already seen him live in Hamburg, in the new production of The Magic Flute, which I didn’t really like.
The bass actually studied clarinet and seems to have a fondness for Gothic-like aesthetics.
His album Melancholia is highly recommended, from which the following piece also comes:
I have definitely seen this clip from Live Aid on July 13, 1985 more than 100 times. And not once did I notice that the fifth man of Queen was visible in it from time to time.
Queen and 5th man? His name is Spike Edney, and he’s still on tour with the rest of Queen today. Supposedly, he had even become aware of Adam Lambert and had given Roger Taylor the decisive tip.
Of course, I had already wondered in 1985 who plays the synthesizer on Radio Gaga and operates the vocoder. Someone backstage. But if you look closely, you can see Spike Edney performing several times:
In all those years, I had never noticed Spike Edney, I always thought he was just a stage mixer, and the instruments in front of him might have been from the previous act or the next. But the film crew had also done everything to get him on the screen as little as possible. After all, he was only there to complement the sound. A few months earlier, at Live in Rio, he was more prominently involved:
Only later on in other recordings does it become clear that he also sang background, which explains why it always sounded like more than “just” Mercury and Taylor and sometimes May. Today Spike Edney is partly on stage as normal, for example here at ’39 in the background with the mini keyboard:
That doesn’t mean that you actually have to see him as the 5th member, because there weren’t that many tours after Live Aid, and only there he was there. However, he was a permanent member of Roger Taylor’s solo project “The Cross”.
Queen’s Live Aid performance is considered one of the best of the festival and of Queen himself. It feels like after all these years, you can suddenly see a ghost that was always there and had helped Queen create the sound they couldn’t have had without it. A strange feeling.
First of all: I was a great admirer of Achim Freyer’s production of The Magic Flute at the Hamburg State Opera, which received not only applause but also boos at its premiere in 1982. This production still felt modern after more than 30 years due to its playfulness, and I must have seen it a dozen times. I always found the interpretation that Tamino could have dreamed everything and therefore could observe himself at the end idiosyncratic, but Freyer’s pictures were simply beautiful.
The Magic Flute may have a special meaning for the Hamburg State Opera, after all, it was the first piece to be performed in 1955 after the reconstruction of the opera house. There is also a DVD with a performance staged by Peter Ustinov in Hamburg in the 60s, which probably formed the bridge between the reopening and the Freyer production.
And the Magic Flute also has a special meaning for me. Every time I deal with it, I discover something new in it. And as soon as I have the opportunity to see a production, I try to do everything I can to make this possibility a reality. I have already seen a number of productions, from a very classical one at the Semper Opera to a wonderful production by the HfMT to a John Dew production in Bielefeld, where he transformed Sarastro’s temple into a computer laboratory.
34 years later, Jette Steckel’s new production also received boos like the Freyer production. Probably every new production would have led to boos, because after all, one had grown fond of the old production, it was a constant companion through many years. So Jette Steckel didn’t have it easy. And it took me two years to venture into the new production. The light installations are fascinating and at first put me in a more than conciliatory mood, but right at the beginning I found the shortened libretto disturbing. No wonder that the State Opera wanted to be finished in three hours (in the end it was even a quarter of an hour less), and that despite the intermission. Some of the text has been shortened, and if I remember correctly, then also the first aria (“Zu Hilfe”).
No black or white, no clear good or evil
And so the music and the visual staging are in the foreground, because not much remains of the text. Instead, a little new text was added, which suited the pandering to the young audience. Of course, a production can be attractive for new opera-goers. Or maybe you rely too much on the fact that the content has been discussed extensively at school beforehand.
Because the fascinating thing about The Magic Flute, besides the music, of course, the change from good to evil and vice versa, did not come out that way. While at first the Queen of the Night stands there as the poor mother deprived of her child, Sarastro later turns out to be the good protagonist, although not quite, because not everything is good with him either (“I don’t want to force you to love, but I won’t give you freedom”). In the introduction to yesterday’s performance, the gentleman, who did not introduce himself, also gave the example of the violence he had carried out on Monostatos. And he also referred to this ambiguous polarization.
In Kenneth Branagh’s film, which is also phenomenal, the interpretation even goes so far that Sarastro had an affair with the Queen of the Night, but left her. He wants to save her in the end, but doesn’t succeed.
Life is not black or white, and some things are different from what you first suspect. But no matter what it is, you have to work on yourself to become a better person. This is how I would formulate the core message of The Magic Flute in two sentences, and we see this in all the characters of The Magic Flute. If you look at the simplification of some of today’s political problem-solving approaches, it becomes clear how relevant The Magic Flute can still be today. It’s not simple, it’s complex. And no simple answers will help. It is precisely this relevance to the present day that Jette Steckel has failed to show.
It is obvious that the message to work on oneself comes from the ideas of the Freemasons, because both Mozart and Schikaneder, who provided the libretto, were Freemasons. It is an irony of history that if you look out of the foyer of the State Opera to the street, you can see the entrance to one of the more than 40 Masonic lodges in Hamburg at a certain angle. But there was not much left of all this in this production.
Life paths and directions
Instead, the red glowing arrows that the protagonists dragged around with them were the predominant motif. Paths you take, some are wrong, some are right. And the life paths of Pamina and Tamino, who only meet again at the end and seem to stay together, are a great idea if you understand life as a series of trials and a labyrinth of wrong and right decisions. And yet, if we remember the basic motive, can something be completely wrong or right? Papageno, who did not pass the exams, took a “wrong” path, but met his dream woman, which was probably enough for him. The arrows are therefore a really good idea, which add another facet to the interpretation. Unfortunately, something else essential was taken away from her.
By the way, I think I have discovered a quote from the “old” production of The Magic Flute, namely the hand that guides and embraces Pamina (see photo), only this time it is formed from light. If it is indeed a quote, it is a beautiful idea.
The new performance will not be my new favorite performance. And that’s just because of the shortening of the text. Shorten and adjust a bit, of course, the Schikaneder text is not really up-to-date.
It is a pity that content has been removed so radically and, in my opinion, unnecessarily. The play with light is fascinating, there are many really great ideas in this production. But as in The Magic Flute itself: no clear “good” or “bad”.
By the way, apparently no more soloists are flown in from the Tölz Boys’ Choir. The boys yesterday came from a Dortmund choir; unfortunately, the first boy was much too loud, so that the other two boys went under. But I’ve always wondered if there aren’t any children in Hamburg who can take on this part. On the DVD of the Ustinov production, soloists from a Hamburg choir sang. Which is certainly better for the kids and for the environment when local soloists come on stage.
Disclaimer: If you see any rights to pictures etc. violated here, please contact me, I’ll take it down if the violation should really be one. I have a lot of other pictures of the PC, employees and guests, but I am also aware that not everyone wants to see themselves on the net, especially not when it comes to pictures in the fraggle look 🙂
The beginning
The PC 69 opened its doors for the first time on 8.9.1984. The PC lasted almost 20 years, and it cannot be ruled out that the opening guests picked up their children from the PC a generation later.
The PC was also known beyond the borders of Bielefeld and East Westphalia, where bands performed that only two or three other stations in Germany besides Bielefeld performed. Many bands were happy to come back, as they felt very well looked after by the people of the PC concert office. Bands were also booked that hardly anyone knew, simply because the organizers liked them. So I was able to see Rammstein and also Hubert von Goisern & the Alpinkatzen in front of a handful of people. A year later, they played in front of a sold-out crowd at the same venue. An almost complete list of artists who performed on the PC can be found below. Many bands have performed several times, for example the Dubliners, Die Ärzte, Die Toten Hosen or Pur.
The Gothic Friday was visited by guests, some of whom were willing to travel several hours (so Fraggles from Bochum and Bielefeld visited each other).
So the PC was more than just a village disco. Whereas before there was “only” the Oetkerhalle, which was used for classical concerts, so that the big bands always avoided Bielefeld, with the PC 69 there was finally a hall that was suitable for real rock concerts with 1,500 visitors. There were also other discotheques, for example the Circus and the Sams (which still exists; I had also worked there in the 90s with Jochen Chudzik, the former tapper and later managing director of the legendary bathtub, for which I am too young to have visited it; Jochen has unfortunately already passed away), but they had a different clientele. By the way, the name PC69 allegedly had no special meaning, even if there were rumors about it again and again. One of the founders mentioned to me that the popularity of personal computers had an influence.
The conversions from the factory hall of Wehmayer & Castrup into a discotheque allegedly cost 600,000 marks, 100,000 marks were invested in the noise and fire protection equipment alone. The interior design was designed by Albert Krewerth, modelled on the factory in Hamburg, which still exists today. Shortly after the opening, there was already stress about the parked cars, which allegedly obstructed the fire department. Local politicians were upset that a discotheque with so few parking spaces opened (and years later built the Seidenstickerhalle opposite, which held many more people, but could not offer more parking spaces either).
At the beginning, PC 69 was even open during the day. However, the business did not go particularly well during the day, so that soon it was only open in the evening. The concert office was taken over by Gerd Reiche, who later opened another cult shop in Bielefeld, the Ivory (which supposedly no longer exists in Bielefeld either). Right at the beginning, big bands were visiting, Herbert Grönemeyer, who had just become really famous, and shortly afterwards Icehouse, who were in the charts at the time.
The cult
In the 80s and until the mid-90s, PC 69 was so full on weekends that from 12 p.m., sometimes even earlier, you had to wait outside for a long time until you came in, because if the hall was too full, then only someone else came in if someone else went out. Wednesdays were also mostly full, although not for as long.
The PC also attracted, if I may say so, fringe groups: wavers (fraggles, goths), ska fans, rockabilies, psychos, etc. All of them could be found on Saturday, and it was not uncommon for there to be a brawl outside the door and sometimes inside. Unforgotten was the Saturday when the Wavers organized a sit-in on the dance floor to protest against the music and were not allowed to enter the following Saturday.
Wednesday was the “small” version of Saturday, after all, you couldn’t stay away that long during the week, and the music was a bit more danceable. On Wednesdays, British soldiers were also frequent guests, and you quickly learned (except for the British soldiers) that the SMGs (Military Police) first struck and then asked what was going on. The PC staff allegedly had a special number to call the MPs. With the withdrawal of the troops, Wednesday suddenly became emptier.
Also cult was Friday with DJ Hannes, who liked to play whole sides of records when he felt like it or (supposedly) just put in a tape when he didn’t feel like it anymore and went home. He was supposedly Nick Cave’s tour companion, but his first single, as he once admitted in an interview, was California Dreaming by the moms and dads. His apparent arrogance is also legendary: I still remember when I once wanted to know the name of a band whose record he was playing, and he just said “I don’t know it either”; (the song was Decades by Joy Division; actually, I deserved the answer). Later he was replaced by DJ Achim, because DJ Hannes had retired for a while. Years later I met him in the Wunderbar, where we had breakfast together, I told him the story and he burst out laughing. I liked him very much. Hannes Wagner died on January 31, 2011.
Saturday then had something to offer for everyone. Wave, grunge, pop, independent, ska, it’s all there. With some DJs, I almost knew by heart which song came after which. You can find my PC69 playlist here on Spotify
It was 1992 when a gallery was built into PC 69 so that more guests could come into the hall. At the same time, a lot of money was invested in the lighting system. The inauguration of the gallery and the other renovations (the PC had become more colorful) took place (as far as I can remember) on a Saturday for the 8th anniversary celebration. I still remember that we had normal operation on Friday evening and then set up scaffolding at 5 o’clock in the morning to rebuild the lighting system.
In the mid-90s there were fewer and fewer visitors, Wednesday became a sad event, a short attempt to occupy Thursday with a rocker day didn’t stand a chance either, and finally it became empty on Saturdays, which could only be prevented by theme parties. In between, a regular guest was commissioned to redesign the main counter in the hall, which led to some irritation, because not everyone liked the Aliens style.
The competition had become greater in Bielefeld, the panting had opened not far from the PC, the Cafe Europa/Orfeu Negro was able to attract visitors with techno music, and the PC was losing more and more guests. At the same time, the entrance fee was adjusted. Instead of 6 DM admission, for which you gave 2 drink vouchers (which were enough for 2 beers), the entrance fee was now 8 DM and there was a voucher for a strange, self-thrown drink. After nasty protests, there was a beer for it, although the beer in the PC 69 was never particularly liked, at least not the one from the tap. When I was a guest on the PC myself, I always suspected that someone was splashing water into the DAB beer, and it was the first thing I looked at when I started in the PC… but there was nothing, the beer actually came out of the barrels. The parties (Neue Deutsche Welle etc) were still very successful, while the normal business declined more and more. And if there are fewer and fewer people, then even fewer people come.
Behind the scenes of the PC69, the world was not always so colorful and certainly not harmonious, not even when it was still successful, but only a few made it to the public. I had only attended one court hearing, and that’s all I want to tell here, it’s not all nice memories.
The end
On October 24, 2003, the last party took place at PC69. Already in the 80s and 90s before there were rumors that Wehmeier & Castrup wanted the hall back at some point, which was nonsense, but due to a lack of alternatives, the rumors were worrying. Many years later, the time had come. Part of the crew opened the roundhouse, another part allegedly the engine (source is missing here).
In the meantime, the hall in which the PC69 was located has been demolished (that was in late summer 2005, as several visitors have told me) and a parking lot. Of the old shops, as far as I know, only the Glashaus is still open for concerts from time to time (this was often the nightlife destination on Thursdays next to the Falkdom, the photos on the linked page are also a real journey through time), and of course the Forum, although I have only been to a concert there once since moving from Enger (Go-Betweens, God bless them), no longer on a Sunday.
About me
From 1990 to 1997 I was a waiter at PC69, for a few months I was initially a dishwasher (that’s the name of the colleagues who collected and washed the glasses, a backbreaking job when it was really full). The special thing about us waiters was that we had a conductor’s cash register, so we didn’t have to take our tablet out. Supposedly, such a cash register cost 700 DM, and since beer and cola were of course constantly added to such a cash register, the levers were often glued. But you weren’t allowed to press with force, then the things broke, and you got into a lot of trouble. On good evenings I had easily earned 1000 DM, also 2000 DM were in it, and sometimes we were 4 (!!) Waiters downstairs! A full tray was 60 DM (15 drinks of 4 DM each, 4 AFG, non-alcoholic drinks, the rest beer). In between, I had to go to the office to hand in money. The waiters were just as much a part of the revenue as the bartenders. In the early 90s, I often went home with 180 or even 200 DM on a Saturday evening, and that was an incredible amount of money at the time. My rent for the room in the shared flat was 240 DM. So one evening I had almost all the rent gone, and since I had sometimes made breakfast in the morning at the Mövenpick/Bielefelder Hof after the PC, I was already done with the rent and my other costs on a weekend. For this I walked around the whole evening with a tray over my head (in 7 years I have only lost a tray 1 time, at a heavy metal concert), dragged barrels alone from the cellar to the beer garden and then served brunch until 3 p.m. the next day. I needed the hour break between PC and Mövenpick to shave again and iron a shirt.
By the way, the staff of the PC was not only active in the PC. We also had an assignment at a Rolling Stones concert at the Hockenheim-Ring. I don’t know how we would have done that, but I walked around there with a PC69 shirt and my waiter-conductor checkout and sold beer because the AfG were sold out. And saw the Rolling Stones! We also had a stand on the Leinewebermarkt several times, for example on the town hall square. I still remember how I had stress with the waitresses from the Irish Pub from the Rathauskeller back then, because of course we had approached the same people. A few months later, I had helped out at the Irish pub because a waiter had fallen ill. It was a small scene there, and as a waiter you helped out everywhere and earned good money. I even went to Go-Parc once. Yes. I confess…
I had also designed and hosted the first websites: PC69 was one of the first discotheques on the net in 1995 (I had nothing to do with the later domain disputes). By the way, I had also put up posters from time to time. Unforgotten when I came back from a poster campaign at night, parked the car in front of the PC (I hadn’t driven my own car, but with an ancient Opel from the PC) and then was taken into custody by the police a few 100 meters away. They thought I had broken into the PC. What should I say? “Hey, no, I just illegally put up posters for the PC??? Then it would have been my turn. Luckily, I had an employee ID card with me, something like that still existed at that time. I recently donated it to the Historical Museum in Bielefeld, together with other parts from the PC69.
After a change of managing director, my name no longer appeared on the rosters at some point. It was about vanity, politics, and computers to be repaired. At first I was injured, the PC was my life for years, but right at my first job as a waiter outside the PC, a coincidence arose that made the Internet a real job for me. In retrospect, the best thing that could have happened to me. Otherwise, I think in retrospect, I might have gotten bogged down in nightlife. It wasn’t always a good time.
A few months before the end, I was in the PC for 30 minutes one last time, talked to the few people I still knew, and quietly said goodbye. Shortly afterwards I moved to Hamburg and haven’t been to Bielefeld for many years. Sometimes I still dream of the PC, I still miss it. At the same time, I’m grateful that I was a part of it.
Artists who have performed at PC69
Crashing carrier pigeons
Absurd Adventures
Downwards
Down / The Golden Lemons
Accept
Achim Reichel
Aisha Kandisha’s Jarring Effects
Al Jarreau
Al Stewart
Alexander O’Neal
Alien Sex Fiend
Alphaville
Alvin Lee Band
Amorphis
And Also the Trees
Andrew Strong
Annabel Lamb
Anne Clark
Anne Haigis
Annihilator
Anthrax
Apoptygma Berzerk
Ariwa Showcase
Arrested Development
Axxis & PinK Cream 69
Achim Reichel
Aphrodelics
Apoptygma Berzerk
Ash
Bad Brains
Bad Religion
BAP
Beat Apartheid Festival
Beat Farmers
Beat the Beat
Bebop
Bed And Breakfast
Bellicoons
Ben Deniz & Kenen Dogulu
Berlin Rock West
Billy Bragg
Biohazard
Black Crowes
Black Sabbath
Black Uhuru
Blue Öyster Cult
Bob Geldof
Bob Mould
Bobby Womack
Bobo in white wooden houses
Body Count
Bollock Brothers
BOO-YAA T. R. I. B. E
Bruce Cockburn
Burning Spear
Baaba Maal
Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre
Brian Auger
Camouflage
Canned Heat / Curtis Mayfield
Carter USM
Carter USM / Mucky Pup
Cassandra Complex
Chalice
Cheb Squad
Chemical Brothers
Chi Coltrane
Chris Isaak
Chris Whitley
Christy Moore
Chrome
Chumbawamba & Consolidated
Clan of XYMOX
Climax
Clock DVA
Clouseau
Commando M. Pigg
Coolio
Corvus Corax
Cramps
Crash Test Dummies
Creation Rebel
Crime & The City Solution
Crowbar
Cultured Pearls
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Stigers
Cutting Crew
Cypress Hill
Chris Whitley
Covenant
Crematory
D.R.I
DAJANA LOVES PAISLEY
DAMO SUZUKI / JAKI LOVE TIME
Danielle Dax
Gdansk
The EFX / Rödelheim Hartreim Project / Fugees
The self
De La Soul
EN/VISION
DEACON BLUE
Death
Your minions
DENNIS BOVELL DUB BAND
Dennis Brown
The Fantastic Four
The form
The Golden Lemons
THE CASTRATED PHILOSOPHERS
The Krupps
The Mimmis
The Princes
Die Toten Hosen
DIE ÄRZTE
Dieter Petzold
Dimple Minds
Dinosaur Jr.
Dismember
Dissidenten
DJ Desue Art Of War Hip Hop Tour
Dog Eat Dog
Doro
Dr. Alban
Dr. Feelgood
Dream Theater
Dubliners
Dynamite Deluxe
Deine Lakaien
Diary Of Dreams
Divine
Donnie Munro
Donots
East 17
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echt
Eins/Zwo (Dendeman & Rabauke)
Einstürzende Neubauten
Element of Crime
EMF
Erasure
Eric Burdon
Europe
Eek-A-Mouse
Eels
Eins Zwo
Faith No More
Falco
Fat Boys
Feet Back
Fehlfarben
Felix De Luxe
Fettes Brot
Fields of the Nephilim
Filter
Firehose
Fischer Z
Fish
Fishbone
Fool’s Garden
Frank Black
Freundeskreis
Fritz Brause
Front 242
Frontline Assembly
Fugazi
Funker Vogt
Fury in the Slaughterhouse
Fad Gadget
Farin Urlaub
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Fettes Brot
Fex
Fischer-Z
Fünf Sterne Deluxe
Fresh Family
G. B. R.
Galliano
Gang Green
Geff Harrison
George Clinton
George Kranz
Georgie Red
Good Old Boys
Grant Hart / Lemonheads / Thin White Rope / Strangemen
Greg Sage
Gregory Isaacs & Dennix Brown
Grobschnitt
Guildo Horn
Gun Club
Gwar
Get Up Kids
Glashaus
Grobschnitt
H-Blockx
H.R. & RAS Michael
Haindling
HANS HARTZ
HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
HEATHER NOVA
HEIMATKULTOUR
HEINZ RUDOLF KUNZE
HELLOWEEN
Helmet
HENRY ROLLINS
HERBERT GR�NEMEYER
HEROES DEL SILENCIO
HOLGER CZUKAY
HOTHOUSE FLOWERS
Hubert von Goisern
Harper
Heather Nova
Hellacopters
Hubert von Goisern
I JAHMAN LEVI
I Muvrini
IAN CUSSICK
Ian Gillan
Icehouse
Iggy Pop
Immaculate Fools
In Strict Confidence
Ina Deter
Incognito
Inner Circle
Invisible Limits
IRISH FOLK FESTIVAL / PUR
Iron Maiden
Israel Vibration
Ill Nino
In Strict Confidence
Inchtabokatables
Innes Sibun
Irish Folk Festival
Jango Edwards
JASON & THE SCORCHERS
Jazz canteen
JEFF HEALEY
JIMMY BARNES
JINGO DE LUNCH
JJ 72JOHM MARTYN
John Cale
JOHN MAYALL
JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON
JOHNNY THUNDERS / DOWN
JONATHAN RICHMAN
JULE NEIGEL
Julian Cope
JULIAN DAWSON
Jasmin Tabatabai
John Foxx & Louis Gordon
Joy Denalane
Justin Sullivan
KEVIN COYNE
KEZIAH JONES
Kiev
Killing Joke
King Kong
KING KURT
KINGDOM COME
Klaus Doldingr
Klaus Hoffmann
KLAUS LAGE
KOMEDA ARTIST
Kuhn/null eins
K’S Choice
Lacrimosa
Ljubljana
LATIN QUARTER
LE MYSTÈRE DES VOIX BULGARES
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY
LEE AARON
Lemonheads
LENINGRAD COWBOYS
LES NEGRESSES VERTES
Life of Agony
Lime Spiders
LINTON KWESI JOHNSON
Lisa Fitz
Living Colour
LLOYD COLE & THE COMMOTIONS
LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH
LOVE LIKE BLOOD
LTJ Bukem
LUCILECTRIC
Laith Al-Deen
Lambchop
Level 42
Los De Abacho
LÜDE & THE ASTROS
M. WALKING ON THE WATER
MAANAM
MACHINE HEAD
MACKA B & MAD PROFESSOR
MAD PROFESSOR
Magma
Magnum
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Manu Dibango
Marc Almond
Marianne Rosenberg
Marillion
Marla Glen
Maze
ME & THE HEAT
MELISSA ETHERIDGE
Mighty Migthy Bosstones
MIRKELAM
MISTY IN ROOTS
MONSTER MAGNAT
MOONSPELL
MORBID ANGEL
MOTÖRHEAD
MUDHONEY
MUTABARUKA
Marillion
Melvins
Mesh
N-Factor
N8CHTSCHICHT
NAPALM DEATH
NAUGHTY BY NATURE
NAZARETH
Nena
NEON JUDGEMENT
NEON’S REGGAE SPECIAL
NEW MODEL ARMY
NIKOLAI TOMAS
NINA HAGEN
NOFX
NOMEANSNO
NOVA MOB
NUALA / KLEINKRIEG
Neupop 2002
OASIS
OBITUARY / NAPALM DEATH
OCHENSKNECHT
OMD
Oojami
Orange Blue
PABLO MOSES
Pantera
Paradise Lost
Paul Weller
Pe Werner
PETER & THE TEST TUBE BABIES
PETER ANDRE
Phil Carmen
Phillip Boa & The Voodoo Club
Phillip Boa’s VoodooCULT
Pili Pili
Pixies
Placebo
PLEASURE AND PAIN FESTIVAL II
POEMS FOR LAILA
Pop will eat itself
Pretty Things
Project Pitchfork
Prong
Public Enemy
Pure
Purple Schluz
Patrice
Power Percussion
Prong
Quireboys
RADIO ST. TROPEZ
Rage against the machine ( support S. T. )
Rarinbirds
Rammstein
Ramones
Intoxication
Reamonn
RED GUITARS
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY
RED SKY COVEN
Ride
Ringswandl
Rio Reiser
RITCHY AND THE BAR
ROBERT FRIPP & THE LEAGUE OF CRAFTY GUITARISTS
ROCK HARD FESTIVAL
ROCK THEATRE N8CHTSCHICHT
ROCK’N’ROLL DAMNATION
RODGAU MONOTONES
Run D.M.C
RUNNING WILD / SINNER / GRAVE DIGGER
Runrig
Rollins Band
Runrig
Sabrina Setlur
Sally Oldfield
Sara Noxx
Saxon
Second Decay
Blessed
Sepultura
SHABBA RANKS / AFRICA BAMBATAA
SHAKESPEARS SISTER
Silly
Sissi Perlinger
Sisters of Mercy
Skunk Anansie
SLY & ROBBIE + MAXI PRIEST + FREDDIE MCGREGOR
Snap
S.N.F.U.
Sonic Youth
Soraya
Soul Asylum
SPEAR OF DESTINY
SPIDER MURPHY GANG
STARS OF BOOGIE WOOGIE
Station 17
STEEL PULSE
Stereo MC’s (one of my favorite concerts, I also have a recording of it)
STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBEL
STEVE MARRIOT / SLEDGEHAMMER
STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
Stiltskin
Stoppok
Stray Cats
Such a Surge
Sugar
Suicide Commando
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Sun
Saga
Samy Deluxe
Schiesser + ZZZ Hacker + Buttermaker
Scooter
Son Goku
Spock’s Beard
Sportfreunde Stiller
Starsailor
Stoppok
Sub7even
Söhne Mannheims
Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram + Anna Palm
Tankard
Tanzwut
Tarkan
Taxi Gang
Teenage Rampage
TERRY HOAX
THE ADDICTS
The Alarm
The Bates
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
THE BIBLE
THE BLOW MONKEYS
THE BLUEBELLS
The Busters
THE CARDIGANS
The Cassandra Complex
THE CHILLS
THE CRAMPS
The Cross
THE DREAM SYNDICATE
The Dubliners
THE FALL
THE FEELIES
THE FIXX
THE GLADIATORS
The Go-Betweens (ich bereue bis heute, dass ich sie damals nicht im PC gesehen hatte… ich sah sie später im Forum, das bereits nach Bielefeld gezogen war und kurz vor Grants Tod noch in der Fabrik in Hamburg)
THE GODFATHERS
THE HOOTERS
THE JAZZ BUTCHER
THE JEREMY DAYS
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
THE KEYTONES
THE KING
THE LEVELLERS
THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG
THE MISSION
THE MULTICOLOURED SHADES
THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING
THE POGUES
THE PRODIGY
THE RAINBIRDS
THE ROSE OF AVALANCHE
THE SILENCERS
THE SOUND
THE SUGARCUBES
THE TUBES
THE UNITED JAZZ & ROCK ENSEMBLE
THE UNTOUCHABLES
THE WAILERS
THE WIPERS
THE WOODENTOPS
THEATA PATATA
THERAPY ?
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
THIN WHITE ROPE
THIRD WORLD
Tiamat
TINDERSTICKS
TITO & TARANTULA
TOCOTRONIC
TOM GERHARDT
TONY BENJAMIN
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS
Torch
TOSHINORI KONDO & IMA
TOURE KUNDA
Toy Dolls
Tricky
TRIO FARFARELLO
Trouble Funk
Turbonegro
Tanzwut
The Dubliners
The I-N-I-Band
The Residents
The Triffids
Thomas D
Till Brönner
T’Paz
U-Roy
UKRAINIANS & OYSTERBAND
Ulla Meinecke
Umbra et Imago
UNKNOWN GENDER
URBAN DANCE SQUAD / ROLLINS BAND
Uriah Heep
US 3
Uriah Heep
VAYA CON DIOS
VAYA CON DIOS + BAD BRAINS
VELVET ACID CHRIST
Victory
Violent Femmes
VNV Nation
Wall of Voodoo
Warlock
WDR SOUNDFABRIK
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Ween
WESTERNHAGEN
WILLY DE VILLE
WISEBLOOD
WOLF MAAHN
WOLFGANG AMBROS
WOLFGANG NIEDECKEN
WOMACK & WOMACK
Working Week
Waldemar Bastos
Wave: Earth
Willy DeVille Trio
X-TIMES GERMANY
X-MAS REGGAE FESTIVAL
XAVIER NAIDOO
Xzibit
Yellowman
YOTHU YINDI
Zeltinger
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers
Zillo Festival
Doctors Revival Band
Probably this list is not complete :-/ Feel free to send me names of bands that are still missing here!
I’m not a fan of computer games, have never bought one (except for Chess and Sims), but the constant advertising for Grand Theft 4 has really swept me up with the song by LCD Soundsystem.
The piece is called “Get Innocuous!” and is from the album “Sound of Silver”. It’s a bit older, but there you can see what the right music in an ad can do: Now I’m already blogging about computer games…
