Voormann's association with the Beatles dates back to their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. He lived in the band's London flat with George Harrison and Ringo Starr after John Lennon and Paul McCartney moved out to live with their respective partners. He designed the cover of their 1966 album Revolver,[1] for which he won a Grammy Award. He also designed the graphics for the sheet music of songs from Revolver. Following the band's split, rumors circulated of the formation of a group named the Ladders, consisting of Lennon, Harrison, Starr and Voormann. This failed to materialise; however, all four would-be Ladders (plus Billy Preston) performed on the Starr track "I'm the Greatest", and Voormann did play on solo albums by Lennon, Harrison and Starr, as well as briefly being a member of the Plastic Ono Band.[1] In the 1990s, he designed the artwork for The Beatles Anthology albums.
In 2009, Voormann released his debut solo album A Sideman's Journey, which featured surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr, performing as "Voormann and Friends".
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann[2] was born in Berlin, Germany, and raised in the suburbs of north Berlin. His father was a physician and Klaus was one of six brothers. In an interview for Talking Germany, broadcast in July 2010, Voormann discussed his dyslexia.[3]
The Voormann family were interested in art, classical music and books, with a feeling for history and tradition. His parents decided that instead of studying music, it would be best for Klaus to study commercial art in Berlin at the Meisterschule für Grafik und Buchgewerbe. He later moved to Hamburg to study at the Meisterschule für Gestaltung. However, before finishing his education in the graphic arts, Voormann started work as a commercial artist graphic designer and illustrator, spending eight months in Düsseldorf working for magazines.[4]
It was in Hamburg that Voormann first met Astrid Kirchherr. One day, after an argument with her and Jürgen Vollmer, Voormann wandered down the Reeperbahn, in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, and heard music coming from the Kaiserkeller club. He walked in on a performance by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The next group to play was the Beatles. Voormann was left "speechless" by the performances. He had never heard rock 'n' roll before, having previously only listened to traditional jazz, Nat King Cole, and The Platters.[5] Voormann invited Kirchherr and Vollmer to watch the performances the next day. After joining Voormann at a performance, the trio decided upon spending as much time as possible close to the group and immersing themselves in the music.[6]
The St. Pauli district was a dangerous section of town, with illicit behavior commonplace. It was an area where prostitutes worked, and anyone who looked different from the usual clientele was at risk of violence. As a trio, Voormann, Kirchherr and Vollmer stood out in the Kaiserkeller, dressed in suede coats, wool sweaters, jeans and round-toed shoes, when most of the customers had greased-back Teddy boy hairstyles and wore black leather jackets and pointed boots.[7] During a break, Voormann tried to talk (in faltering English) to Lennon, and pressed a crumpled record sleeve he had designed into Lennon's hands. Lennon took little interest, suggesting that he talk to Stu Sutcliffe, who Lennon said was "the artist 'round here".[7]
Sutcliffe was fascinated by the trio, who he thought looked like "real bohemians". He later wrote that he could hardly take his eyes off them, and had wanted to talk to them during the next break, but they had already left the club.[7] Sutcliffe managed to meet them eventually, and learned that all three had attended the Meisterschule für Mode, which was the Hamburg equivalent of the Liverpool art college that both Sutcliffe and Lennon had attended. Lennon dubbed the trio the Exies, as a joke about their affection for existentialism.[5]
Voormann was in a relationship with Kirchherr at the time, and lived just around the corner from her parents' upper-class home in the Altona district of Hamburg. Kirchherr's bedroom, which was all in black, including the walls and furniture, was decorated especially for Voormann. After the visits to the Kaiserkeller, their relationship became purely platonic as Astrid started dating Sutcliffe, who was fascinated by her. Nevertheless, she always remained a close friend of Voormann.[8]
Move to London and affiliation with the Beatles
In the early 1960s, Voormann decided to leave Germany and move to London. George Harrison invited him to live in the Green Street flat in London's Mayfair, formerly shared by all four members of the Beatles: Lennon had moved out to live with his wife Cynthia Lennon, and McCartney went to live in the attic of the home of the parents of his girlfriend Jane Asher. Voormann lived with Harrison and Ringo Starr for a time, before finding work as a commercial artist and renting an apartment of his own. He returned to Hamburg in 1963, where he founded a band called 'Paddy, Klaus & Gibson' with Paddy Chambers on guitar and vocals, Voormann on bass and vocals and Gibson Kemp on drums.[9]
In 1965, Voormann returned to London and was asked by Lennon to design the sleeve for the album Revolver. Voormann had a style of "scrapbook collage" art in mind. The cover went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts. In a major Tate Britain exhibition of the work of the late-Victorian artist Aubrey Beardsley (4 March – 25 May 2020) the Revolver cover was displayed to show how interest in Beardsley's monochrome pen-and-ink style was revived in the 1960s.[10] Voormann later designed the cover art for Harrison's 1988 single "When We Was Fab", which included the image of Harrison from the cover of Revolver along with an updated drawing in the same style.
Around the same time, Voormann was hired to design the cover for Bee Gees 1st, which featured all five group members standing above a colourful, psychedelic collage painted by Voormann. The following year, artwork by Voormann graced the front cover of the American edition of the Bee Gees' album Idea. In 1973, Voormann created the album sleeve and booklet artwork for Starr's album Ringo, on which he also played bass.
In 1966, Voormann became a member of Manfred Mann,[11] having turned down offers by the Hollies and the Moody Blues,[12][13] although Voormann did substitute for Eric Haydock on a couple of television performances by the Hollies. Voormann mentions his negotiations with the group in his autobiography, Warum spielst Du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? (Why Don't You Play "Imagine" on the White Piano, John?). Voormann played bass and flutes for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, appearing on all their UK hits from "Just Like a Woman" (July 1966) to their final single "Ragamuffin Man" (April 1969) and including the 1968 international hit "The Mighty Quinn".[11]
In 1971, Voormann moved to Los Angeles. He played in Harrison's band at The Concert for Bangladesh, held at New York's Madison Square Garden in August 1971. Harrison introduced him to the audience by saying, "There's somebody on bass who many people have heard about, but they've never actually seen him – Klaus Voormann."[17]
Return to Germany
In 1979, Voormann moved back to Germany; he had a cameo as Von Schnitzel the Conductor in the 1980 film adaptation of Popeye. He went on to produce three studio albums and a live album by the German band Trio, as well as their worldwide hit single "Da Da Da". After Trio broke up in 1986, Voormann produced the first solo album by their singer Stephan Remmler and played bass on some songs of the album. The following year, he produced a single by former Trio drummer Peter Behrens.
Semi-retirement
Voormann retired from the music business in 1989, deciding to spend more time with his family. He lives at Lake Starnberg,[18] near Munich with his second wife Christina and their two children, born in 1989 and 1991. From time to time, he appears on television programmes. In 1995, Voormann was asked by Apple Records to design the covers for The Beatles Anthology albums. He painted the covers along with his friend, fellow artist Alfons Kiefer. In the 1994 movie Backbeat, about the Hamburg days of the Beatles, Voormann was portrayed by German actor Kai Wiesinger. In 2000, Voormann also designed the cover for Me Rio, the debut album of Enja Records recording artist Azhar Kamal, which was influenced by his design for Revolver.
On 29 November 2002 Voormann played bass on the song "All Things Must Pass" at the Concert for George, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. In an interview with author Simon Leng, he described Harrison as not only a "really great guitarist" but "the best friend I ever had".[19]
In April 2003 Voormann designed the cover of Scandinavian Leather for the Norwegian band Turbonegro. In October that same year, he published his autobiography, Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? Erinnerungen an die Beatles und viele andere Freunde (Why Don't You Play "Imagine" on the White Piano, John?: Memories of the Beatles and Many Other Friends); the book gives special focus to the 1960s and 1970s, and covers Voormann's close friendship with the Beatles and other musicians and artists, as well as his private life. A BBC documentary, Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle, broadcast in 2005, features interviews with Voormann and shows drawings he made of the Beatles in Hamburg. That year also saw the publication of his book Four Track Stories, which contains his experiences with the Beatles during the Hamburg days, stories narrated both in English and German, and pictures made by him. In 2007 he designed the sleeve for the album Timeless by Wet Wet Wet.
Comeback
Voormann in 2018
On 7 July 2009, Voormann released his first solo album, A Sideman's Journey. It was credited to 'Voormann & Friends' and featured McCartney, Starr, Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), Don Preston, Dr. John, The Manfreds, Jim Keltner, Van Dyke Parks, Joe Walsh and many others. The album has been available in a limited number of audio CDs, vinylLPs, and deluxe box sets with original (and signed) graphics by Voormann; and included new versions of old songs such as "My Sweet Lord", "All Things Must Pass", "Blue Suede Shoes", "You're Sixteen" and Bob Dylan's "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)". A bonus DVD of Making of a Sideman's Journey was released with the album.
On 30 June 2010, Franco-German television network ARTE released a 90-minute documentary entitled All You Need is Klaus, which featured footage from the 'Voormann & Friends' sessions, as well as interview footage with Voormann and some of the artists he had collaborated with in his storied career.
Art
In 2014, Voormann designed the cover to the album Music Life by Japanese rock band Glay; the image depicting the face of each member of the band is strongly reminiscent of the cover to The Beatles' Revolver.[20]
In 2016, Voormann created a graphic novel based on his experiences recording Revolver, calling it Revolver 50. Birth of an Icon.[21] In 2017, he designed the artwork featured in the deluxe box set edition of As You Were, the debut solo album from Liam Gallagher. He also made a surreal pencil drawing of Mad magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman for the publication's December 2017 issue.
Voormann designed the cover art and booklet sketch of the album ¡Spangled!, by Gaby Moreno and Van Dyke Parks, released in 2019.[22]
In 2020, Voormann did the cover art for Wreckless Abandon, an album by Mike Campbell's band The Dirty Knobs.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
The fifth Beatle is an informal title that has been applied to people who were at one point a member of the Beatles or who had a strong association with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. Backed by the Plastic Ono Band, it was released by Apple Records on 11 December 1970 in tandem with the similarly titled album by his wife, Yoko Ono. At the time of its issue, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band received mixed reviews overall, but later came to be widely regarded as Lennon's best solo album.
Astrid Kirchherr was a German photographer and artist known for her association with the Beatles and her photographs of the band's original members – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best – during their early days in Hamburg.
The Beatles Anthology is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr participated in the making of the works, which are sometimes referred to collectively as the Anthology project, while John Lennon appears in archival interviews.
Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger and Billy Preston. In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones. Jones stepped down on October 21st, 2024.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 for their collaborative musical and sound art projects, films, conceptual art projects and eventual solo LPs. The creation of The Plastic Ono Band, which began in 1967 with Ono's idea for an art exhibition in Berlin, allowed Lennon to separate his artistic output from that of The Beatles.
Backbeat is a 1994 independent drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, West Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon, and also with Sutcliffe's German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr. It has subsequently been made into a stage production.
"When We Was Fab" is a song by English musician George Harrison, which he released on his 1987 album Cloud Nine. It was also issued as the second single from the album, in January 1988. The lyrics serve as a nostalgic reflection by Harrison on the days of Beatlemania during the 1960s, when the Beatles were first referred to as "the Fab Four". Harrison co-wrote the song with Jeff Lynne, who also co-produced the track. The recording references the psychedelic sound that the Beatles had helped popularise in 1967, through its use of sitar, cello, and backwards-relayed effects. Harrison's former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr is among the other musicians on the track. The single was accompanied by an innovative music video, directed by the partnership of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. One of Harrison's most popular songs, "When We Was Fab" has appeared on the compilations Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 (1989) and Let It Roll (2009).
"It Don't Come Easy" is a song by the English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as a non-album single in April 1971. It was produced by Starr's former Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who also helped write the song, although only Starr is credited. Recording for the track took place in March 1970 at Trident Studios in London, with overdubs added in October. Starr and Harrison performed the song together in August 1971 at Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh shows in New York City, a recording from which was released on the live album of the same name. Starr has continued to perform it in subsequent decades with his All-Starr Band.
Birth of the Beatles is a 1979 American biographical film, produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Richard Marquand. It was shown as a TV film on ABC in the United States, and received a theatrical release in other countries. The film focuses on the early history of the Beatles. It was released nine years after the Beatles disbanded, and is the only biographical film about the band to be released while all four members were alive. Pete Best, the Beatles' original drummer, served as a technical advisor for the production.
Kaiserkeller is a music club in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg, Germany, near the Reeperbahn. It was opened by Bruno Koschmider on 14 October 1959. The Beatles had a contract with Kaiserkeller to play there in 1960.
"I'm the Greatest" is a song written by English musician John Lennon that was released as the opening track of the 1973 album Ringo by Ringo Starr. With Starr, Lennon and George Harrison appearing on the track, it marks the only time that three former Beatles recorded together between the band's break-up in 1970 and Lennon's death in 1980. Lennon wrote the song in December 1970 as a wry comment on his rise to fame, and later tailored the lyrics for Starr to sing. Named after one of Muhammad Ali's catchphrases, the song partly evokes the stage-show concept of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Genesis Publications Limited is a British publishing company founded in 1974 by Brian Roylance, a former student of the London College of Printing. His aim was to create a company in the traditions of the private press, true to the arts of printing and book binding. Headed today by his son and daughter, Nick and Catherine Roylance, Genesis Publications produces signed, limited edition books that are created in close collaboration with authors and artists.
"Early 1970" is a song by the English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.
The original lineup of the Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, regularly performed at different clubs in Hamburg, West Germany, during the period from August 1960 to May 1962; a chapter in the group's history which honed their performance skills, widened their reputation, and led to their first recording, which brought them to the attention of Brian Epstein. In November and December 1962 they played with Ringo Starr on drums.
A Sideman's Journey is the first solo album by German musician and artist Klaus Voormann, released in July 2009. Voormann is best known as the creator of the cover art for The Beatles' album Revolver as well as for being a much-in-demand session musician during the 1970s. He played bass on a large number of well-known albums by ex-Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr − including All Things Must Pass, Imagine and The Concert for Bangladesh − and by artists such as Harry Nilsson, Doris Troy, Lou Reed, Gary Wright, Carly Simon and Randy Newman. Before then, Voormann had been a member of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann. A Sideman's Journey is notable for including performances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yusuf Islam, among others.
"You and Me (Babe)" is a song by the English musician Ringo Starr, released as the final track on his 1973 album Ringo. Starr's fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison wrote the song along with Mal Evans, the Beatles' longtime aide and a personal assistant to Starr during the making of Ringo. The track serves as a farewell from Starr to his audience in the manner of a show-closing finale, by lyrically referring to the completion of the album. During the extended fadeout, Starr delivers a spoken message in which he thanks the musicians and studio personnel who helped with the recording of Ringo – among them, Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and his producer, Richard Perry.
"Touch Me" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on her 1970 album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band. An edited version was later released in the U.S. as the b-side to John Lennon's single "Power to the People."
The Fest for Beatles Fans is a twice-annual, three-day festival that honors the lasting legacy of the Beatles. The festival takes place in the New York metropolitan area, ordinarily in March or April, and in Chicago, Illinois, each August. Running Friday through Sunday, the Fest features special guests, live concerts, exhibits, art contests, a Beatles marketplace, a sound-alike contest, a Battle of the Beatles Bands, and more.
References
Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. Rough Guides Ltd. ISBN978-1-84353-140-1.
Leng, Simon (2006). While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. ISBN978-1-4234-0609-9.
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