Star-Club — Hamburg

The Star-Club at Grosse Freiheit 39 in Hamburg's St Pauli district was the premier rock and roll venue of early 1960s Germany and the last of the Hamburg clubs where the Beatles played before their international breakthrough. Opened in April 1962 by impresario Manfred Weissleder, the Star-Club attracted top American acts — Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Ray Charles, Fats Domino — and paired them with the British bands who were beginning to create their own version of rock and roll. The Beatles played their final Hamburg residency at the Star-Club between April and December 1962, by which time they had already recorded 'Love Me Do' for Parlophone and were on the verge of British fame.

A German engineer named Ted 'Kingsize' Taylor recorded the Beatles at the Star-Club in December 1962 on a portable tape recorder — the resulting Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 album was eventually released in 1977 and documents the band at their rawest and most energetic, performing covers for a late-night Hamburg crowd that expected maximum volume and commitment. Jimi Hendrix also performed at the Star-Club in 1966 on one of his first European tours.

The Star-Club closed in 1969 and the building was destroyed by fire in 1987. The site at Grosse Freiheit 39 is now a nightclub called Gruenspan. A plaque marks the original location of the Star-Club. The Grosse Freiheit — literally 'Great Freedom' — is still the heart of the Reeperbahn entertainment district, with the Indra Club (where the Beatles first played in Hamburg) at number 64 still operating. The area is one of the most significant locations in the entire history of rock and roll.