THE MINSTRELS – Beat and Rock at its best
At the beginning of the sixties the small town of Stade in the vicinity of Hamburg was considered as a very creative location as far as music was concerned. Several beat bands were founded and one of them was THE MINSTRELS who started their career in spring 1964. The original members were apprentice Heinz Heller (ld-g, voc), pupil Manfred “Smarty” Schmid (b-g), banker Helmut Rehme (g, voc) and student Jost “Mac” Schneider (dr, voc). The latter two were already members of the famous local Dixieland band SWINGTOWN HOT STOMPERS, so they were well known in the music scene of the region. “Mac” Schneider already changed from Jazz to Beat in 1961 and had gigs with Gernot Schäfer (pre-BLIZZARDS) and Gerd “Jerry” Dethlefs in the well known and “infamous” Café Niedersachen, Harsefeld or with other musicians in the legendary Hamburg Kaiserkeller, where the BEATLES started their phenomenal international career. Already in 1958 “Mac” Schneider - an excellent drummer - had gigs in local clubs with the later BLIZZARDS musicians Horst George and Jürgen Nehrke covering songs amongst others of Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly.
Star-Club Hamburg, 1964-07-24
The first highlight of the MINSTRELS´ career already took place in the first year of their founding. On July 24, 1964 they participated in a band competition at the famous Hamburg Star-Club. This event was initiated by the UNITED ARTISTS film company on the occasion of the start of the first BEATLES film “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and was themed “Wir suchen die Hamburger Beatles”. Among 27 bands from all over northern Germany the MINSTRELS reached the second place behind the RIVETS which besides a certificate and an award of 200 DM enabled them to participate in the final German competition.
After this success owner and Star-Club manager Manfred Weissleder offered the MINSTRELS a record contract and the chance for further live performances in the Star-Club, but his condition was to become professionals. The band members discussed the offer but decided to keep their amateur status. Triggered by the success in the Star-Club the band got several offers from other clubs in the Stade/Hamburg area. One of the first bigger performances was at the new founded Beat-Club on the Reeperbahn. Drummer “Mac” Schneider: “This gig war incredibly stressful, because the band had to play in the Star-Club performing timing, 45 minutes performing and 15 minutes break, and this for six to seven hours”. After this the band had regular jobs in several clubs e.g. at the Gr. Freiheit (Hit-Club, today Grünspan), Star-Palast Lüneburg, Party-Club Außenmühle Harburg, Pepsi-Bar Uetersen.
Star-Club Hamburg, 1964-09-06
On September 6, 1964 UNITED ARTISTS Company organized the final band competition “Wir suchen die deutschen Beatles”, again at the Hamburg Star-Club. In view of this event Ditmar “Chef” Riesling of the Stade BEATNICS joined the band as new lead-guitarist and vocalist. Although the quality of the MINSTRELS´s music had improved considerably they could not reach one of the first places: the winners were the LORDS from Berlin. The fact, however, that they belonged to the remaining seven bands qualified for the final run in competitions all over Germany was an enormous benefit for the band: the degree of popularity spread from the Northern part of the country to entire Germany. This is documented in the - up to now - best book about the Star-Club history (by Beckmann/Martens) in the chapter “Deutsche Rock-Amateure werden zu Beat-Stars”.
Both Stader Beat bands THE MINSTRELS and THE RAGS took part in the Star-Club band competition on January 1 and 2, 1965 but did not reach the final with six bands out of 35 participants. Shortly after this event a call to the Military Service for “Smarty” Schmid and Heinz Heller required a change in the band. So in spring 1965 vocalist Dieter Weide and bass-guitarist Gernot Schäfer(ex-BLIZZARD) replaced the leaving members and from January 1965 on at several performances ex-BLIZZARD Jerry Dethlefs joined the band as additional vocalist.
with vocalists Dieter Weide and Jerry Dethlefs
A few weeks before disbanding of the first MINSTRELS the band achieved an outstanding success. On April 10, 1965 they won a band battle at the Abbenflether Fährhaus against such well known bands as PETER KIRCHBERGER (later RUDOLF ROCK & DIE SCHOCKER) and SAMMY AND THE X-RAYS. On May 1, 1965 the MINSTRELS had their final concert at the hotel Grüner Wald, because vocalist Dieter Weide went to Munich and drummer “Mac” Schneider decided to finish his studies in Würzburg.
the reorganized Minstrels 1966
Three of the BEATNICS members who took part in July 1964´s Star-Club competition, “Chef” Riesling, Gernot Schäfer and Joachim Fricke, together with Horst Werner and ex-BLIZZARD Jerry Dethlefs founded a new band in May 1965 named JERRY AND THE BEATNIKS. Out of this formation arose in the beginning of 1966 the reorganized MINSTRELS with the following members: Helmut Rehme (keyboard), “Chef” Riesling (ld-g), Jerry Dethlefs (g), “Helli” Vollmers (b-g, ex-RAGS) and Peter Thiele (dr, ex-RAGS). The sound of the band with a preference for covering songs of e.g. SMALL FACES was dominated by excellent part-singing and an outstanding lead-guitar work. They had many gigs all around Northern Germany and even joint performances with LEE CURTIS AND HIS ALL STARS as well as with IAN & THE ZODIACS.
In the latter line-up the MINSTRELS lasted until March 1967, but in April 1967 Jerry Dethlefs left the band to join again the BLIZZARDS for recording sessions. Three of the 1966 MINSTRELS, Helmut Rehme, “Chef” Riesling and Jerry Dethlefs, in the 1990ies formed a new band named ROUTE 66 keeping the tradition of the successful MINSTRELS; however, in the meantime the band was already disbanded.
Translation and update by Jost "Mac" Schneider, February 19, 2007
click "Minstrels pics", The Minstrels 1964 Live-Music, video "Oh Carol" THE MINSTRELS, 2nd winner Star-Club 1964
