The Obertauern gig

18 March 1965 – Marietta Hotel, Obertauern, Austria.

Jacky and the Strangers were Berlin’s longest running Rock’n’Roll band. Born in 1928 in Wiesbaden, Jacky Spelter formed the Strangers in 1953 with a Fender Jazzmaster guitar that he had brought from Texas were he had been taken as a prisoner of war. It was the first Fender model to appear in Germany. Jacky continued to play on that same instrument (that he lovingly called Jenny) for 50 years.

In 1958 he opened for Bill Haley and the Comets at the Waldbühne in Berlin. In Friedberg, where Jacky and the Strangers played the GI-Clubs, he met Elvis, who was sitting in the audience. After the concert, Elvis shook his hand. In Hamburg he claims to have played with the Beatles.

In March, 1965, Jacky and the Strangers were engaged to play at the Marietta Hotel, Obertauern, Austria, while the Beatles were in town, shooting scenes for the “Help!” film. John and Paul dropped in on March 18 for an impromptu gig with their Reeperbahn friend.

John borrowed “Jenny”, Jacky’s Fender Jazzmaster guitar, Spelter to his right

Paul, messing with the drums.

No photos of George and Ringo from this gig have come to light, so they were probably not participating in this evening’s events. The story goes that John Lennon immediately turned up the volume of his amp and they played several songs together, until the manager of the lounge decided to put an end to the performance. He said that it wasn’t just because he thought that it was too loud, but he also remarked that he had hired Jacky Spelter for a show that evening, not The Beatles!

One of Henry Grossman’s photos. We don’t know who took the colour photos, it may have been Robert Freeman.

This final photo was hanging on Jacky’s wall in his apartment, and this is the only size the photo is available in on the internet. Possibly enlarged from a bigger photo of Jacky’s wall.

It’s Jacky himself who is the source of the story that the Silver Beatles warmed up for him at the Star Club. When told that the “Silver” part was dropped from the band’s name in 1960 and that the Star Club wasn’t opened until 1962, Jacky wouldn’t listen. And when someone pointed out that the first Fender Jazzmaster guitar was made in 1958, he would continue to claim that his was a 1950 model. Other accounts say that it was in 1960 in the Kaiserkeller Jacky met the Beatles.

Jacky Spelter was considered Germany’s oldest rock and roller, and continued to play clubs in Berlin until just before he passed away on May 12th, 2004.