You may well have seen the two recent Coleshed posts regards Berlin. Now comes this; the final instalment of the Coleshed Berlin Trilogy… a quick nod to the music of the city.
…and talking of music, by complete coincidence, Coleshed travelled from Luton airport, to Berlin, with Kim Wilde no less! She, of early 80s pop fame, was due to play a festival there.
Lets face it, we didn’t actually speak to KW; however we had a good old chat to her band
(as we queued interminably at Luton check-in desk fourteen thousand – all the time hoping that the life would not be sucked from us).
The trip put us in mind of music of course – as Berlin has such significant heritage for so many bands. It has been claimed to be one of the most thrillingly creative places on earth..no less!
A few classics come immediately to mind….
David Bowie and Iggy Pop of course, but also a host of bands since;
U2, Depeche Mode and more recently Supergrass, Manic Street Preachers etc etc
So right up there up on the list of places to visit, is a pilgramage to the legendary Hansa Studios, where so much of the magic happened.
Looking at the map, the studios turned out to be really quite close to where we were based and so a realistic prospect for a visit given the very little time available. To be honest it was really quite exciting.
It was a slightly convoluted route to get there, and mostly down empty streets and past blocks of flats. Then, we did finally arrive on Kothener Strasse. It’s fair to say that the street was remarkably ordinary. It was deserted; very grey; and full of parked cars.
To be honest, what did we expect? Streamers? A brass band? dancers?……
We found the address. It was far from clear that this was the actual Hansa studios. There was nothing on the outside…
But then, inside, the golden plaque!
This is the place.
This is where the magic happened
.. we are humbled.
Well actually rather under-whelmed, and not a little thirsty.
Time to leave Kothener Strasse and head for a bar.. nothing disappointing with this !
..and now, a little something for you!
a perfectly curated (or rather: a very quickly knocked up) soundtrack for you to enjoy with a glass of german beer and a pretzel :)
It’s a soundtrack for you streamers……(evocative of Berlin if not actually recorded there). Go on! just go and select these tracks and kick back. You won’t regret it!
- Boys Keep Swinging : David Bowie
- Some Weird Sin : Iggy Pop
- Suburban Berlin : Japan
- One : U2
- Europa Geht Durch Mich : Manic Street Preachers
- Everything Counts : Depeche Mode
- The Fly : U2
- Station to Station : David Bowie
- Futurology : Manic Street Preachers
- Diamond Hoo Ha Man : Supergrass
- Lady Day (Live) : Lou Reed
And lastly, something I never do, which is some ‘thank yous’.
Thanks to the following people (who certainly never read this nonsense) for inspiring my enthusiasm in certain artists/bands:
- Mark Butler (Japan)
- Sarah Williams (David Bowie)
- Tim Freestone (Iggy Pop)
- Jem Shearman (U2)
I doff my cap………
coleshed 