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Interview with Klaus Voormann - Artist &
Musician
In 1960 as a German artist/ illustrator, Klaus
Voormann along with Astrid Kirchherr & their Exis
friends, witnessed
the young & raw Beatles rise to world fame. Klaus
& the Beatles became life long friends and played bass on records w/
Lennon, Harrison, Starr and other artists.
Geo: The book Hamburg
Days (Genesis Publications) brought you
& Astrid
Kirchherr together again. How was it to work with Astrid on this
book about
the Beatles early days in Germany?
k.v.: Astrid and I have been in contact all the time. To work
with her was
fun as always. We've got the same taste and there never was a
problem.
Geo: How did you develop the beautiful Photorealistic
Illustration artwork for
the Beatles
Anthology book & CD cover art?
k.v.: One of my many ideas for the Anthology project was this huge
poster wall
with all the Beatle posters being glued one on top of the other.
Apple went
for that idea. So we developed the idea from there.
Geo: For the first studio John
Lennon Plastic Ono Band LP, did
you John &
Ringo cut the basic tracks live? Also, did the three of
you feel that you
were creating a record in a different way with this raw
& real classic
(Rock-Punk) recording?
k.v.: Yes, the tracks are all live and mostly one or two
takes.
I never gave it much thought if what was on the tape was punk or
whatever
and I donīt think any body else did, not even Phil Spector. It was a
straight
statement and that was it, no f_ _ _ _ ing about.
Geo: Having played on three
classic George Harrison records:
All Things Must
Pass, Living In The Material World &
Concert for Bangladesh,
how was it for
you to play at the recent Harrison (Nov. 2002)
tribute concert? Did you play
your old Fender bass for this show?
k.v.: Playing on the concert was good and bad. It was bad
because George was
missed so badly. It showed so much that there is only one
George.
The great thing was being on stage with all my old
pals. And I did
play my old fiddle.
Geo: What for you were some highlights in your recording
career?
k.v.: Plastic Ono
Band , recording with George was the nicest
atmosphere.
I loved the Ringo stuff because Ringo is so cuddly and everything
had to
happen with a little help from his friends. Harry Nilsson was a
wonderful
person and we had lots of fun in the studio. A shame he had to
leave us so early.
Geo: Looking at your
illustration winkel pickers (shoes the
Beatles wore) &
the
print Bambi Kino , (Astrid's home w/ she & you
dressing up), do you think
that the early Beatles were influenced by the
fashion of Astrid, and you & your
German friends?
k.v.: Mentally, yes. Concerning their looks I think they
looked awful when they
started of being famous, Beatles For Sale , thatīs
where the influence
started to tell.
Greetings,
Klaus
For more info w/ Klaus Voormann and his artwork go to:http://www.voormann.com/ |