More 2014.....

Rod Davis at the Beatles Museum, Halle, Germany

Rod was invited to come to the Beatles Museum in Halle, not far from Leipzig in Germany at the end of July 2014 to talk about the early days of Skiffle and the Quarrymen. The Museum came as a great surprise to him as although he had long been aware of its existence he had no idea how fantastic it was. Situated in a beautiful mediaeval building near the centre of the picturesque town of Halle, the museum contains a positive wealth of Beatles memorabilia and artefacts. It is supported by a shop which sell absolutely all kinds of Beatles souvenirs and there is also a very pleasant cafe which spills out into the leafy courtyard on sunny days. Although Halle is a bit off the beaten track for the average British tourist, it is very well worth a small diversion, especially if you are heading for Dresden or even Berlin.
On Saturday evening there was a special “Meet and Greet” dinner in the museum and on Sunday Rod gave his talk in German, illustrated by a selection of digitally projected photographs, many of them taken by his father, James Davis, in the nineteen fifties. This was followed by a marathon autograph session. The only downside of the visit was that somehow Rod stupidly managed to lock himself out of his hotel room, leaving the keys in the locked inside! The solution to this involved some improvised burglarising techniques including an attempt to remove the hinge pins from the door, but eventually all was saved by the production of a paper clip from a lady’s handbag which enabled them to poke the keys out of the lock from the outside! Thanks to Rainer, Martin and Stefan for a great weekend.  

This is the link to the Museum and Shop website:

http://www.beatlesmuseum.net/cms/

Above: a last cup of coffee with Klaus and Rainer

Framus Guitar Museum - Markneukirchen

After his visit to Halle, on the recommendation of German Beatles friend Edmund Thielow, Rod dropped in at the Framus Guitar Museum at Markneukirchen, just north of the Czech border. In the fifties Framus and Hofner guitars, both built in Germany, were the best guitars available in Britain as because of exchange controls it was impossible to buy American made instruments. Just about everybody who played guitar in the fities and sixties owned a Framus at one time or another.  Paul McCartney’s Zenith guitar, which was actually made by Framus, was imported into the UK by the famous jazz guitarist, Ivor Mairants, whose real signature appears on  the label inside each guitar. John Lennon also played a Framus 12-string guitar at one time. The range and quality of the instruments on display is remarkable and in the cafe upstairs you can have your own picking session on a Framus guitar powered through a Framus amp!