BARBER, Chris.

Description

Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg May 1960 concert poster

Original first printing concert poster advertising English jazz trombonist and bandleader Chris Barber (1930) at the Ernst Merck Halle in Hamburg [Germany] on Monday, 2nd May, 1960, presented by Karl H. Lyrmann in cooperation with Kurt Collien, and with Northern Irish blues singer Ottilie Patterson (1932—2011) and English jazz clarinetist Monty Sunshine (1928—2010) also on the bill. By this time, Barber was riding high in the charts with his recording of Sidney Bechet’s “Petite Fleur”. The single spent twenty-four weeks in the UK Singles Charts, making it to #3 and selling over one million copies. Chris Barber announced his decision to retire in 2019 after some 70 years of performing. During this time he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with Barber triggered the skiffle craze of the mid-1950s and who had his first transatlantic hit, “Rock Island Line”, while with Barber’s band. His providing an audience for Donegan and, later, Alexis Korner, makes Barber a significant figure in the British rhythm and blues and “beat boom” of the 1960s. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Barber was also mainly responsible for arranging the first UK tours of blues artists Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and Muddy Waters.

Printed by Hubert Hoch, Düsseldorf, the poster measures 84.0 x 59.4 cm and is printed in red and black inks on thin, uncoated paper stock. There is a tiny rip to the bottom border, else in excellent unfolded condition. Feel free to email us with any questions you may have concerning this item. Additional images of the poster available on request.