The Rattles – Christmas Show Concerts

In Germany, the RATTLES are regarded as THE FOUNDING FATHERS of the German rock scene and have been a musical institution there for decades. It all began in the 1960s in Hamburg’s Kiez district. The Rattles met the young Beatles at the Indra and were immediately captivated by their homemade ‘beat music’. Inspired by their great idols, the Rattles enthusiastically began composing their own songs and playing gigs.Success was not long in coming – in 1963 they won the first Star Club band competition and turned professional. That same year, they embarked on a major tour of England with Little Richard, the Everly Brothers and the then-fledgling Rolling Stones. The Rattles made such a strong impression on the British media that they were booked for 14 days at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, followed by various tours as the headline act across England and Germany. One of the highlights of that period was: The Beatles’ Blitz Tour in 1966, with the Rattles as the support act, followed by a successful European tour. In the same year, the feature film “Hurrah, Here Come the Rattles” was released in German cinemas. In 1969, Herbert Hildebrandt wrote the global hit “The Witch”, which charted in 23 countries and was awarded a gold disc in 1971, before the Rattles split up four years later. In 1988, Dicky Tarrach literally ‘drummed’ the Rattles back together. They recorded the hit album “Hot Wheels”, followed by a major tour of Germany. The absolute highlight was their performance alongside the Scorpions in front of 83,000 spectators at the ADAC’s 100th-anniversary celebrations in Stuttgart. Following Achim Reichel’s departure and a number of line-up changes, the Rattles, in their core line-up of Herbert Hildebrandt, Dicky Tarrach, Eggert Johannsen and Manfred “Manne” Kraski, they have played thousands of concerts, followed by the musicals “Pico” and “Kiss”, as well as numerous television appearances alongside various CD releases and the live CD, recorded in 2011 for NDR and which remains highly successful to this day; recorded by NDR in 2011. The DVD “Beat made in Germany” was released in 2005 and the book “The Rattles – Die Story” in 2008, which was presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair with an unplugged concert.