Reading with Rolf Barkhorn Record entertainers—as disc jockeys were officially called in the former GDR—had to be well-organized and, above all, able to improvise. Their creativity was especially needed when filling out the AWA playlists.
Record entertainers—as disc jockeys were officially called in the former GDR—had to be good at organizing and, above all, improvising. Their creativity was especially in demand when filling out the AWA playlists. They lied through their teeth in the process. After all, the state-mandated 60:40 ratio (Eastern music : Western music) was, at best, actually implemented by the solo entertainers only during the licensing exam disco. Even the East German audience much preferred to dance to Western music at their parties in socialist cultural centers and youth clubs.
Author Rolf Barkhorn himself worked as a DJ for over four decades, starting in 1974. In his autobiographical book *Röhrentod & Bandsalat*, he takes readers on a journey through time into the everyday life on and behind the disco stage in “real-existing socialism.”
During the literary and musical presentation of his book, published in 2019, Rolf Barkhorn will read excerpts from it and introduce the audience to several songs from the 1970s that were part of his life during that time.
The Literary Society cordially invites you to an “evening of memories” at the Ehm Welk House.
