Dresden - This little anecdote about Joe Cocker and his legendary performance on June 2, 1988 in front of the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden shows that not all rock legends simply had an excessive lifestyle.
It used to be just a green area, today it is called the “Cockerwiese”. Proof that the rock singer sang his way into the hearts of Dresden residents on that summer day.
As “Bild” reports, the GDR concluded a secret contract with the musician before his performance. This is available on the sheet.
Joe Cocker and his crew received 180,000 GDR marks per concert
As the Central Council of the FDJ, the district leadership of the Berlin FDJ and the city of Dresden agreed, Cocker and his band should receive 180,000 marks per concert. A proud sum, because the average monthly earnings of a GDR citizen was just 1,000 marks.
The GDR also had to provide sound technology for the mega event, because Cocker and his crew only danced with a sound system, which would not have been enough to provide sound for the expected 150,000 listeners, according to “Bild”.
Joe Cocker wanted a bathtub full of ice cubes
The then first secretary of the FDJ district leadership in Dresden, Christine Feiks, told “Bild”: “The concert in the evening was my biggest coup. 87,000 tickets were sold. But around 150,000 spectators flocked from all over the GDR. The first arrived in the morning. Cocker performed encores until after midnight. Nevertheless, there were no security problems. We picked all the stones from the meadow the day before.”
Cocker's extra request, which Feiks still remembers clearly, seems a little bizarre: “A large bathtub full of ice cubes had to be set up in Cocker's suite in the Bellevue. He freshened up in it.” - And probably also cheerful.
Down to earth! Cocker bought combine harvesters in Saxony
In any case, Cocker's trip to the GDR paid off. He was able to book 360,000 GDR marks into his account after his two appearances in Dresden and Berlin. However, it didn't last long and the musician is said to have used his salary to boost the GDR economy:
According to “Bild”, he is said to have bought an “E514” combine harvester from the Bischofswerda-Singwitz agricultural machinery factory in Saxony for his farming in Ireland. (mz)