The Rattles

The Rattles were a very successful German rock and beat band in the 60ies and 70ies. The Rattles began their career in the same Hamburg scene where many Liverpool-based UK rock groups got their start. In September 1960 Achim Reichel and Herbert Hildebrand founded the Rattles in Hamburg. On New Year's Eve 1963 they either won a band contest in the Star-Club in Hamburg or they got third after the The Lords. What ever the outcome it earned them a contract in the Star-Club as the first German band to get one there. In autumn of 1963 they recorded they first single. They enjoyed sustained success in their own country through the 1960s, but had only one international hit, "The Witch" (1970), which went Top Ten on the UK Singles Chart in addition to hitting the Top Twenty in Austria and the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.. Their webpage can be found at: www.rattles.de