Berlinische Räume: “A Visit To Zensor” / Photographs from the famous record store taken in 1983

Early Zensor concert poster 1979 ( Thomas Pargmann Collection)

I met Burkhardt Seiler in school in 1968, we became friends and had our share in the late 60s student revolt. Subsequently we were thrown out of school and I lost sight of Burkhardt.

I didn’t meet him again till June 1981, when I spotted him at the Venus Weltklang Festival at the Tempodrom. His formerly long hair was cropped short, it looked like he had done it himself without a mirror. He was wearing a dark-blue trenchcoat that gave him the looks of a young mormon missionary on his european tour.

The store in backroom of the Blue Moon boutique

The Zensor

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I visited him at his record store in Belziger Straße, which was already a wellknown institution, not only in West-Berlin. From there he also ran the Zensor Label. In 1982 I became his “student apprentice”, not really beeing a student and neither being much of an apprentice to him.

I told him about the fanzine I was planning to issue. He gave me advise and proposed to edit “Assasin” together with me. But then I realised a collaboration with Burkhardt would mean doing a Zensor fanzine and that wasn’t what I had in mind. I wanted to have control on my fanzine and do it my way although I expected I would fail. But I wanted to fail my way!

Assasin “pilot issue”

I quit working for Zensor, found a job at a bookstore where I worked 16 hours a week making 500 Marks a month. I lived in a small flat which had no toilet, no warm water and a coalfired furnace. It became the editorial office und some friends became the staff. With the helps of Rainer Jacob, Cordula Lippke, Herbert Piechot and Andreas B. we realised a pilot issue in late 1982. Until 1985 we issued eight magazines and four audio-cassettes.

When I heard the Zensor was about to close his shop in autumn 1983 I went there with a photographer to do some last shots.

On September 19th 1983 there was a bye-bye-concert for the beloved store at the LOFT organised by Monika Döring. But the legend lived on…

Two years ago Cordula met Burkhardt and she told me he’s happy in a relationship.

September 2013 I started a blog. Again Rainer Jacob became my art director. In july 2015 I issued my first novel “Xanadu ’73” with 13 illustrations by Rainer. Together with the book we released a new Assasin fanzine. We’re already planning a special “Punk In West-Berlin” issue. You can order book and zine by writing a mail to marcusklugeberlin@yahoo.de

Above: the novel

Above: cover and some pages from the new fanzine.

The book costs 13€ the fanzine is 5€. Order here: marcusklugeberlin@yahoo.de