OLTEN HAMMER - A PIONEERING CONCERT HALL IN THE SWISS PROVINCES IN THE SIXTIES AND EARLY SEVENTIES

If you read the names of the musicians who performed in this venue in the course of many years, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in some part of London, perhaps in Birmingham, or Leeds, or somewhere else in England. But that is not the case. We are in a small, somewhat provincial Swiss town. It is Olten with a population of around 20,000. The town is as old as the hills, founded by the ancient Romans, called Ollodunum.

Since the invention of the railway it has become steadily more important as a traffic junction which all travellers have to pass through, regardless of whether they are travelling from north to south or from east to west. This also explains why the town has two railway stations.

The smaller of the two is called Olten Hammer, and it is in this area that we find the above plaque. It commemorates the many great musicians and bands from the UK who played in this building, which was erected in 1878 and demolished in 1983 after a long and illustrious career. Instead, we are now standing in front of a sober shopping centre that we could also find elsewhere, perhaps even in London, Leeds or Birmingham.

Nevertheless, a plaque has been installed, reminding us that the demolished building served many functions. Initially it was an industrial workshop, then it became a drinking hall, a restaurant, a hotel, a dance hall, and later on a theatre and concert hall. From the sixties to the early seventies of the last century, the place reached its famous peak as a music venue. Looking back, it seems almost unbelievable that the musicians and bands that performed in this music hall in provincial Olten were later to become some of the greatest and most famous the UK has produced.

Not surprisingly, Olten Hammer attracted music lovers from beyond the Swiss borders, from Germany, France, or Italy, only a good hour’s drive away. The overall atmosphere was a far cry from today. Motorways were still unknown, and the musicians had to travel on country roads in their English vans, in my memory mostly purple Bedfords. 

As a youngster, I watched Pink Floyd, then still with Syd Barret, unload their instruments and amplifiers and bring them on stage. At the time, I had no idea what a historic moment I was witnessing. I can still see the band in front of me today, strolling through the historic town centre and having fun before their performance. The same applies to the Pretty Things. Considered the dirtiest of all bands, even ahead of the Rolling Stones at the time, they caught the attention of Olten's petit bourgeoisie. Their groundbreaking opus F.S. Sorrow had just been released, and little did we know what a great career should lie ahead of them.  The Mike Taylor Trio was a very special treat, although we probably couldn't really appreciate it at the time. Experiencing jazz pianist Mike Taylor perform live on stage was a rare event. His trio also included Jon Hiseman and Tony Reeves, who were to form Colosseum shortly afterwards. John Mayall’s line-up was equally unique, including the late great Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxes, Mick Taylor, and Keef Hartley.

In addition to these great Brits, local bands from the Beat-era were also given the opportunity to perform. We encounter such exotic names as The Wood Bees, The Clevers, or Les Sauterelles, who managed to become well-known beyond the borders of Switzerland. Today their single Heavenly Club (1968) is worth £45 according to Record Collector’s authoritative Rare Record Prize Guide. 

It is fair to say that Olten Hammer had a good instinct for bands and musicians who would later achieve a certain cult status, for instance The Kinks, The Creation with Ronnie Wood, Tony Sheridan (without The Beatles, however …), or The Koobas. Proof of this, for instance, is their only release from 1967 which today fetches a well-nigh alarming 1500 pounds, according to the above RRPG. Little did we realize, however, what historic moments we were witnessing when we experienced the Koobas and other bands of the same ilk on the Olten stage. The variety of styles is also remarkable, ranging from the idiosyncratic British jazz of Chris Barber to the equally unique psychedelic sounds of The Smoke.

As a result of social reorganizations the building no longer exists. It was located outside the historic old town, in an adjacent somewhat less affluent area. In the early 1980s, this part of the city was gentrified and the Olten Hammer building also had to make way. The investors had seized their opportunity, and in fact quite a few residents were not at all unhappy about it. They were finally rid of a worry as the venue had gradually become a centre for drug trafficking that was known throughout Switzerland and attracted drug addicts from all over the country and from nearby France and Germany, only about forty kilometers away.

In view of its extraordinary achievements, the building would have deserved to be listed as a historical monument. But at least, the plaque commemorates the illustrious history of the Olten Hammer venue and the many British artists it hosted, most of whom were little known at the time and later rose to stardom and achieved world fame.

H.M.S. - Merlin 06/05/2025

This article to be first published by Record Collector, London, issue 573, August 2025.

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