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Shake off your Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitz you have only your given city name to lose.

Which is exactly what the good burghers of Saxony’s third biggest city did in the days around German unification.

The haste was understandable given they had waited 37 years to win their name back.

The original which defined them on account of it being the name of the river which runs through it.

It’s not as if the Father of Communism, Karl Marx, had ever been to Chemnitz, which is 162kms north of the Czech border.

But industrial Chemnitz was deemed the perfect stand-in to glorify Karl in 1953.

What’s in a name?

The year was a biggie behind the Iron Curtain as Stalin curled up his tache and his toes that year.

The GDR, the old communist East Germany, had been taken by surprise.

As they had just built a spanking new socialist city, Eisenhuttenstadt, which they had planned to rename after Marx.

Only to get the name Stalinstadt instead and industrial Chemnitz bequeathed with the Marx mantle.

Forward fast 57 years and the good people of Karl Marx Stadt struck a blow for freedom to call themselves exactly what they wanted.

And renamed themselves Chemnitz.

Also agreeing to keep the huge statue of the old dogmatist which is where we meet today to explore the city and region.

Lessons of history

It might seem strange that the Saxons should hold onto such a symbol of Communist oppression.

But, of course, I am reminded of the words of my guide from a previous German convention trip in nearby Dresden.

When I asked why the Dresdeners had not painted over a giant mural of Communist heroes on one of the walls.

And she informed me that as a child she had been taught that Saxon history only began with Communism.

And that to ignore it now would be to continue their lie and risk history repeating itself.

Today’s Chemnitz

Today’s Chemnitz is a vibrant city and the Chemnitzers a creative and forward-thinking people.

Rightly true to their past and proud of their future as a European Capital of Culture for 2025 along with its neighbouring town and countryside.

Through which I have been travelling today, the Purple Path, its mining heritage and the Ore Mountains.

As they say in these parts, and something they share with the Ruhr heartland, another former coal capital Gluck Auf.

Which means Luck Up which miners would say to each other in gratitude for getting back to the surface.

Now I’ve shaken off my own hangover after last night in the smoky rock bar The Hangover in Chemnitz I’m back.

Being a mine of information again and sharing with all how it came to be.

How you got to shake off your Karl Marx Stadt Chemnitz.

And to mark Record Store Day ich bin vinyl Berliner.

And I warn you you’ll be seeing a lot more of these lame Teuton rib-ticklers in the next few days’ odyssey of east Germany.

There will be much to fit in during my whistlestop transit through Berlin en route to Chemnitz, next year’s European Capital of Culture.

Wax lyrical

But one stop-off we’ve been recommended is the Hard Wax Berlin record store at 44A Paul-Lincke-Ufer.

No David Hasselhoff here… Hard Wax Berlin is known as a dance destination.

Situated in an old factory building behind the canal in Kreuzberg it keeps the theme going with a metal counter.

Where DJ Hell, Modeselektor and Marcel Dettmann have all polished their acts over the years.

Of course music and musicians played a key role over the Fall of the Berlin Wall despite The Hoff’s interruption.

And we’ll also delve into the part heavy metal played and the Leipzig protests 35 years ago… stay tuned.

Jammin’ in Jamaica

But getting back to those beats.

And today’s celebration of record stores allows us to take a spin around other cool vinyl shops across the world.

Now if you’ve been watching One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, and if not why not?

Then you’ll be familiar with the Jamaican record store scene.

And particularly Orange Street, Kingston, where everyone from Sir Coxswane Dodd to Bob flicked through the records.

Known to locals as Beat Street, Prince Buster was even born here.

Rockers International and Randy’s keep the tradition alive.

The vinyl Trade

Now we all know the rich crossover between reggae and punk.

And indy label royalty Rough Trade started life in Notting Hill, London as a reggae record store.

If timing is what music is all about, and it is, then Geoff Travis had it in spades when he bought his shop in 1978.

And he was open to the fusion of reggae and punk… today Rough Trade spans the whole range of indy music.

Bigger in LA

Of course when it comes to size the US of Eh tries to do everything bigger and better.

And few could argue with the credentials of Amoeba Records in Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Where I’ll take time to frequent when I’m in La La Land next month.

The hangar-sized emporium occupies an entire city block and is across two huge floors.

We’ve been pointed to the Jazz room, the Out of Print section, the Punk aisle by the excellent guide The Vinyl Factory.

But whatever your thang is you’ll find it there.

LA though is for next month… Germany is my appetiser this week.

Where I’ll be happy to say Ich bin vinyl Berliner.

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Shake off your Karl Marx Stadt Chemnitz