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IN NORTHERN GERMANY

1963-1964, Travis becomes "Teddy, die Twistsensation aus USA."
Vampiros
    In April, 1964, Travis, better known by his childhood nickname Teddy, was invited to attended the Kinderfest held at the German Army base on the outskirts of Lütjenburg, where his German friends made sure he sang a few songs for the townspeople and the troops. When he stepped down, Teddy was briefly mobbed by the excited crowd of parents and kids, some of whom proudly claimed him as their American friend from the Ice Cream Parlor.
    The poster (top), shows the date Teddy was double-booked, but the poster from the Koralle on the next page refers to performances on "beiden Pfingstagen" (the Whitsun religious holidays). Travis knew he'd been booked at the Koralle in Plön, but was unaware that it was on the same day until Ernst-Gunther Schröder, son of the owner of Gasthaus Schröder, came to him in a panic. He had already sent out publicity posters announcing Teddy Pike Die Twistsensation aus USA would appear that Satuday night with the Vampiros--and the posters were going up as far away as Hamburg! Teddy had agreed to it at the Kinderfest.
    The truth is, although his German language skills were improving, surrounded by a crowd all talking at once, and had no idea whatPfingstagen were or when they took place) The problem was solved when Ernst-Gunther came to an agreement with the Koralle that had Teddy working both locations (approximately 22 miles apart), and on that rainy night, raced back and forth over the slippery cobblestone roads between Behrensdorf and Plön, making it possible for Teddy to perform at both locations. Rock promoter Werner Hingst accompanied them on one of those harrowing round trips, and proposed Teddy have a band of his own, and asked him to choose the best musicians from each, and he'd see what he could do. Teddy protested that he was in the Navy, and his time was not his own, but Werner said he knew that. He planned for Teddy to be the special guest star at all their performances when he was available.

    In this photo, Travis is belting out a song on stage with the Vampiros, who are wearing top-hats and have hung batwing capes from their guitars. The photo is not terribly clear, but it does establish the height of the stage, the height of the ceilings on the stage and over the dance floor, and that becomes important to your understanding of what you see in the next two photos. The Twistsensation might well have gained more reknown for his fantastic leaps, out over the heads ot the crowds, into the audience, dancing and singing on table tops adjacent to the dance floor... and then spinning around in mid-air as he leaped back up onto the stage.
    It's a shame this photo wasn't better framed, but thephotographer was probably surprised when Teddy suddenly jumped over the crowd and onto his table, to continue his song-and-dance routine. We apologize for the poor condition  of the photo, inadvertantly bent in half when it was unceremoniously stuffed into a seabag , when Travis was sent Stateside for a bone graft operation at Chelsea Naval Hospital, just across the Mystic River from Boston. But what I hope you'll note is the height of his leap, and the force of the kick that carried him so high over the crowds. I don't know many people who can pull their leg up like that with both hands, much less have a kick so powerful the legs do it for themselves!
    This shot by the photographer who thought he was about to be crushed when Teddy landed on his table, is also poorly framed, but shooting up at a subject towering over you is hard on the neck if you're trying to use a viewfinder, and therefor, frequently the camera is held up, just held up, aimed in the general direction of the subject, in the hope that something useful will appear in the developer . . . and it does show Teddy is no longer on the stage, but in fact, quite a bit forward of it, still singing and dancing away. We're sorry the photos aren't better, but we're lucky to have any at all, and while these aren't prize winners, they give you an idea of how Teddy earned his title as The Twistsensation aus USA.
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