We’ve seen people attempt to break world records for the fastest accordion player and largest accordion band, so it’s only natural someone would go after the record for marathon accordion playing.
Last week in Bochingen, Germany, Thomas Schmelzle set out to break the record of 28 straight hours of accordion playing set by Dutchman Hennie Hulk in 2002. Under the rules set forth by Guinness, Thomas could take a five minute break each hour, but could not repeat a tune within four hours. In the end, Thomas smashed the old record with a performance lasting 29 hours and 16 minutes. Of course, he won’t be able to feel his fingers for a few weeks, but it’s a small price to pay for enshrinement in the Guinness Book of World Records. At least, until the next marathoner comes along…
2 Comments:
The record of 30 hours, whilst quite an achievement in itself, is not actually the true record for non-stop solo accordion playing. In the early 1980s Tom Luxton, from Birmingham, England, played for 84 hours – ratified by the Guinness Book of Records. A few months later someone from Europe added a few minutes to the 84 hours, also ratified by Guinness. Some years later, this record (and various others) were dropped due to health & safety issues. In 2002 Guinness had a change of mind, and a record of 28 hours done by Dutch accordionist Henry Kuik was accepted by Guinness as a new record. The record of 84 hours was thus air brushed from history!
Rob Howard
by Rob Howard on December 6th, 2007
Thanks for the info, Rob! I knew they had wiped out a lot of old marathon records, but I didn’t realize the old one was so long. 84 hours… wow!
by Chris on December 7th, 2007