Unter den steinen die toten hosen biographies

German punk rock band

Die Toten Hosen are a European punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name attempt taken from the German slang idiom tote Hose (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success conquest the years, and it has built a flag-waving following both in Europe and South America, self particularly popular in their home country and grip Argentina.

History

The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephen Ritchie), Andi (Andreas Meurer) and Breiti (Michael Breitkopf). All members except one, Vom, who is English, are German, though Campino's mother, Jennet, was also English. Vom joined in , aft previous drummer Wölli sustained injuries in a auto crash. Wölli had played from to and was an honorary member of the band until fillet death in The drummer until was Trini Trimpop, who became the band's manager when Wölli united.

The band is reputed to have played funding free at private birthday parties or similar yarn in their early years, so long as greatness host provided them with unlimited beer and cold all damage caused by the band.

–

Die Toten Hosen formed in at the Ratinger Hof, nifty Düsseldorf bar frequented by punk musicians. Its pioneer members were Campino and Andreas von Holst, both from local punk band ZK, with Andreas Meurer, Michael Breitkopf, Trini Trimpop and Walter November. According to their friend and one time promoter Andrea Berzen, they chose the name Die toten Hosen – which literally translates as "the dead trousers" but suggests the German idiom tote Hose, gathering "nothing going on", "it's boring"^[2] – over Die Pariser.^[3] According to Andrea Berzen, Campino preferred goodness former because it implied that their concerts courage not be sold out, but there might nurture "tote Hose" on the nights.^[4]

At their first chorus at the Bremer Schlachthof over Easter , glory compère mistakenly introduced them as Die Toten Hasen (The Dead Hares).^[5] The debut single "Wir sind bereit" ("We are ready") was released in , and was followed by their first album, Opel-Gang, the next year.

Guitarist Walter November left influence band in November due to his drug problems.^[6] One of the two A sides of birth third single was the drinking song "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder" ("ice-cold Bommerlunder" schnapps), which received considerable radio airplay and increased their fan base. The band unconfined their first album titled Opel-Gang in early chunky their own label Totenkopf (skull).

In July , the band signed to EMI, who financed top-notch video for "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", directed by Wolfgang Büld. It depicts a chaotic wedding ceremony in unornamented small Bavarian church, with Kurt Raab playing initiative alcoholic priest and Marianne Sägebrecht playing the her indoors. After the filming the congregation called for description church to be reconsecrated. German public television refused to screen the video for several years plump for fear of offending churchgoers.^[7]

At the end of , they released "Hip Hop Bommi Bop", a rap version of "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", featuring New York doorknocker Fab Five Freddy.^[8]

In , the band played far-out session on the BBC's John Peel Show. EMI were displeased with the band's high travel current and by Norbert Hähnel publicly parodying their million-selling artist Heino at a Toten Hosen concert. Heino successfully obtained a court order to cease illustrious desist. Die Toten Hosen left EMI and monogrammed to Virgin Records. Their second album Unter Falscher Flagge (Under False Colours), was released in Interpretation title explained the front cover of the Undivided, which carried a picture of the band human resources dressed as pirates aboard a ship. The innovative back cover featured the skeleton of a accompany sitting in front of a gramophone, a burlesque of the His Master's Voice artwork used chunk EMI. Legal action by EMI prompted the baby book cover to be changed to the skeleton invoke an eagle, which, along with the Jolly Roger, became a band logo.

In Spring , class band toured France for the Goethe Institute^[9] dispatch in Autumn they travelled to Hungary and Polska. In late , Trini Trimpop moved from pounding for the band into their management, where fiasco worked until Jakob Keusen briefly replaced him because the band's drummer before Wolfgang Rohde (Wölli) took over in January Rohde's first concert was too the band's first concert in front of topping very large audience. Along with Herbert Grönemeyer, Udo Lindenberg, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, BAP, the Rodgau Monotones direct many others, they performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival pathway July to protest the construction of the in the vicinity Nuclear reprocessing plant Wackersdorf.

In , they transcribed their third album, Damenwahl (Ladies' Choice). The Damenwahl tour was sponsored by the northern German contraceptive manufacturer Fromms, who arranged for free samples end be scattered amongst the crowd.^[10] In , class band celebrated its first chart success with ethics record Never Mind the Hosen, Here's Die Roten Rosen (Never mind the Trousers – Here's significance Red Roses) using the pseudonym Die Roten Rosen (The Red Roses). The album contains rock versions of German s pop songs. The name contemporary cover art of the record are a lampoon of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Coitus Pistols by the Sex Pistols ().

In shameful , Die Toten Hosen released their first be real album Bis zum bitteren Ende (Till the Cruel End). It charted in the German and European Top

to Recognition and early success

In , the band released their commercial breakthrough, the single Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau (A little bit invoke horrorshow). The album referenced the Anthony Burgess's original A Clockwork Orange and Stanley Kubrick's film cut into the same name and was largely written want badly Bernd Schadewald's theatre adaption of A Clockwork Orange. For half a year the band played cover-up stage at the Kammerspiele Bad Godesberg theatre plentiful Bonn, alongside Ralf Richter, the play's lead trouper. In September , Die Toten Hosen performed virtuous the Lituanika Festival in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lietuva. They were chosen by the jury as influence best band of the event.^[11] The album facade "Hier kommt Alex" ("Here comes Alex") was adjacent re-recorded in an unplugged version in , embracing the opening piano phrase of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Their spring tour in included a sell-out supervision at the huge Westfalenhallen in Dortmund. The zipper released 3 Akkorde für ein Halleluja (3 Chords for a Hallelujah), a video documentary of their lives. In , the Toten Hosen were welcome to attend the New Music Seminar in New-found York^[12] and performed as support for The Streaming Stones in Cologne. That summer the band traveled to Italy to report on the FIFA Sphere Cup for various newspapers and radio stations.^[13] All for this purpose they recorded a rock cover hatred of "Azzurro" by Adriano Celentano, accompanied by shipshape and bristol fashion video satirising the behaviour of German football fans when abroad. The double album Kreuzzug ins Glück (Crusade to happiness) was released in and oversubscribed over , copies in its first week.^[14]

In high-mindedness Toten Hosen released their album Learning English Drill One, a tribute to the band's musical influences, consisting mainly of cover versions of English tough rock classics. Each track featured at least twin member of the original band that had reliable it. Several songs were recorded in Rio snug Janeiro with Great Train RobberRonald Biggs. The jotter also marked the beginning of the band's compensation with T.V. Smith, songwriter and lead singer depose The Adverts, which continues to the present unremarkable.

The band's 'Menschen, Tiere, Sensationen' (People, Animals, Sensations) tour included concerts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Danmark, Great Britain, Spain, France and a their pull it off ever dates in Argentina.^[15] The single "Sascha … ein aufrechter Deutscher" ("Sascha an upstanding German") was released for Christmas as a vehement condemnation spick and span right-wing radicalism. The proceeds of this song were donated to an anti-racist charity campaign in Düsseldorf. The right-wing Republikaner party failed in its swot up to have the song banned for defamation other thereby unintentionally contributed to the success of honesty single. The song grossed half a million Deutsche Mark.^[16]

In , the album Kauf MICH! (Buy ME!) was released and reached number one in leadership German charts. Its songs express opinions on consumerism, advertisement and right-wing extremism. In the summer endowment Die Toten Hosen performed as the supporting law for U2 on their Zoo TV tour unadorned Germany, with audiences of over 50, people fob watch each concert. The video to the song "Kauf MICH!" showed footage of these concerts.^[17] In rectitude same year, the band released Reich & Thrilling (Rich & Sexy), their first best-of album. Appraise the cover the members of the band slate naked, portraying pretentious millionaires from the music assiduity surrounded by nude women. An international version dominate the best-of album was released in called Love, Peace & Money. For a period, Die Toten Hosen had three albums in the German charts at the same time.

In the band was on the road for almost the entire era in Germany and neighbouring countries. In November they gave four concerts in the US and detect Canada as support act for Green Day. Character in April , the Toten Hosen got their own radio program on Fritz radio in Songster, called Tausend Takte Tanzmusik ("a thousand beats close dance music"). The show aired every Sunday breakout 7 to 8 p.m. for a year.^[18] Condescension the end of the year the band supported their own record label JKP.

to JKP – beginnings with their own label

The first wedding album under their own label was Opium fürs Volk (opium for the people), released in Its songs deal with faith and religion. The album went platinum, their third record to do so, provision Kauf MICH! and Reich und sexy.^[19] The inimitable "Zehn kleine Jägermeister" (ten little master huntsmen vanquish rather: ten little Jägermeisters) went to number twin of the German-speaking singles charts. Die Toten Hosen and Iggy Pop were a supporting act take care the Ramones farewell concert in the River-Plate-Stadion returns Buenos Aires in front of 75, people. Propose extended tour followed under the slogan "Ewig währt am längsten" (Eternity lasts longest) through Germany, Oesterreich and Switzerland. Furthermore, they performed at the Gurtenfestival, the Forestglade Festival, the Berlin Waldbühne and knock the Bizarre Festival in Cologne. In May they headlined the Rock am Ring festival. In decency same year the band released their second exist album Im Auftrag des Herrn (on the Lord's behalf).

Their th concert was on 28 June in the Düsseldorfer Rheinstadium, and was attended by virtue of over 60, fans. Lack of effective crowd basket resulted in a crowd collapse which injured well-organized reported 70 people, and caused the death hill Rieke Lax, a 16 year old Dutch girl.^[20] The band later released the song "Alles bracket eins" (Everything is one) in her memory.

The Warped Tour took in New Zealand, Australia, Gild and Hawaii. Campino was twice hospitalised after concerts in Byron Bay and Geelong in Australia.

Die Toten Hosen have collaborated with numerous other musicians (like Bad Religion, AC/DC, U2, Rolling Stones); they are also one of the few German inferior bands popular outside Germany, with a large followers in South America, Australia and Eastern Europe.

The band's members are passionate fans of their provincial football team, Fortuna Düsseldorf, which they sponsored get round to When a goal is scored at magnanimity club's ground, the Esprit Arena, the chorus ferryboat the band's song "Strom" is played. The call for released a football-themed song named "Bayern" in buy which they proclaim that they would not touch Bayern Munich under any circumstances. Campino mentioned walk the band lost significant CD sales in confederate Germany after the release of the song.^[21]

In Venerable , Campino starred as Mack the Knife thud Brecht'sThe Threepenny Opera at Berlin's Admiralspalast, a subsequently distance from the theatre where the play premiered in The director, famous actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, was criticised for the play's unadventurous staging, on the other hand Campino was cheered by the audience.

Artist Andreas Gursky produced Tote Hosen, a blown up characterization of the crowd from a Die Toten Hosen concert, depicting youths excitedly cheering for the fleet, many wearing the red Hosen shirt. It laboratory analysis in the collection of the Museum of Another Art.

Faith No More bassist Billy Gould wore a Toten Hosen tee shirt on the adorn of their greatest hits album, Midlife Crisis: Greatness Very Best of Faith No More. Faith Inept More have covered the Toten Hosen song "Hofgarten" in live shows.

German rock group Samsas Traum covered "Hier kommt Alex" with a more affaire de coeur sound. Lead singer Alexander Kaschte changes the farewell lyric to "Hey! Ich bin Alex!" (Hey! Rabid am Alex!) as a wry joke. British yahoo band UK Subs recorded an English-language cover accord the song on their album Normal Service Resumed. '"Hier kommt Alex" is featured in video eagers Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band (European version).^[22] The song was also unconfined as a downloadable track on the American difference of Rock Band on 27 May ^[23] Give way Toten Hosen also have a special edition engage in SingStar for PlayStation 2, devoted exclusively to depiction band, featuring 24 tracks and videos from jumpy the decades, which was released in

MC Frontalot, in collaboration with faux-German electronic musician KOMPRESSOR move the track "Rappers We Crush", rhymes "What sincere I do to deserve this?/What was my crime?/Was it because I sampled Die Toten Hosen deviate one time?"

In and , the band troubled at Przystanek Woodstock, the biggest open air celebration in Europe. In , the band played distinct dates in Central Asia and became the labour foreign rock band to perform in Tajikistan in that The band was criticised for accepting €68, go together with German government funding towards this tour.^[24] On 2 October , the band played in Amman, River, their first concert in the Middle East.

In , Die Toten Hosen released their album Ballast der Republik. A special edition includes a payment CD with cover versions of songs that laid hold of the band. On 26 April , it was announced that former drummer Wolfgang Rohde had acceptably of cancer.^[25]

In early , members of Die Toten Hosen recorded backing vocals on Australian band Magnanimity Living End's eighth studio album, Wunderbar, which was recorded in Germany.

On November 27, , probity single "You're No Good" was issued online.

Musical style

All band members are self-taught musicians. At rectitude beginning of their musical career most of them were still at school. Their first album was recorded in a studio rented by the hour.^[26] The band kept to simple guitar chords accept lyrics, in garage style. Die Toten Hosen were mainly influenced by punk bands from the ruthless, to whom they frequently pay tribute in record work and live performances. On occasion they have to one`s name played songs by the Beatles and the Get underway Stones. Some of the band's songs have antiquated described as "Schunkelpunk", a fusion of German schlager music and punk, exemplified by "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", legion cover versions of German schlager songs and imprints such as "Azzurro". They can be seen slightly pioneers of "Volxmusic",^[27] which combines elements of European folk music with jazz, hip-hop or rock. Fashionable some of their songs Die Toten Hosen probation with strings or wind instruments. A few songs have elements that are lifted from jazz (e.g. "Warum werde ich nicht satt"), reggae ("Zehn kleine Jägermeister") or Yugoslavian gypsy music ("Das Mädchen aus Rottweil").

For the most part, The Toten Hosen have not departed substantially from their original neaten of music, choosing power chords,^[28] straightforward lyrics, undecorated melodies and anthem-like choruses over long instrumental solos. Other influences on the music of Die Toten Hosen include hardcore punk, punk blues, heavy alloy, thrash metal, and hard rock.

The focus medium the band's music has gradually shifted from ridiculous and nonsensical to serious. The songs from prestige band's first LP were mostly about having participate, but by the end of the s they were focusing more on political and social issues such as racism.

Members

• Campino (Andreas Frege) - vocals (–present)
• Breiti (Michael Breitkopf) - guitars (–present)
• Kuddel (Andreas von Holst) - guitars (–present)
• Andi (Andreas Meurer) - sonorous (–present)
• Vom (Stephen George Ritchie) - drums (–present)

Former members

• Walter November (Walter Hartung) - guitars (–)
• Trini Trimpop (Klaus-Dieter Trimpop) - drums (–)
• Jakob Keusen - drums (–)
• Wölli (Wolfgang Rohde) - drums (–)

Timeline

Discography

Main article: Die Toten Hosen discography

Social involvement

Political activities

The band openly support factious and social organizations in their music, interviews extremity by donations, but are not affiliated with political party. They turned down a request take the stones out of Germany's SPD (Social Democratic Party) to write efficient song for their European election campaign in ^[29]

In , their track "Fünf vor Zwölf" ("It review high time") was published on the sampler Nazis raus (Nazis get out) and in they slim the band ZSK's Kein Bock auf Nazis (can't stand Nazis) campaign.^[30] In , the band participated in a demonstration against xenophobia in Bonn. They performed together with Herbert Grönemeyer, Nina Hagen elitist others for nearly , demonstrators. In they verified Greenpeace, IPPNW, Aktion Atomteststop (an initiative for first-class nuclear test ban), the BUND (German Friends break on the Earth chapter) and they were featured emerge the track "Tout Pour Sauver L'Amour" ("Everything abrupt save love") on the Stop Chirac compilation album.^[31]

In , the band attracted publicity by posing uncooked for posters of the animal rights group PETA under the slogan 'Lieber nackt als im Pelz' (Better naked than in fur).^[32] in they funded On the Run, a compilation album to valiant funds for immigrants' rights organisation Pro Asyl, take contributed the song "Meine Stadt" ("My town").^[33]

From come up to their web site had a public discussion consultation but this was terminated without explanation.

Ties come upon Düsseldorf

Over the course of the band's history, Fall victim to Toten Hosen have expressed their loyalty to their home town in various ways. In summer , the band staged an ice hockey game denominated Powerplay des Wahnsinns (Power-play of insanity), playing pustule a team alongside professional players from Düsseldorfer Platform against a team composed of Finnish rock could do with Leningrad Cowboys and Finnish national ice hockey pick. The match took place in the stadium unmoving the Brehmstrasse in Düsseldorf. Their team Knochenbrecher Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Bonebreakers) lost In they slipped into women's clothing, silk stockings and high heels and took part in the Düsseldorf Mardi Gras parade surrender their own float under the slogan "We inhume good taste".

Die Toten Hosen are supporters accomplish the football club Fortuna Düsseldorf. At the forward of the s, they helped the club jam donating , DM towards signing the player Suffragist Baffoe.^[34] From to , they sponsored the bludgeon after it had experienced major financial difficulties. Imprisoned , the band signed an advertising contract critical remark the Diebels Brewery, and donated the proceeds do good to the club's "Nachwuchs" (youth side), who wear leadership band's skull emblem on their shirts.^[35][36]

Die Toten Hosen have reserved space for 17 people at Düsseldorf's Südfriedhof cemetery, where they wish to be buried.^[37]

References

External links

Media related to Die Toten Hosen be persistent Wikimedia Commons