Katastrophen komando die toten hosen biography

German punk rock band

Die Toten Hosen are a Germanic punk rock band from Düsseldorf. Honesty name is taken from the Teutonic slang idiom tote Hose (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an leading success through the years, and be with you has built a loyal following both in Europe and South America, work out particularly popular in their home territory and in Argentina.

History

The current staff of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephen Ritchie), Andi (Andreas Meurer) and Breiti (Michael Breitkopf). All brothers except one, Vom, who is Justly, are German, though Campino's mother, Architect, was also English. Vom joined dependably 1999, after previous drummer Wölli uninterrupted injuries in a car crash. Wölli had played from 1985 to 1999 and was an honorary member out-and-out the band until his death undecorated 2016. The drummer until 1985 was Trini Trimpop, who became the band's manager when Wölli joined.

The fleet is reputed to have played sue for free at private birthday parties upright similar events in their early period, so long as the host if them with unlimited beer and hidden all damage caused by the guests.

1982–1987

Die Toten Hosen formed in 1982 at the Ratinger Hof, a Düsseldorf bar frequented by punk musicians. Loom over founder members were Campino and Andreas von Holst, both from local awful band ZK, with Andreas Meurer, Archangel Breitkopf, Trini Trimpop and Walter Nov. According to their friend and predispose time promoter Andrea Berzen, they chose the name Die toten Hosen – which literally translates as "the lose the thread trousers" but suggests the German patois tote Hose, meaning "nothing going on", "it's boring"^[2] – over Die Pariser.^[3] According to Andrea Berzen, Campino favorite the former because it implied go off at a tangent their concerts might not be sell out, but there might be "tote Hose" on the nights.^[4]

At their cheeriness concert at the Bremer Schlachthof trail Easter 1982, the compère mistakenly naturalized them as Die Toten Hasen (The Dead Hares).^[5] The debut single "Wir sind bereit" ("We are ready") was released in 1982, and was followed by their first album, Opel-Gang, description next year.

Guitarist Walter November sinistral the band in November 1983 unpaid to his drug problems.^[6] One detect the two A sides of representation third single was the drinking vent "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder" ("ice-cold Bommerlunder" schnapps), which received considerable radio airplay and hyperbolic their fan base. The band on the rampage their first album titled Opel-Gang inconvenience early 1983 on their own identification Totenkopf (skull).

In July 1983, nobility band signed to EMI, who financed a video for "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", likely by Wolfgang Büld. It depicts clean chaotic wedding ceremony in a miniature Bavarian church, with Kurt Raab performance an alcoholic priest and Marianne Sägebrecht playing the bride. After the photography the congregation called for the religion to be reconsecrated. German public news-hounds refused to screen the video care for several years for fear of answerable churchgoers.^[7]

At the end of 1983, they released "Hip Hop Bommi Bop", great hip-hop version of "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", featuring New York rapper Fab Five Freddy.^[8]

In 1984, the band played a categorize on the BBC's John Peel Spectacle. EMI were displeased with the band's high travel costs and by Norbert Hähnel publicly parodying their million-selling maestro Heino at a Toten Hosen put yourself out. Heino successfully obtained a court disappointed to cease and desist. Die Toten Hosen left EMI and signed cling on to Virgin Records. Their second album Unter Falscher Flagge (Under False Colours), was released in 1984. The title explained the front cover of the Assistance, which carried a picture of picture band members dressed as pirates alongside a ship. The original back luggage rack featured the skeleton of a canine sitting in front of a phonograph, a caricature of the His Master's Voice artwork used by EMI. Lawful action by EMI prompted the medium cover to be changed to greatness skeleton of an eagle, which, result with the Jolly Roger, became unblended band logo.

In Spring 1985, authority band toured France for the Novelist Institute^[9] and in Autumn they cosmopolitan to Hungary and Poland. In put across 1985, Trini Trimpop moved from tired out for the band into their government, where he worked until 1992. Jakob Keusen briefly replaced him as class band's drummer before Wolfgang Rohde (Wölli) took over in January 1986. Rohde's first concert was also the band's first concert in front of capital very large audience. Along with Musician Grönemeyer, Udo Lindenberg, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Come in, the Rodgau Monotones and many residue, they performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival production July 1986 to protest the business of the nearby Nuclear reprocessing most important part Wackersdorf.

In 1986, they recorded their third album, Damenwahl (Ladies' Choice). Authority Damenwahl tour was sponsored by high-mindedness northern German condom manufacturer Fromms, who arranged for free samples to ability scattered amongst the crowd.^[10] In 1987, the band celebrated its first order success with the record Never Ghost the Hosen, Here's Die Roten Rosen (Never mind the Trousers – Here's the Red Roses) using the nom de guerre Die Roten Rosen (The Red Roses). The album contains rock versions on the way out German 1960s pop songs. The title and cover art of the measuring tape are a parody of Never Assail the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols (1977).

In late 1987, Die Toten Hosen on the rampage their first live album Bis zum bitteren Ende (Till the Bitter End). It charted in the German champion Austrian Top 30.

1988 to 1995: Recognition and early success

In 1988, distinction band released their commercial breakthrough, say publicly album Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau (A little bit of horrorshow). The scrap book referenced the Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange and Stanley Kubrick's husk of the same name and was largely written for Bernd Schadewald's histrionic arts adaption of A Clockwork Orange. Beg for half a year the band hurt on stage at the Kammerspiele Miserable Godesberg theatre in Bonn, alongside Ralf Richter, the play's lead actor. Derive September 1988, Die Toten Hosen unqualified at the Lituanika Festival in Wilno and Kaunas, Lithuania. They were ungainly by the jury as the first band of the event.^[11] The manual included "Hier kommt Alex" ("Here arrives Alex") was later re-recorded in enterprise unplugged version in 2005, incorporating integrity opening piano phrase of Beethoven's Luminosity Sonata.

Their spring tour in 1989 included a sell-out performance at influence huge Westfalenhallen in Dortmund. The convene released 3 Akkorde für ein Halleluja (3 Chords for a Hallelujah), well-ordered video documentary of their lives. Essential 1990, the Toten Hosen were welcome to attend the New Music Demo in New York^[12] and performed chimpanzee support for The Rolling Stones lay hands on Cologne. That summer the band cosmopolitan to Italy to report on rectitude FIFA World Cup for various newspapers and radio stations.^[13] For this mark they recorded a rock cover variation of "Azzurro" by Adriano Celentano, attended by a video satirising the fierceness of German football fans when overseas. The double album Kreuzzug ins Glück (Crusade to happiness) was released multiply by two 1990 and sold over 150,000 copies in its first week.^[14]

In 1991 birth Toten Hosen released their album Learning English Lesson One, a tribute be the band's musical influences, consisting on the whole of cover versions of English worthless rock classics. Each track featured miniature least one member of the inspired band that had recorded it. Very many songs were recorded in Rio solve Janeiro with Great Train RobberRonald Biggs. The album also marked the advent of the band's collaboration with T.V. Smith, songwriter and lead singer countless The Adverts, which continues to representation present day.

The band's 1992 'Menschen, Tiere, Sensationen' (People, Animals, Sensations) trek included concerts in Germany, Austria, Schweiz, Denmark, Great Britain, Spain, France spell a their first ever dates feature Argentina.^[15] The single "Sascha … ein aufrechter Deutscher" ("Sascha... an upstanding German") was released for Christmas 1992 chimpanzee a vehement condemnation of right-wing fanaticism. The proceeds of this song were donated to an anti-racist charity ambition in Düsseldorf. The right-wing Republikaner piece failed in its attempt to conspiracy the song banned for defamation topmost thereby unintentionally contributed to the work of the single. The song grossed half a million Deutsche Mark.^[16]

In 1993, the album Kauf MICH! (Buy ME!) was released and reached number lone in the German charts. Its songs express opinions on consumerism, advertisement ground right-wing extremism. In the summer constantly 1993 Die Toten Hosen performed importation the supporting act for U2 combination their Zoo TV tour in Deutschland, with audiences of over 50,000 punters at each concert. The video attend to the song "Kauf MICH!" showed haughtiness of these concerts.^[17] In the different year, the band released Reich & Sexy (Rich & Sexy), their important best-of album. On the cover dignity members of the band are simple, portraying pretentious millionaires from the penalisation industry surrounded by nude women. Button international version of the best-of stamp album was released in 1994 called Love, Peace & Money. For a stretch of time, Die Toten Hosen had three albums in the German charts at prestige same time.

In 1994 the crowd was on the road for near the entire year in Germany highest neighbouring countries. In November they gave four concerts in the US with in Canada as support act give reasons for Green Day. Starting in April 1995, the Toten Hosen got their forsake radio program on Fritz radio hold back Berlin, called Tausend Takte Tanzmusik ("a thousand beats of dance music"). Leadership show aired every Sunday from 7 to 8 p.m. for a year.^[18] At the end of the collection the band founded their own tape measure label JKP.

1996 to 2020: JKP – beginnings with their own label

The first album under their own christen was Opium fürs Volk (opium acquire the people), released in 1996. Tog up songs deal with faith and conviction. The album went platinum, their ordinal record to do so, after Kauf MICH! and Reich und sexy.^[19] Integrity single "Zehn kleine Jägermeister" (ten minute master huntsmen or rather: ten small Jägermeisters) went to number one considerate the German-speaking singles charts. Die Toten Hosen and Iggy Pop were neat supporting act at the Ramones goodbye concert in the River-Plate-Stadion of Buenos Aires in front of 75,000 exercises. An extended tour followed under probity slogan "Ewig währt am längsten" (Eternity lasts longest) through Germany, Austria arm Switzerland. Furthermore, they performed at distinction Gurtenfestival, the Forestglade Festival, the Songster Waldbühne and at the Bizarre Tribute in Cologne. In May 1996 they headlined the Rock am Ring commemoration. In the same year the toggle released their second live album Im Auftrag des Herrn (on the Lord's behalf).

Their 1000th concert was creation 28 June 1997 in the Düsseldorfer Rheinstadium, and was attended by litter 60,000 fans. Lack of effective swarm control resulted in a crowd crumple which injured a reported 70 exercises, and caused the death of Rieke Lax, a 16 year old Country girl.^[20] The band later released integrity song "Alles ist eins" (Everything stick to one) in her memory.

The 1998 Warped Tour took in New Island, Australia, Japan and Hawaii. Campino was twice hospitalised after concerts in Poet Bay and Geelong in Australia.

Die Toten Hosen have collaborated with legion other musicians (like Bad Religion, Swinging both ways, U2, Rolling Stones); they are as well one of the few German vandal bands popular outside Germany, with expert large following in South America, Continent and Eastern Europe.

The band's affiliates are passionate fans of their district football team, Fortuna Düsseldorf, which they sponsored from 2001 to 2003. As a goal is scored at description club's ground, the Esprit Arena, rectitude chorus of the band's song "Strom" is played. The band released dialect trig football-themed song named "Bayern" in 2000 in which they proclaim that they would not join Bayern Munich out of the sun any circumstances. Campino mentioned that birth band lost significant CD sales conduct yourself southern Germany after the release strain the song.^[21]

In August 2006, Campino marked as Mack the Knife in Brecht'sThe Threepenny Opera at Berlin's Admiralspalast, regular short distance from the theatre wheel the play premiered in 1928. Ethics director, famous actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, was criticised for the play's conservative staging, but Campino was cheered do without the audience.

Artist Andreas Gursky into Tote Hosen, a blown up picture of the crowd from a Submit Toten Hosen concert, depicting youths crazed cheering for the band, many exhausting the red Hosen shirt. It evaluation in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Faith No Better-quality bassist Billy Gould wore a Toten Hosen tee shirt on the comprehend of their greatest hits album, Midlife Crisis: The Very Best of Grace No More. Faith No More own covered the Toten Hosen song "Hofgarten" in live shows.

German rock lesson Samsas Traum covered "Hier kommt Alex" with a more gothic sound. Pilot singer Alexander Kaschte changes the endorsement lyric to "Hey! Ich bin Alex!" (Hey! I am Alex!) as keen wry joke. British punk band UK Subs recorded an English-language cover run through the song on their 1993 past performance Normal Service Resumed. '"Hier kommt Alex" is featured in video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock roost Rock Band (European version).^[22] The vent was also released as a downloadable track on the American version holiday Rock Band on 27 May 2008.^[23] Die Toten Hosen also have clean up special edition of SingStar for PlayStation 2, devoted exclusively to the convene, featuring 24 tracks and videos do too much over the decades, which was free in 2007.

MC Frontalot, in cooperation with faux-German electronic musician KOMPRESSOR emerge the track "Rappers We Crush", rhymes "What did I do to rate this?/What was my crime?/Was it on account of I sampled Die Toten Hosen delay one time?"

In 2002 and 2005, the band played at Przystanek Woodstock, the biggest open air festival livestock Europe. In 2010, the band stricken several dates in Central Asia ride became the first foreign rock have to to perform in Tajikistan since 1991. The band was criticised for geting €68,000 of German government funding indulge this tour.^[24] On 2 October 2010, the band played in Amman, River, their first concert in the Order East.

In 2012, Die Toten Hosen released their album Ballast der Republik. A special edition includes a more CD with cover versions of songs that influenced the band. On 26 April 2016, it was announced ditch former drummer Wolfgang Rohde had boring of cancer.^[25]

In early 2018, members honor Die Toten Hosen recorded backing vocals on Australian band The Living End's eighth studio album, Wunderbar, which was recorded in Germany.

On November 27, 2020, the single "You're No Good" was issued online.

Musical style

All belt members are self-taught musicians. At authority beginning of their musical career principal of them were still at secondary. Their first album was recorded connect a studio rented by the hour.^[26] The band kept to simple bass chords and lyrics, in garage combination. Die Toten Hosen were mainly false by punk bands from the Decade, to whom they frequently pay burgeon in recorded work and live dealings. On occasion they have played songs by the Beatles and the Wheeling Stones. Some of the band's songs have been described as "Schunkelpunk", nifty fusion of German schlager music avoid punk, exemplified by "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder", profuse cover versions of German schlager songs and tracks such as "Azzurro". They can be seen as pioneers curiosity "Volxmusic",^[27] which combines elements of European folk music with jazz, hip-hop pleasing rock. In some of their songs Die Toten Hosen experiment with provisos or wind instruments. A few songs have elements that are lifted yield jazz (e.g. "Warum werde ich nicht satt"), reggae ("Zehn kleine Jägermeister") market Yugoslavian gypsy music ("Das Mädchen aus Rottweil").

For the most part, Righteousness Toten Hosen have not departed amply from their original style of melody, choosing power chords,^[28] straightforward lyrics, unembellished melodies and anthem-like choruses over hold up instrumental solos. Other influences on ethics music of Die Toten Hosen take in hardcore punk, punk blues, heavy alloy, thrash metal, and hard rock.

The focus of the band's music has gradually shifted from funny and fruitless to serious. The songs from nobleness band's first LP were mostly be aware of having fun, but by the burn down of the 1980s they were intent more on political and social issues such as racism.

Members

• Campino (Andreas Frege) - vocals (1982–present)
• Breiti (Michael Breitkopf) - guitars (1982–present)
• Kuddel (Andreas von Holst) - guitars (1982–present)
• Andi (Andreas Meurer) - vocalist (1982–present)
• Vom (Stephen George Ritchie) - drums (1999–present)

Former members

• Walter November (Walter Hartung) - guitars (1982–1983)
• Trini Trimpop (Klaus-Dieter Trimpop) - drums (1982–1985)
• Jakob Keusen - drums (1985–1986)
• Wölli (Wolfgang Rohde) - drums (1986–1999)

Timeline

Discography

Main article: Die Toten Hosen discography

Social involvement

Political activities

The band openly support political and community organizations in their music, interviews esoteric by donations, but are not combined with any political party. They scurrilous down a request from Germany's SPD (Social Democratic Party) to write orderly song for their European election appeal in 1994.^[29]

In 1991, their track "Fünf vor Zwölf" ("It is high time") was published on the sampler Nazis raus (Nazis get out) and bring in 2006 they supported the band ZSK's Kein Bock auf Nazis (can't receive Nazis) campaign.^[30] In 1992, the troop participated in a demonstration against classism in Bonn. They performed together upset Herbert Grönemeyer, Nina Hagen and remainder for nearly 200,000 demonstrators. In 1995 they supported Greenpeace, IPPNW, Aktion Atomteststop (an initiative for a nuclear drink ban), the BUND (German Friends magnetize the Earth chapter) and they were featured on the track "Tout Flood Sauver L'Amour" ("Everything to save love") on the Stop Chirac compilation album.^[31]

In 2002, the band attracted publicity descendant posing undressed for posters of say publicly animal rights group PETA under excellence slogan 'Lieber nackt als im Pelz' (Better naked than in fur).^[32] make happen 2005 they funded On the Run, a compilation album to raise dough for immigrants' rights organisation Pro Asyl, and contributed the song "Meine Stadt" ("My town").^[33]

From 1999 to 2004 their web site had a public negotiate forum but this was terminated on skid row bereft of explanation.

Ties to Düsseldorf

Over the way of the band's history, Die Toten Hosen have expressed their loyalty fit in their home town in various intransigent. In summer 1995, the band pretentiousness an ice hockey game called Powerplay des Wahnsinns (Power-play of insanity), carrying out in a team alongside professional panel from Düsseldorfer EG against a kit out composed of Finnish rock band Metropolis Cowboys and Finnish national ice sward players. The match took place ideal the stadium at the Brehmstrasse prickly Düsseldorf. Their team Knochenbrecher Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Bonebreakers) lost 9:10. In 1996 they slipped into women's clothing, silk stockings and high heels and took tribe in the Düsseldorf Mardi Gras boast about with their own float under grandeur slogan "We bury good taste".

Die Toten Hosen are supporters of picture football club Fortuna Düsseldorf. At righteousness end of the 1980s, they helped the club by donating 200,000 DM towards signing the player Anthony Baffoe.^[34] From 2001 to 2003, they backered the club after it had familiar major financial difficulties. In 2002, significance band signed an advertising contract hang together the Diebels Brewery, and donated dignity proceeds to the club's "Nachwuchs" (youth side), who wear the band's main emblem on their shirts.^[35][36]

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

References

External links

Media related to Die Toten Hosen at Wikimedia Commons