TOLLWUT - Seuchen 2017

An older rip now and a few words from the web: One helluva obscure release for all KBD lovers is this record by Bochum's Tollwut, Susi (vocals), Matte (guitars), Hans (bass), Angela (drums), from Hayride Records, one of the most iconic underground acts Germany saw in its 1980's. We speak of Punkrock in its original form and spirit-border songwriting that presents lots of ska-rhythms among furious riffs. This compilation consists their only vinyl release, the "Seuchen" EP from 1981, and the even more rare "Tollwut-Hits '83" cassette. The more sophisticated tape recordings makes one think of a way more raw, nihilistic and aggressive Ideal and Ton Steine Scherben and might appeal to fans of the more wicked NDW underground as well. In the end all of these bands are rooted in a similar background they share with Tollwut (Rabies). Interchanging male and female vocals add much diversity to these tracks. When it gets to the four tracks from the classic EP, ferocious underground Punkrock placed in between more tracks from the 1983 tape. It works fairly well with this splitting of the original single tracks and shows how a full length album released back in the day might have sounded. Tollwut have a good feeling for great anthems that stick to your mind and deliver a brilliant rabid experienced performance. Could have become a hard hitter on the scene back then! Fans of early German music should definitely give this a go! - Solid record.

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NICHTS - Made In Eile 1981

Underrated band from Düsseldorf who had a real hit with 'Radio' and were wrongly packed in the NDW drawer in my opinion and after two successful and one less album, the band split in 1983. Tobias learned drumming in 1978 as a founding member of KFC. When in January 1981 the first record Letzte Hoffnung was out it came to a conflict with Tommi Stumpff. Both left and founded Nichts with Andrea (vocals) and Chris (bass) and they recorded a demo which unleashed positive reactions so the independent label Schallmauer Records released their first record Made In Eile. The song radio was particularly noticeable due to its earwig quality, so that Chris played it to the Bananas director Rolf Spinrads. This was enthusiastic and invited the band to record a video for the broadcast of 8 September 1981. Since it was clear that radio had the potential to a hit, the band and Schallmauer Records decided to decouple the song in time for the show with the major label CBS Records as a single. The Bananas broadcast made Nichts known nationwide and after seven months, 70.000 copies had already been sold, although due to poor distribution, the plate was difficult to obtain. Nichts went on a tour in Germany and returned to the studio to record their second album Tango 2000, they had offers from five major labels, which were played against each other, the contract finally won WEA Records in Hamburg, Schallmauer was involved as a production company in the contract.

In February 1982 the four went on a four-week tour of Germany, which had been booked by a professional concert agency (Blindfish) and the gigs were completely sold out. In Hamburg, before the club Uncle Pö with 800 left at the door remaining visitors to a police operation, so that larger halls had to be searched and the agency attached a mini tour through Austria and Switzerland. More gigs followed, now already in larger halls, these were partly sold out, as in Hamburg (Markthalle) several times. The 7'' Tango 2000 was decoupled, a tango-disco-parody with a concise, unmistakable tremolo guitar and this became the band's biggest hit. In summer 1982 it finally came to a break, band leader Michael left the band to start a solo career: "We actually had no big problem with each other. I was just driven to our chosen direction, and I wanted to do something different."

Andrea and Tobias decided to continue the band with two new members: Stephen, former guitarist of the Bochum band Bertha And Friends and Peter on bass. In the usual rapid pace a new album Aus dem Jenseits were recorde and released in January 1983. The band managed to recapture the Nichts sound despite the absence of Clauss' incisive guitar playing with the new members, but the album failed to match the band's great successes. A booked three-week tour of Germany had to be canceled due to an injury Brinks. The band broke up afterwards. What remains: catchy songs that still sound fresh and charming and remember, ten beers are sometimes too much.

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SPLIFF - 85555 1982

One of my favorite NDW albums is the second by Spliff from Berlin which were active in the 1980s. The slab ran up and down and is still brilliant after almost forty years. The members were already playing together before they were 'adopted' by Nina Hagen when she came to West Germany in 1977. They recorded two albums with her as the Nina Hagen Band before continuing under the name Spliff when Hagen went solo. Their characteristic sound was a mix of electronic music, reggae and punk rock. They recorded The Spliff Radio Show in 1980, their only album in English. After parting ways with vocalist Alf Klimek, the remaining members carried on in German sharing vocals between all four of them. 85555 however was released in a limited English edition too. They had major hits on the German singles chart with "Carbonara" and "Deja Vu". Despite their influential status, the band was short-lived.

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ABSOLUT - Togo Pogo 7'' 1981

Megarare and only 7Inch by this short-lived three piece called Absolut from Bremen and they released this little goodie as an In-house production and the band consisted of Oliver (vocals/drums), Kay (guitar/vocals), Andreas (keys/vocals). Two catchy mid-tempo pieces with a nice accompaniment of the keyboard and a subtle NDW touch is not entirely absurd, but more a punky sound. If you are planning an Eighties party and choose songs from this period, this record should not be missing, because then the party really moves forward, this slab is anything but a flop. Otherwise there's not much to report about the band or other activities, and no compilation visits are known, hence their legacy now for you. Cool Stuff!

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DIE RADIERER - In Hollywood 1983

A lot has already been written about the next combo in the Blog and their first records are also present in this theater. Today the second album of die Radierer from Limburg, probably the oldest Post-Punk band in Germany. With a dry beat, jingling melodies and a dadaistic concept, the legendary band has been sawing away from conventions and constants since it was founded in 1978. Whether it's electronic music, guitar sounds or children's instruments, the noisy avant-gardists mix pretty much everything they can get their hands on in order to destroy the myth of rock music with their anarchic NDW hybrid. In Hollywood was again released via ZickZack Records and the original isn't easy to get for little money, my copy is from a CD which I bought on a reunion Gig in Frankfurt years ago. Well, not light fare but essential and an important part of German underground music.

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BILDSTÖRUNG - s/t LP 1981

Bildstörung saw the light of punk 1979 in Frankfurt/Main, influenced by bands such as Mittagspause, KFC or Male, but also of British mod and ska groups. Maybe Frankfurt's first punk band with German lyrics. Various gigs followed, mainly in the Rhine-Main area with other essential bands like Hans-A-Plast, ZK or Middle Class Fantasies. 1981 comes their first album with fourteen cool Punk songs out and in early 1982 start recording the second album, which is never released because the band dissolved shortly afterwards. In my opinion, now a classic one, even if the songs not much aggressive and they were put by the media into the NDW/Wave league, the label GeeBeeDee is not exactly famous for hard punkrock stuff, but this album is a contemporary relict of the early young age of punkrock in germany.

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GRAUZONE - Eisbär 7'' 1981

Grauzone was a Swiss band of the early 80's. The press called them pioneers of the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) but that is shit in my opinion. At the end of 1979 Marco Repetto (drums) and GT (bass) left the punk band Glueams, to form together with Martin Eicher (guitar, vocals, synthesizer) a new band called Grauzone. Martin had already supported Glueams on their 7'' Mental. They gave their first concert in March 1980 at the club Spex in Berne. Martin's brother Stephan Eicher (guitar) & Claudine Chirac (saxophone) complemented the group temporarily in live performances and recordings. The group refused, however, the commercial requirements, and concentrated on film and studio work. Grauzone was known by the two pieces 'Eisbär' & 'Raum', which were used for the compilation "Swiss Wave - The Album" on Off Course Records. Eisbär hits the lifestyle of that time and got radio airplay in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The song was released as a single and reached number six in the Austrian and place 12th in the german charts. The b-side is a minimalistic synth-pop love song and delight any woman's heart. A classic record I can listen to it everytime, brings back a lot of memories.

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EXTRABREIT - Rückkehr Der Phantastischen 5! 1982

Extrabreit is a German band which was formed in Hagen, Germany in 1978. The band was one of the most successful exponents of the 'Neue Deutsche Welle' movement in the 1980s. This is their third Album and the last good one before they become a boring "Rock-Band" like Scorpions or whatever, haha... Actually they were a punk-infected garage rock band from theenvironment of the left scene of Hagen and the first albums proves this in my opinion. This album was released in five differentcolors and had nine tracks. There exist a tape version with an extra track and maybe now the rarest Extrabreit song ever. All in all a successful final album of the early NDW/Punk era.

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MAD - Na Und! 1984

From Lucerne comes this wave/pop/punk combo called M.A.D. which existed in the early 80's. After the release of two solid singles they bring out their only album on MAD Records in 1984. A total of ten melodic punk songs with a light pop wrap, with sometimes critical global texts (nazis, war), serious topics about the page 1 girl in the daily press and personal views on love, death and devil (and I hate getting up early too). An interesting album indeed and they manage the leap between punk and pop (or NDW) with their brilliant ten songs and provide for entertaining pleasant mood. - Forget Your Past... Forget (even if it's hard) - So enjoy this rare classic.

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V/A - Tanz Mit Dem Herzen 1982

One request now and another one from my former Blog. It seems NDW music is still popular and this record from EMI is a premium blend of this time. Usually only well-known bands on it with their classics and the mixture of synth-pop and 'punk' is acceptable. Those were carefree times, I was young, went to school and first approximations to the Girls and trouble with parents. Today, life is the challenge. Well, the sound is still alive and keeps me fit. A bit of nostalgia for all end 60s. Take care!

1.Dreiklangsdimensionen - RHEINGOLD

2.Eisbär - GRAUZONE

3.Die Wilde 13 - FEHLFARBEN

4.Berühren - PROFIL

5.Taschenrechner - KRAFTWERK

6.Alltag - BERNWARD BÜKER BANDE

7.Das Model - KRAFTWERK

8.Film 2 - GRAUZONE

9.Skandal Im Sperrbezirk - SPIDER MURPHY GANG

10.Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran) - FEHLFARBEN

11.So Kühl - PROFIL

12.Fluss - RHEINGOLD

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IDEAL - Bi Nuu 1982

What I have written about Kraut also applies to this fantastic band. All albums are real Sahnestücker and the first two I haven't not ripped (Oopss!) - The final studio album also shows that Ideal from Berlin are still a fantastic German punk band and that their first record was not the non-plus-ultra. Ideal was for me not a pure NDW band because they understand to put personal & socially critical lyrics in melodic, sometimes aggressive music. I would describe it maybe as 'Schlager', hahahaa... and fuckin' hell everytime I listen to their plates again their music loses none of its relevance and wakes a whole lot of memories. The brilliant live record Zugabe mentioned here again which shows the energy from the band live. Always a good choice & a real pleasure.

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CO-AL 159 - s/t LP 1982

Never heard this band before and I'm always happy to come in touch with new stuff, especially when it comes from Germany. This band has been named after a car registration, presumably their license plate and I find this very originell. This nice idea is also reflected in their music because it comes up with a simple scrape sound which I call NDW punk or whatever, the guitars reminds me of the Düsseldorfer KFC and you know how great they were. In 1982 the members from Coburg published their only album on Rockport Records with twelve songs. Remarkable their cover versions of "Lemon Tree" and "Blue Suede Shoes". Everyone should listen to these wacky songs, really. CO-AL 159 were Carsten (drums), Clement (bass), Jörg and Kurt (guitars) and Marion and Alex (voices), and here ends my info. Well, what remains is another cool platte which shines with the two part-singing and simply minimalistic sound effects: Cult!

- Big Thx to Fredrik -

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JAWOLL - s/t LP 1982

Sexy slab by Jawoll from Kassel and it's their only full length on Mercury. Founded 1981 by Kornelia (vocals), Robert (guitars), Jochen (bass), Matthias (drums), Richard (keys/vocals) and their first 7Inch Taxi from 1982 was (and remains) their most successful hit and suddenly made Jawoll known about Kassel's borders after a television appearance on the music program Bananas. Unfortunately, little attention was paid to the band and I think the reasen is they had a lot more to say with their lyrics, more offensive, more direct and had nothing to do with the plastic ideal world which most of the other NDW bands deal and therefore became boring. You won't find any in this theater and I wouldn't count them among. On the contrary, thirteen sympathetic and interesting songs with a solid, tingling punk spirit/feeling are gathered here, all excellent performed. To that; Kornelia's refreshingly authentically and unmistakable charming voice. Rendezvous was their third 7inch from 1983, which I like even better because the lyrics somehow has something longing about it. - Underrated album! -

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A5 - Erst Ausgabe EP 1980

The beautiful short life of the band A5 from Bremen ranged from 1980 to late 1981 and the commercial success of the Neue Deutsche Welle was immense and A5 don't five a fuck and wandered off the scene. A5 is a band which characterizes the transition from Punk to NDW very nice and presents a wonderful mix of both. In September 1980, the band consisting of Sabina May, Ego/N, Harald Hass, Wolf Schaller, Rainer Kosch and Knox, their first EP Erst Ausgabe (also known as Seesack EP) were recorded and was released by No Fun Records. In the summer of 1981 they toured with famous bands such as Hans-A-Plast, Rotzkotz and Der Moderne Man and in October 1981 they released their second and last vinyl Kalte Erotik 7'' and shortly after, in late 1981, the band broke up. So on this record are four pretty mid-tempo sterile strips.

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HUBERT KAH - Rosemarie 7'' 1982

Today we go back to the NDW epoch in the early eighties and come to Hubert Kah. I think Rosemarie was his first 7Inch that was released in February 1982 and the group's first chart success and its breakthrough as a top ten hit in the entire German-speaking region. In June 1982 an English language version appeared under the title Rosemary. The band started as a trio, consisting of Hubert (vocals/keyboards), Markus Löhr (guitars/keyboards) and Klaus (bass) and during this time, Hubert caused quite a stir by his T.V. appearances, wearing a nightdress (splendid) or straitjacket. Numerous albums have been released to date, but the initial phase is certainly the most successful and the later albums are rather meaningless, at least for me. Anyway, I like this single and the song, it climaxes with relish.

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BIZARRE LEIDENSCHAFT - Geheimnis 1982

Bizarre Leidenschaft was founded 1982 in Hanover by Horst Illing, ex-Rotzkotz member and this is their only album on GeeBeeDee. The band consisted of Horst (vocals/guitars), Gregor (synth/vocals), Mulle (synth) and Marcus (drums). Geheimnis is a nice melodic synth pop album with hearty New Wave influences and lyrically not uninteresting. After the arguments about the further direction of Rotzkotz, attempts were made to gain a foothold in the music scene of that time, but unfortunately they didn't earned positive feedbacks and so the band split up soon without further ado. When I heard the record for the first time I was skeptical, not every song ignites, but after listening to it several times I would consider it as good ('Oho' is by far the worst song, an eighties dance poor copy, cruel). I wouldn't call them NDW, it's too special for that in my opinion. At this point loving greetings to Rio!

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CADILLAC - Cold Love 7'' 1979

This record is so damn rare and a real burner, two classic songs and Mr.Reinhard himself tells a little about the band: "I'd would describe their sound as "proto-punk" and the band were originally founded in Vienna, long before Punk became a brand for a new generation, in 1974. Members were Robert 'Bobby' Sommer (vox), Hans Vorreither (guitar), Peter Patzl (guitar), Gerhart 'Hardi' Walenta (drums) and Max Kempter (bass). The songs of the single were recorded in a studio in Vienna in 1976 or 77 and shortly after this the band split. Eventually Sommer and Walenta joined Mordbuben AG, but in 1978 Sommer relocated to Berlin with a few fellow-Austrians to join the than newly established SO36, a popular location which had in the early days a lot of well-known punk bands seen. Cadillac never played live and it took three years til Oswald Wiener, owner of Berlin's - then - EXIL in-club, deceided to release the single on his Dildo imprint in an edition of 200 copies. Bobby Sommer joined Tempo (Berlin's first punk band with a record out!!!) on sax and quickly metamorphosed into one of the most successful managers of the NDW with bands Extrabreit and Ideal and others. 'Cold Love' can also be heard on the great Es Chaos Is Die Botschaft Vol.2 compilation!" I'm pleasantly surprised because such great stuff from Austria is rather rare. What should I add??? Pull up the record and find out for yourself.

- Big Thanx to Reinhard -

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DIE GOLDENEN VAMPIRE - Hinter Der Grünen Tür 1982

Now such a real strange piece of vinyl from a time when musically in Germany all was possible. The Berlin label Zensor has consistently done produce and publish interesting records. Die Goldenen Vampire are a band that has stuck in the middle and pulled out their own thing. Remember doing the whole concept almost a little of the very early stuff from Der Fluch, but less punk, bands like Geisterfahrer and the Cramps may have left their influences. This also is a decent pinch of common rock and roll feel, so that a comparison with the later active Vampire State Building is not very far. Horror texts, NDW-Wave-Gothic-early music and a creepy cover art make me spontaneously much fun and I'm wondering if the band has released even more, and what happened to the musicians yet. Who likes the sound of Der Fluch of Geisterfahrer should take the drive and try this rare Mini-LP. The record is nowadays quite expensive, because you might not often find a copy in your hands. (Alexander Pohle)

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NEUER FRÜHLING - Abendlos 7'' 1982

The swim day is over and the dry season will soon seem like a desert land but who cares. Now minimal synth/NDW stuff by this short-lived Austrian combo called Neuer Frühling from Vienna on CBS with two surprisingly catchy songs. I can't say much about the band, some information says there are only two in the band, others report five members, in the end it doesn't matter because the 7inch is cool and there's nothing more to tell. Bundesliga in brief with the first away game in Berlin.

- Great Thx to Reinhard -

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LOVE A - Eigentlich 2011

Welcome March and we're listen to one of my favorite bands and since I already celebrated a lot of words in the 7Inch post, I refer to a useful bandinfo from Rookie Records, so let's wreck the neck of Fußpilz: Love A were founded in Trier early 2010 by Jörkk (vocals), Stefan (guitars), Dominik (bass), Karl (drums) and have a lot of band experience from previous years and other constellations. The four are characterized by a snotty and energetic sound, which despite all punk attitudes also characterize pop elements and texts with wit, charm and depth. Love A always keep the tension going: The five move between NDW bonds and Hamburg school as well as between urgent, German punk and rhythmic indie rock. The lyrics strike a balance between plastic and cryptic, cynical and hopeful, nodding and shaking their heads. The drums come straight and to the point, the guitar oscillates between staccato-like volleys and melodic caresses, the bass presses and supports, the synthie fills the last gaps with flat sounds. The voice screams, sings & proclaims words in German - somewhere between everyday observation, cynicism, politics & humor, between punk rock rage & mild gentleness. Deutschpunk for the year 2011. I liked the sound of the four directly by the first listening (at a gig together with Turbostaat), and so far their records as well. What me bothers a little is that their gigs are sell out quickly because these are no longer advertised on posters and are therefore the social media idiots first stand in line... Shit Politic, I would say. Anyway, I've seen them often enough, give the mutants a chance.

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