Group A
1) Lyrics and compositions
Nearly all lyrics from Die Toten Hosen are written by Campino, whereas von Holst, Meurer and Breitkopf are responsible for the music musicalarrangements. The former drummers Trimpop and Rohde are occasionally named as coauthors in earlier compositions. Most of (Better: A major part of) their music was produced by Jon Caffery. Since 2008 the band has been working with the producer Vincent Sorg.
The band deals critically and often satirically with topics out of(wrong preposition:from) the social or the political field. Their lyrics, which are mainly composed as subjective first-person narrative(Sense ? subjective narrator cannot be composed ! better: narrated), are about religion, psychology and xenophobia. Major topics in their lyrics are friendship and moral courage. Characteristic for (Preposition mistake: "of") Die Toten Hosen is their (better "a", "their" sounds weird) frequent reference to football. Often, their songs are anthem-like and the chorus is sung by all band members. Nearly all lyrics are in colloquial language and do not seldomly contain vulgar expressions. Besides, the band released several drinking songs, which became popular in Germany.
On top of that, the band feels connected to the revue. Artist friends (Germanized, better: their friends, who are also artists) such as Gerhard Polt, die Biermösl Blosn, Funny van Dannen and Hanns Christian Müller took part in (mind that this is not a competition, in which you can take part in; better: took a decisive part or: to involve) several productions of the band. In challenging arrangements like in the project Nur zu Besuch – Unplugged im Wiener Burgtheater the band was supported by classic composers, such as Hans Steingen, and featured by musicians like Tim Cross, Esther Kim and Raphael Zweifel. Since 2005 Die Toten Hosen time and again record acoustic versions of their songs, often old compositions out of their repertory. (theatre term, better: repertoire)
2) == Musical Style == Although the band has its roots in punk rock, their style is far more than just punk rock. The band has visible influences from Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Hardcore Punk and also Alternative Rock. All members of the band taught themselves to play their instruments. In the early years most of the band members were still attending school. The first album was recorded unprofessionally in a studio that was rented hourly. They limited themselves to simple guitar chords and texts and cut their music with the usual amateurism in punkrock. They were mostly influenced by punk bands from the 1970s, to whom they payed tribute on their albums and all their concerts. Additionally they occasionally cover the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. With „Schunkelpunk“ (a fusion of traditional German pop music and punk) like „Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder“ (a song about a strong alcoholic drink), numerous cover-versions of German `Schlager´ songs (pop songs for older generations) and tracks like „Azzurro“, The Toten Hosen are additionally ranked as pioneers of the `Volxmusik´ (new German folk music).
The Toten Hosen consistently improved due to longtime stage experience, new contacts and multiple impressions from abroad. Thanks to their commercial success since the late 1980s and the resulting good financial situation, especially since the founding of their own label JKP in 1995, the band profited from the opportunity of transforming their ideas according to their concepts. In some tracks experiments with string and wind instruments were made. Some songs display features of jazz (example given „Warum werde ich nicht satt“, engl. ´Why am I still hungry´), reggae („Zehn kleine Jägermeister“) or Yugoslavian gypsy music („Das Mädchen aus Rottweil“, engl. `The girl from Rottweil´).
3)
Nevertheless, Die Toten Hosen haven't essentially diverted from their original music style which includes hammering quavers and power chords, lyrics that are easy to understand, simple melodies, anthem-like choruses and the dropping of lengthy solos.
Concerts
All live performances are centered around lead singer Campino's physical agility and both provoking and satirical announcments. He moves quickly across the stage, stage-dives or climbs up lighting rigs in order to finish a song, sometimes 33ft. over the ground and hanging head over heels. With the aid of anthem-like songs, the use of call and response as well as covering popular tunes, the band encourages the audience to sing along and integrates them into the show.
The band is known for playing surprise-gigs or spontaneous shows in front of a small audience on special occasions or in the living rooms of families or friends of individual fans for example at a wedding party or at exceptional venues like penal institutions in Berlin and Düsseldorf, on a steamer on the river Elbe in Dresden, on Germany's highest mountain Zugspitze, at a convent school in Altötting (Bavaria) or the 5th department of Hamburg's main mental hospital in Hamburg-Ochsenzoll (now: Asklepios Klinik Nord). On all of these events, the band passed on fees but performed for board and lodge only.
4)
Due to the raise of their name recognition the right choice between many invitations to the “Magical-Mystery-Tour-Gigs”, how they called the concerts after an album of the Beatles, became more and more difficult for the band. Since 1992, therefore, the band announced their public performances to pick out the most original applications they received. In 2005, for instance, they played in a flat share of students in Pirmasens, who had won the concert as the main prize of a video-competition of the band. In September 2009 the band gave a concert in the SO36. With its entrance fees they supported the financing of a noise barrier, which Berlin had imposed the owner of the clubs as a condition after a dispute with a neighbor. Additionally, the band sometimes used pseudonyms to perform in front of a manageable size of audience. In 1993, the band appeared as “Katastrophenkommando” and in 1998 as “Reihnpiraten”. In 2000 they performed several concerts under the name “Essen auf Rädern”. In Berlin and Düsseldorf, two of the concerts were performed together with “Die Ärzte”, who were represented as “Die Zu Späten”. Only when details about a person and an identification card at the entry are given, the band meanwhile has started to give up the tickets for their concerts in small halls and clubs. The tickets are not applicable to another person to exclude high black market prices.
5) Social involvement - political activities
The band Die Toten Hosen repeatedly aligned themselves in public with various political and social organizations through music, speeches and financial support and participated in their projects. However, the members of the band clarified that they are not attached to any political party. According to that, they rejected a request of the SPD (social political party of Germany) to write a song for their European election campaign in 1994. In 1991, their track Fünf vor Zwölf (it is high time) was published on the sampler Nazis raus ( not up for Nazis) and in 2006 they supported the campaign Kein Bock auf Nazis of the band ZSK. In 1999 the band participated in a demonstration against xenophobia in the zoological garden in Bonn. They performed together with Herbert Grönemeyer, Nina Hagen and others in front of nearly 200,000 fellow demonstrators. In 1995, they supported Greenpeace, the campaign of doctors against nuclear warfare, Aktion Atomteststop , the BUND and were featured with the track Tout Pour Sauver L’Amour on their sampler Stop Chirac. In 2002, the band captured publicity by appearing on billboards of the animal rights group PETA under the slogan Better naked than in fur, posing undressed. In addition to that they funded the sampler On the Run of the human rights group Pro Asyl in 2005 and were represented with the song Meine Stadt (my city). From 1999 on, they operated a public forum for discussion in the internet, in which everybody could state his opinion anonymously. Nevertheless, in August 2004, the band closed this section of their official homepage down without explanation.
6) Ties to their home town Düsseldorf
During their history as a band, the Toten Hosen have expressed their bond toward their home town through various activities. In the summer of 1995 the band competed in a hockey match with some members of the Düsseldorfer EG against the Leningrad Cowboys, who were supported by the Finnish national team at the “Powerplay des Wahnsinns”. The match was played outat the Brehmstraße in Düsseldorf. They had called their team “Knochenbrecher Düsseldorf” and only narrowly lost with a score of 10:11. In 1969 they slipped into women’s clothing, silk stockings and high heels and took part in the carnival procession of Düsseldorf with their own float under the slogan “We bury good taste”. The Toten Hosen are considered to be the most prominent supporters of Düsseldorfer´s soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf. During the 1980s they supported the club by donating 200.00 DM to finance the transfer of Anthony Baffoe into their club. From 2001 to 2003 they sponsored the club, after it had gotten into deep financial difficulties. In 2002 the band signed a contract with the Diebel brewery and passed on the gains to the youth of the club who from then on started to wear the logo of the band, a skull, on their jerseys.
The Toten Hosen have reserved a grave-site for seventeen people in which they want to be buried when they pass on.
7 == The band’s history ==
=== 1982 – 1987: The first years ===
In 1982, Campino, Andreas von Holst, Andreas Meurer, Michael Breitkopf, Trini Trimpop and Walter November founded the band Die Toten Hosen [The Dead Trousers] in Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf as the successor of ZK. For their first concert at the Slaughterhouse in Bremen at Easter 1982, the organiser accidentally announced the band as Die Toten Hasen [The Dead Rabbits]. The initial single Wir sind bereit [We are Ready] and later on Reisefieber [eagerness to travel] were published in the same year. Guitarist Walter November surprisingly left the band in 1983 and joined the religious sect Jehovah’s Witnesses. The third single, containing the party song Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder [iced Danish spirit called Bommerlunder], is considered to be the first recognized success as this single was sometimes played on the radio. The first album Opel Gang [group of people who likes the German car brand Opel] was released in 1983 under the band’s own independent label Totenkopf [skull]. The video to Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder [iced Danish spirit called Bommerlunder], directed by Wolfgang Büld and financed by EMI, was made in a small Bavarian church in summer 1983. In this video, Kurt Raab in the role of a catholic clergyman and Marianne Sägebrecht in the role of a bride presented a chaotically running marriage. Afterwards, the community considered it necessary to re-consecrate the church of the village. German public TV channels had boycotted the video for a long time. The band, meanwhile having a contract with EMI since July 1983, together with the New York rapper Fab Five Freddy released a hip-hop version of the single Bommerlunder [Danish spirit called Bommerlunder], entitled Hip Hop Bommi Bop, as Christmas single at the end of the year 1983.
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In 1984, the band accepted the BBC’s invitation to perform on the John Peel Show. But because of the high travelling expenses, they had an argument with EMI. Another reason for this was the scandal about Norbert Hähnel, who did a parody on the “real” Heino in the opening program of “Die Toten Hosen”. Heino, who was under contract to EMI, enforced a writ of injunction against Hähnel at the regional court in Düsseldorf. Eventually, “Die Toten Hosen” separated from EMI and got a contract at Virgin Records. Nevertheless, the dispute continued, as the second LP “Unter Falscher Flagge” was published in 1984. The original cover illustrated the skeleton of a dog sitting in front of a gramophone, which was a caricature of the EMI logo “His Master’s Voice”. EMI went to court and achieved that the cover had to be changed. In the end, the skeleton dog on the black flag was replaced by the skeleton of an eagle, which is still used as a logo by the band, besides the Jolly Roger.
In spring 1985, the band toured France for the Goethe-Institut and in fall they travelled through Hungary and Poland. In 1985, Trini Trimpop left the band as a drummer and continued working in their management until 1992. For a short period of time, Jakob Keusen became the new drummer, who was replaced by Wolfgang Rohde in January 1986. The first concert Rohde played, was also the band’s first concert in front of a huge audience. They played at the “Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival” in Wackersdorf with Herbert Grönemeyer, Udo Lindenberg, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, BAP, The Rodgau Monotones and various others to protest against the construction of the local reprocessing plant in 1986.
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In 1986 they produced their third album called ‘Damenwahl’ (Ladies’ choice). On the following same-titled tour, which was sponsored by the North German company ‘Fromms’, they handed out lots of condoms to the audience. On year later, in 1987, the band had their first chart success with the record ‘Never Mind The Hosen – Here’s Die Roten Rosen’ (Never mind the Trousers – Here’s the Red Roses). The album exclusively contains rock versions of German traditional pop songs. Its name and its cover are a parody of ‘the Sex Pistols’ LP ‘Never Mind the Bollocks - Here’s the Sex Pistols’ from 1977.
They released their first live album ‘Bis zum bitteren Ende’ (Till the bitter end) at the end of 1987. It hit both the top 30 of the German and Austrian album charts.
1988 to 1995: Acceptance and early success
The group had their commercial breakthrough with the 1988 released LP ‘Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau’ (A little bit of horrorshow), which also contains the hitsingle ‘Hier kommt Alex’ (Here is Alex). Most songs of the album belong to Bernd Schadewald’s theater play ‘A Clockwork Orange’. The songs were all written by the ‘Toten Hosen’. The same-titled book from Anthony Burgess and the film from Stanley Kubrick were examples for the album and the play. For half a year the band performed at the ‘Kammerspiele Bad Godesberg’ (intimate theatre of Bad Godesberg) in Bonn together with Ralf Richter who played the lead role. In September of that year the ‘Toten Hosen’ performed at the ‘Lituanika-Festival’ in Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania. A jury chose them as best band of the festival.
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The spring concert tour in 1989 was also a success for the Toten Hosen, whose show at the Westfalenhalle (westfalia auditorium) in Dortmund was completely sold out. At the same time the band released 3 Akkorde für ein Halleluja (3 Chords for a Hallelujah), a video cassette about the previous lifes of the band members as musicians. In 1990 the Toten Hosen were invited to attend the New Music Seminar in New York and performed as the supporting act for The Rolling Stones in Cologne. In that summer, the band travelled to Italy to report on the Fifa World Cup for different papers and radio stations. In addition, they released a punk rock cover version of the classic Azzuro by Adriano Calentano with a corresponding video clip, which satirizes the behaviour of German football tourists in foreign countries. The double album Kreuzzug ins Glück (Crusade to Happiness), which was also published in 1990, was sold more than 150,000 times in the first week of its release.
In 1991 the Toten Hosen released their album Learning English Lesson One, a tribute to the musical role models of the band. Most of the songs are cover versions of anglophone punk rock classics. At least one member of each of the original bands was present during the recordings of those songs. According to the band, the cooperation with the English post robber Ronald Biggs, whom they met in Rio de Janeiro in order to record several songs, was the highlight of this work. This production indicates the beginning of the cooperations with T.V. Smith, the songwriter and former lead singer of The Adverts with whom the Toten Hosen work together up to present day.
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Afterward, from spring to autumn 1992, the band went on tour again and played a lot of gigs under the slogan “Menschen, Tiere, Sensationen” (People, Animals, Sensations) in numerous booked up halls and festivals in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain, Spain and France. For the first time they played in Argentina, where they meanwhile have a constant fan community.
The single “Sascha… ein aufrechter Deutscher”, which was released on Christmas 1992, was vehemently directed against right-wing radicalism. The band supported an antifascist campaign called “Düsseldorfer Appell gegen Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Rassismus” with the proceeds of this song. The Republicans tried unsuccessfully to ban the song due to partisan defamation and thereby involuntarily contributed to the success of the single. The song later grossed half a million Deutsche Mark.
In 1993, the album ‘‘Kauf MICH!“ reached number 1 of the German album charts. It mainly deals with the topics consumption, advertisement and right-wing extremism. In summer 1993 they were U2’s supporting act at the Zoo TV tour in Germany, where they played in front of more than 50 000 people per concert. The “Kauf MICH!” music clip showed several cuttings of the tour.
In the same year, their first best-of-album “Reich&sexy” was released and the band depicted themselves nacked on the cover pretending to be ostentatious music bosses surrounded by several unclothed women. In 1994 the international version of the best of album called “Love, Peace &Money” followed. At this time, the Toten Hosen had three album in the German charts simultaneously.
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In 1994 the band was again on tour for almost the whole year, filling the halls in Germany and the adjacent countries. In November they gave four concerts in the USA and in Canada as supporting act of Green Day. Starting in April 1995 they got their own radio broadcast named “Tausend Takte Tanzmusik” at the Berlin station Fritz which was aired for one year from 7 till 8 pm on Sundays. At the end of the year the band founded the company JKP and thereby took the marketing of their CDs into their own hands.
1996 till 2000: JKP – the beginning of their own label
The first album under their own label was released in 1996 and was called “Opium fürs Volk” (Opium for the people). On this CD the band was mainly dealing with belief and religion. It won them the third Platinum award after their albums “Kauf Mich!” (Buy me!) and “Reich und Sexy” (Rich and Sexy). With the uncoupling of “Zehn kleine Jägermeister” (Ten little hunters) they achieved the number-one spot on the German speaking single charts for the first time. Together with Iggy Pop the “Toten Hosen” appeared in front of 75.000 people as a supporting act for the Ramones at their farewell concert in the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. This performance was followed by an extended tour under the motto “Ewig währt am längsten” (Honesty is the best policy) throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Moreover, they performed at the Gurtenfestival, the Forestglade Festival, the Berlin Forest Stage and at the Bizarre Festival in Cologne. In May 1996 they appeared for the first time as a headliner at “Rock am Ring”. In the same year the band released their second live album under the title “Im Auftrag des Herrn” (The Lord´s Advocate).
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In 1994 the band was on the road again for almost the entire year to fill the auditoriums in Germany and neighboring countries. In November they gave four concerts in the USA and in Canada as the supporting act of Green Day. Starting in April 1995, the Toten Hosen got their own radio program at the Berlin radio station Fritz. It was called “Tausend Takte Tanzmusik" ("A thousand beats of dance music”) and was aired a whole year every Sunday from 7 to 8 pm. At the end of the year the band founded the business company JKP and so took the marketing of their CDs into their own hands.
1996 to 2000: JPK - the beginnings with their own label
The first album under their own label was released in 1996 and was called “Opium fürs Volk” ("Opium for the people"). On this CD the band mainly deals with the topics of faith and religion. After “Kauf MICH!” (“Buy ME!”) and “Reich&sexy” (“Rich&sexy”) it was the third time they were platinum-certified. With the uncoupling of the song “Zehn kleine Jägermeister” (literally "Ten little hunters", in German it is a song to help children learn how to count) they moved up to number one of the German speaking single-charts for the first time. Together with Iggy Pop the Toten Hosen appeared as the supporting act at the farewell concert of the Ramones in the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires in front of an audience of 75.000 people. An extended tour followed under the slogan “Ewig währt am längsten” ("Honesty is the best policy”) through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Furthermore, they performed at the Gurtenfestival, the Forestglade Festival, the Berliner Waldbühne and at the Bizarre-Festival in Cologne. In May 1996 they appeared for the first time as a headliner at “Rock am Ring”. In the same year the band released their second live album with the title “Im Auftrag des Herrn” (“On behalf of the Lord”).
final version:
In 1994 the band was on tour again for almost the whole year, filling the halls in Germany and the adjacent countries. In November they gave four concerts in the USA and in Canada as supporting act of Green Day. Starting in April 1995, they got their own radio broadcast at the Berlin station Fritz. It was named “Tausend Takte Tanzmusik” (a thousand beats of dance music) and was aired for one year from 7 to 8 pm on Sundays. At the end of the year the band founded the company JKP and thereby took the marketing of their CDs into their own hands.
1996 till 2000: JKP – the beginning of their own label
The first album under their own label was released in 1996 and was called “Opium fürs Volk” (Opium for the people). On this CD the band mainly deals with faith and religion. It won them the third Platinum award after their albums “Kauf Mich!” (Buy me!) and “Reich und Sexy” (Rich and Sexy). With the uncoupling of “Zehn kleine Jägermeister” (Ten little hunters) they achieved the number-one spot on the German speaking single charts for the first time. Together with Iggy Pop the “Toten Hosen” appeared in front of 75.000 people as a supporting act for the Ramones at their farewell concert in the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. This performance was followed by an extended tour under the motto “Ewig währt am längsten” (Honesty is the best policy) throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Moreover, they performed at the Gurtenfestival, the Forestglade Festival, the Berlin Forest Stage and at the Bizarre Festival in Cologne. In May 1996 they appeared for the first time as a headliner at “Rock am Ring”. In the same year the band released their second live album under the title “Im Auftrag des Herrn” (The Lord´s Advocate).
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The “Toten Hosen“gave over a thousand concerts in the period from 1982 to 1997. At the anniversary concert on June 28, 1997 in the Rhine-Stadium (the biggest stadium there) in Düsseldorf, attended by 60,000 persons, a 16-year-old girl was killed in the crowd in front of the stage. The band immediately interrupted the concert; however, they continued on the advice of the head of the firefighters Düsseldorf in order to prevent panic. The band was very shocked by this event and thus cancelled all of the other concerts in that year. They did not appear on stage for half a year and did not play any gigs in stadiums.
In January 1998 the”Toten Hosen” participated in the Vans Warped tour. The program was played on festivals in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the US, where they had not been popular. In the same month the single “Pushed Again”, a song about denial of human rights and oppression, was released. It was first performed for a German audience at an illegal concert in Ahaus on the occasion of the transport of atomic waste. The flip side of “Alles ist Eins” (“Everything is one”) is dedicated to the girl that died during the band’s anniversary concert in Düsseldorf. In August 1998 the”Toten Hosen” performed at the festival in Landsberg am Lech and in Constance at the Rock am See Festival (“rock on the lakeside”). This was followed by the Vans Warped tour through Europe, which, besides five concerts in Germany, included gigs in Spain, Italy, Hungary and Slovakia.