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 are German,
though Campino's mother, Jenny, was English. Drummer Vom comes from England. He
joined in 1999, after previous drummer Wölli sustained injuries in a car crash.
Wölli had played from 1985 to 1999 and is still an honorary member of the band.
The drummer until 1985 was Trini Trimpop, who became the band's manager when
Wölli joined.
1982-1987
Die
Toten Hosen formed in 1982 at the Ratinger Hof, a Düsseldorf bar
frequented by punk musicians. Its founder members were Campino and Andreas von
Holst, both from local punk band ZK, with Andreas Meurer, Michael Breitkopf,
Trini Trimpop and Walter November.
At
their first concert at the Bremer Schlachthof over Easter 1982 the compère
mistakenly introduced them as Die Toten Hasen (The Dead Hares).[2] In
the same year they released their first single Wir sind bereit (We Are Ready), later followed by Reisefieber (wanderlust).
Guitarist
Walter November left the band in November 1983 to join Jehovah's Witnesses.[3] One
of the two A sides of the third single was the drinking song Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder (ice-cold
Bommerlunder schnapps), which received considerable radio airplay and
increased their fan base. The band released their first album titled Opel-Gang in early 1983 on their own label
Totenkopf (skull).
In
July 1983 the band signed to EMI, who financed a video for Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder, directed by Wolfgang Büld. It depicts
a chaotic wedding ceremony in a small Bavarian church, with Kurt Raab playing
an alcoholic priest and Marianne Sägebrecht playing the bride.
After the filming the congregation called for the church to be reconsecrated.
German public television refused to screen the video for several years for fear
of offending churchgoers.[4]
At
the end of 1983 they released Hip
Hop Bommi, a hip-hop version of Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder featuring New York rapper Fab Five
Freddy.[5]
In
1984, the band played a session on the BBC’s John Peel
Show. EMI were displeased with the high travel costs claimed by the
band and by Norbert Hähnel publicly parodying their million-selling artist Heino at a Toten
Hosen concert. Heino successfully obtained a court order to cease and desist.
Die Toten Hosen left EMI and signed to Virgin
Records. Their second album Unter Falscher Flagge (Under False Colours), was released
in 1984. The title explained the front cover of the LP, which carried a picture
of the band members dressed as pirates aboard ship. The original back cover
featured the skeleton of a dog sitting in front of a gramophone, a caricature
of the His Master's Voice artwork used by EMI.
Legal action by EMI prompted the album cover to be changed to the skeleton of
an eagle, which, along with the Jolly Roger became
a band logo.
In
spring 1985 the band toured France for the Goethe Institute[6] and
in fall they travelled Hungary and Poland. In late 1985, Trini Trimpop moved
from drumming for the band into their management, where he worked until 1992.
Jakob Keusen briefly replaced him as the 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 a very large audience. Along with Herbert Grönemeyer, Udo
Lindenberg, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, BAP,
the Rodgau Monotones and many others, they performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival in July 1986
to protest the construction of a nuclear waste processing plant in nearby Wackersdorf.
In
1986, they recorded their third album Damenwahl (Ladies'
Choice). The Damenwahl tour was sponsored by the northern German condom
manufacturer Fromms, who arranged for free samples to be scattered amongst the
crowd.[7] In
1987, the band celebrated its first chart success with the record Never Mind the Hosen, Here's Die
Roten Rosen (Never mind the Trousers – Here’s the Red
Roses) using the pseudonym Die Roten Rosen (The Red Roses). The album contains
rock versions of German 1960s pop songs. The name and cover art of the record
are a parody of the LP Never Mind the Bollocks,
Here’s the Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols from
1977.
In
late 1987, Die Toten Hosen released their first live album Bis zum bitteren Ende (Till
the Bitter End). It charted in the German and Austrian Top 30.
