Coming together at the Ratinger Hof, a Düsseldorf bar notorious for being one of the premier hang-outs for punks all over the city, Die Toten Hosen formed as a six piece and in true punk rock style, played their first show barely a month after they formed in 1982. So new were they that when they were introduced on stage the compere got their name wrong. However, the band weren’t to be deterred and soon got enough of a cult following around their local punk scene that they could record and self-release their first single “Wir Sind Bereit” (We Are Ready). Although they lost their guitarist Walter November in 1983, the rest of the year was very kind to them, as thanks to the success of their single Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder (ice-cold Bommerlunder schnapps) on German radio, they signed to EMI Records in the summer of the same year and released their debut album “Opel-Gang” soon afterwards.
For the remainder of the decade, the band were one of the most outspoken and controversial names in German rock music. Never afraid to puncture the egos of their paymasters whether it was EMI or Virgin Records, who they signed to in 1984, or take a stand for what they believed in as a band. By 1989, the band were big enough to sell out the cavernous, 16,500 capacity Westfallenhallen in Dortmund and the album that they released afterwards, 1990’s “Kreuzzug ins Glück” (Crusade to happiness) would go on to sell over 150’000 in its first week of release. Ever since then, the band have managed to do the impossible in the world of punk rock, which is to have a lengthy, succesful career in mainstream rock without ever capitulating to anyone else’s idea of what they should be as a band. They remain punk rock heroes to this very day, releasing the most vital material of their career over thirty years after forming. For that, Die Toten Hosen come highly recommended.
Die Toten Hosen (translation to The Dead Pants) have been around and going strong for over 30 years now, and a lot of aspiring punk acts could learn a lot from the band. It’s crazy to think that the Germans met in a bar in Dusseldorf, and have come this far. Although they’ve seen a couple of alterations in the line up over the years, the band are still as strong as ever, and are creating music to the same standard that they were 30 years ago, if not better!
The band have released a staggering 15 albums, so going to see them live in concert, I really didn’t know how they were going to select their set list. It turned out that rather than focusing on a particular time period, they gave a fantastic performance of a selection of tracks from over the years. They opened with Bayern (Bavaria in English), and those guitar chords immediately had everyone completely invested in their performance. It’s great to hear musicians who are skilled at their instrument as well as the vocals, and you really get that from these guys.
They played songs from all across their back catalogue, and even had a couple of unreleased tracks for us, which was insanely exciting, and made everyone feel really privileged to be there. They’ve not lost their touch over the years at all, and they should really keep on performing, they’re still so talented.
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