Böhse Onkelz
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| Böhse Onkelz | |
|---|---|
| Founding: | 1980 |
| Division: | 2005 |
| Origin: | Germany |
| Label: | Rock-O-Rama Records Metal Enterprises Bellaphon Records Virgin Records Rule23 Recordings |
| Homepage: | http://www.onkelz.de/ (German) http://www.onkelz.com/ (English) |
| Members | |
| Vocals: | Kevin Richard Russell |
| Bass guitar, Vocals, Acoustic guitar: |
Stephan Weidner |
| Drums: | Peter "Pe" Schorowsky |
| Guitar: | Matthias "Gonzo" Röhr (1981) |
The Böhse Onkelz (German böse Onkel - evil uncles) were one of Germany's most successful rock groups.
Contents |
[edit] History
Inspired by bands like the Sex Pistols or the Ramones Stephan Weidner (17), Kevin Richard Russell (16) and Peter Schorowsky (16) founded a punk band in November 1980 in Hösbach. They got their name from some kids who named the three boys "evil uncles" on November, 25th, 1980, because they had stolen a carriage from one of the kids. Kevin's mother suffered from alcohol problems, while Stephan's father owned a brothel and made his son work in the next-door tavern. At first, the band was active mainly in the region of Frankfurt am Main. - In 1981 Matthias 'Gonzo' Röhr (18) joined the band. He had already played guitar for six years in different bands (e.g. "Antikörper") and brought his musical experience into the rather bad band. In the beginning, Pe played drums, Stephan the guitar, Gonzo the bass and Kevin did the vocals. Shortly before the first recordings for the sampler "Soundtrack zum Untergang 2" ("Soundtrack to the fall Vol. 2"), Gonzo and Stephan changed instruments.
[edit] Entering the skinhead scene
The band recorded their first bigger release on the rather left-wing oriented punk sampler "Soundtracks zum Untergang", but after the so far unpolitical punk movement moved further to the left, the Onkelz lost interest in subculture. Soccer became more important and fights accumulated.
The band accounted themselves as part of the originally also unpolitical Oi movement and went through their first drift to the political right in the early 1980s. The first gigs and demos that had been released by the time served the prejudices of their unpolitical to right-extreme fans. In 1984, the release of the album "Der nette Mann" (The nice man) followed on right-wing rock label Rock-O-Rama. This album was indexed in September, 1986 because of its violence-glorifying and sexist content. The album also contained patriotic songs such as "Stolz" (Proud) and "Deutschland" (Germany), by which the Onkelz slowly gained cult status in the right-wing scene. The album "Der nette Mann" was copied numerous times to cassettes and thereby spread rapidly in the scene. Shortly after the release of the Mexico EP the band split with Rock-O-Rama.
[edit] After the exit from the skinhead scene
Since their exit from the skinhead scene in 1986 the band proceeded unpolitically. The following albums also contained songs about drinking and violence, but were musically and in their lyrics more complex , despite substantial problems caused through Kevin's alcohol and heroin addictions, which escalated after the murder of the band's best friend Andreas "Trimmi" Trimborn by a soldier whose father was a high-ranking officer in the Bundeswehr. Kevin's drug addiction nearly killed him.
In 1992, without any marketing, the album "Heilige Lieder" (Holy songs) rose to no. 5 on the German LP-charts. Despite their greater commercial success, the band was marked with the stigma of being a right-wing band till the end. During various xenophobia-related attacks, the media discovered the right-wing past of the band. Following some critical reports, the Onkelz were faced with substantial criticism, which among other things led to individual radio stations refusing to play Onkelz songs. Many outside observers simply didn't believe that the band had "seen the light" and considered their exit from the skinhead scene as a maneuver to avoid banning and prosecution. Also, some badly researched articles were published, which did considerable harm to the Onkelz's reputation. As a reaction, Weidner wrote songs like "Fahrt zur Hölle" (Go to hell) on the white album or "Danke für Nichts" (Thanks for nothing) on "Hier sind die Onkelz".
Additionally, big department stores such as Media Markt, World of Music (WOM) and Saturn refused to sell Onkelz albums. By the end of the 1990's, however, Media Markt and WOM took the albums back into their range of products. Only Saturn refused to sell them until their last album Adios in 2005, which was, along with the later albums, on top of the charts for several weeks. In the following years, the Onkelz repeatedly took position against extremism of any kind and referred to themselves as outsiders without any political affiliation.
The band has a huge fan community and is one of the most successful German music groups. For a German rock band, they were economically very successful. In 1998 they sold about 300,000 copies of the album "Viva los tioz" within the first 48 hours after release.
On August 8, 2003, the „musical accolade“ (Quote: http://www.onkelz.de) happened: Despite negative headlines and libellous pamphlets, the Böhse Onkelz were chosen as supporting act to the Rolling Stones for their concert in the EXPO-area in Hannover.
[edit] End of career
When the 5-year-contract with Virgin ended in 2003, the band found a new selling partner in the indie label SPV GmbH for the last album „Adios“. On May 24, 2004 the Onkelz officially announced their retreat from active music business. The following statement was published on their homepage: „[...] but - to be honest to ourselves, this is the logical consequence after all. During the past 24 years, from the basement in Hösbach to the sold-out Festhalle in Frankfurt, the Onkelz never had the ambition to reach rock-olympus being hermits with greyed hair, but if, then with full verve and not while sitting on the descending branch..“ After the release of the album, a gig on the Wacken Open Air in August 2004 and the sold-out tour "La Ultima", the farewell show (with about 100.000 fans) took place on 17th and 18th June 2005 at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Lusatia, Brandenburg) under the name "Vaya con tioz" (Spanish for: 'Go with the Onkelz').
Besides the Onkelz, headliner support acts such as Motörhead, Machine Head, J.B.O., In Extremo, Psychopunch, Children of Bodom and other bands and Onkelz coverbands like the Enkelz played. Misfits and Turbonegro had first agreed, but withdrew after public pressure. Marky Ramone cancelled a few days before the concert, because he was threatened with boycott in the USA.
During the first concert at the farewell show, the Onkelz played the indexed song "Der nette Mann" of the same-name debut album despite warnings of the Landeskriminalamt Brandenburg (State Law Enforcement Agency of Brandenburg).
[edit] Music style
The musical style of the Onkelz has also changed several times. First they played punk, starting with the Album "Kneipenterroristen" (Tavern terrorists), their music was to be assigned stylistically to heavy metal. The fans think they distinguish through the rage of being excluded from society, which speaks out of their souls. Another musical characteristic was singer Kevin Russell's brutal voice.
At the beginning of most albums, the first song is some kind of a welcome, in which the Onkelz present themselves as the greatest in an ironic way. Thus it means by "Onkelz wie wir" (Onkelz like us) on the same named album: "Onkelz wie wir, die fantastischen Vier (Onkelz like us, the fantastic four)", on "Heilige Lieder": "Ja, uns gehört die Welt (Yes, the world belongs to us)", on the album "Hier sind die Onkelz": "Hier sind neue fromme Lieder von den Engeln in zivil (Here are new pious songs from the angels in civilian clothes)", on "E.I.N.S.": "Wir sind der Stachel im Arsch der Nation (We are the spike in the ass of the nation)", and on "Onkelz 2000" from the album "Ein böses Märchen...": "Könige des Pathos, radikale Humanisten, hoffnungslose Außenseiter, Idealisten (Kings of pathos, radical humanists, hopeless outsiders, idealists)". Often the band played with its reputation in the songs; from the refusal that the band and their fans experienced from the public, a community feeling is sworn to.
The band also attacks its critics often because they feel treated in an unfair way. Therefore many songs are directed against the media, especially journalists who are considered with all kind of loathing and criticism: "Der Prophet in diesen Tagen, wisst ihr, wer es ist, das Geschwür in meinem Magen nennt sich Journalist (The prophet these days, do you know who he is, the ulcer in my stomach is known as a journalist.)" (Zeig mir den Weg). This theme pulls itself by the entire discography until today (Zeig mir den Weg, 10 Jahre, Meister der Lügen, Keine Amnestie für MTV, Danke für Nichts, Fahrt zur Hölle).
Furthermore, the Onkelz sang in earlier years various drunkard hymns like Heute trinken wir richtig, Alkohol und Freibier.
Beyond that, texts of later albums are occupied with the Question of the meaning of life, as a passage in the text of Finde die Wahrheit shows: "Denn die Wege sind lang, und selbst der Tod ist nicht ihr Ende, wach endlich auf... (For the paths are long, and even death isn't their end, wake up finally...)". Other songs with this topic are Wieder mal 'nen Tag verschenkt, Stand der Dinge, Das Problem bist Du and Dunkler Ort.
These questions probably arose during and through the trial of the murderer of a very good friend of the band, Andreas "Trimmi" Trimborn. He was fatally injured on 16th June 1990 by a Bundeswehr soldier with a knife. The killer pleaded self-defence during the subsequent trial and was acquitted. This event was mentioned in several songs (Nur die Besten sterben jung, So geht's Dir (Deine Hölle), Das Messer und die Wunde and Der Platz neben mir).
Likewise, another important topic is Self-finding and self-love. In the song "Wenn Du wirklich willst" it means: „Sei Du selbst, steh zu Dir, die Wahrheit wird gelebt und nicht doziert. Du bist was Du warst und Du wirst sein was Du tust, beginne Dich zu lieben, und Du findest, was Du suchst (Be yourself, stand for you, the truth is lived and is not taught. You are what you were and you will be what you do, begin to love yourself and you will find what you are searching for.)". Songs like Das Wunder der Persönlichkeit, Mutier mit mir, Ich mache was ich will und Ich bin wie ich bin refer strongly to individualism.
In later albums, the past is addressed again and again, whereby it often concerns the wild time of the band members. One example is the song Erinnerungen. In the text passage: "Ich erinner' mich gern an diese Zeit, eine Zeit die man nie vergißt. Doch ich muß mein Leben leben, meinen Weg alleine gehn, mach's gut, Du schöne Zeit, auf Wiederseh'n (I gladly remember that time, a time that you never forget. But I have to live my life, must go my way alone. Farewell, beautiful time, good bye)", the exit of the skinhead scene is the topic. The songs Ein langer Weg, Scheiße passiert, Nie wieder, Flammen, Deutschland im Herbst, Buch der Erinnerungen and Ohne mich are also occupied with this topic.
[edit] Right-wing extremism reproaches
Even today the band is accused - despite many attempts at dissociation - to have right-wing-extremist tendencies, whereby frequently the song Türken raus (Turks out) from the year 1981 is named. This song was written during their punk phase. The Onkelz say that the song was developed as a reaction to a specific gang of Turks which often involved the Onkelz in fights. Critics refer to , that the song doesn't refer to a specific group, but demands, that all Turks have to go. This generalization is, so the band says, to be kept in context of their primitive way of thinking at that time. Also the song "Deutschland den Deutschen" (Germany to the Germans), which is a re-written version of "Oi, Oi, Oi", is often named. This song, too, was developed as a reaction to their experiences on the street.
The song SS-Staat (SS state), also from 1981 (on the single Kill the hippies - Oi), is - so the band says- to be understood as a deliberate provocation to the Nazis. The text passage "SS-Staat im Staate, wir wollen's nicht erleben" (SS-state in the state, we don't want to see it)" can be misunderstood as "SS-Staat im Staate, wir wollen's miterleben (SS-state in the state, we want to see it)" because of the bad recording quality. The text itself leaves the assumption of a bad and brutally Nazi song, but the band says it was written "as a glaringly provocation and anti-Nazi-song."
Fans of the band refer to the fact that Türken raus and Deutschland den Deutschen were never released on an official release of the Böhse Onkelz. These songs were spread by copying and passing on the demotapes. Stephan Weidner spoke in an interview on the topic: „The text was a big stupidity and of course there was never a release of this song, and of course there will be never such a release.“
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- 1984: Der nette Mann (The nice man; embargoed due to explicit lyrics) (Rock-O-Rama Records)
- 1985: Böse Menschen - Böse Lieder (Evil men, evil songs) (Rock-O-Rama Records)
- 1985: Mexico (Rock-O-Rama Records)
- 1987: Onkelz wie wir... (Onkelz like us) (Metal Enterprises)
- 1988: Kneipenterroristen (Tavernterrorists) (Metal Enterprises; Re-release 2005 under rule23 recordings)
- 1989: Lügenmarsch (Lie march) (Metal Enterprises; Re-release 2005 under rule23 recordings)
- 1990: Es ist soweit (It's time) (Metal Enterprises; Re-release 2005 under rule23 recordings)
- 1991: Wir ham' noch lange nicht genug (We haven't had our fill by a long shot) (Bellaphon Records; Re-release 2001 under rule23 recordings)
- 1992: Heilige Lieder (Holy songs) (Bellaphon Records; Re-release 2001 under rule23 recordings)
- 1993: Weiß (White) (Bellaphon Records; Re-release 2001 under rule23 recordings)
- 1993: Schwarz (Black) (Bellaphon Records; Re-release 2001 under rule23 recordings)
- 1995: Hier sind die Onkelz (Here are the Onkelz) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 1996: E.I.N.S. (O.N.E.) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 1998: Viva los tioz (Spanish for: Long live the Onkelz) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 2000: Ein böses Märchen aus 1000 finsteren Nächten (An evil fairytale from a thousand sinister nights) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 2002: Dopamin (rule23 Recordings)
- 2004: Adios (Album) (rule23 Recordings)
[edit] Live releases
- 1992: Live in Vienna (CD and VHS) (Bellaphon Records)
- 1997: Live in Dortmund (CD and VHS) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 2001: Tour 2000 (CD, DVD and VHS) (rule23 Recordings)
- 2001: 20 Jahre - Live in Frankfurt (CD and DVD) (rule23 Recordings)
- 2005: Live in Hamburg (CD) (rule23 Recordings)
- 2005: La Ultima / Live in Berlin (DVD) (rule23 Recordings)
[edit] Singles
- 1981: Kill The Hippies - Oi (Edition: 2 pieces) (I-EM-OI)
- 1992: Ich bin in Dir (I'm in you) (Bellaphon Records)
- 1995: Finde die Wahrheit (Find the truth) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 1998: Terpentin (Turpentine) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 1998: Tour 1998 Shape CD (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 2000: Dunkler Ort (Dark place) (Virgin Schallplatten)
- 2002: Keine Amnestie für MTV (No amnesty for MTV) (rule23 Recordings)
- 2004: Onkelz vs. Jesus (rule23 Recordings)
[edit] Best-Of
- 1994: Gehasst, verdammt, vergöttert …die letzten Jahre (Hated, doomed and worshipped …the last years) (Bellaphon Records; Re-release 2001 under rule23 recordings)
- 2001: Gestern war heute noch morgen (Yesterday today was still tomorrow) (rule23 Recordings)
[edit] Compilations
- 1982: Soundtracks zum Untergang 2 (Soundtracks for the fall 2) (Aggressive Rockproduktionen)
[edit] Biography
- 1997: Danke für Nichts (Thanks for nothing) (ISBN 3-00-001743-7) – The 1st edition (15,000 books) contains a CD with 8 demo tracks from the early 1980s.
[edit] Unauthorized releases
- 1986: No Surrender! Vol. 2 (indexed)
- 1988: Freitag Nacht (Friday night)
- 1988: Hässlich (Ugly; indexed)
- 1989: Hass / Was kann ich denn dafür? (Hate / What can I do for it?)
- 1989: Stolz / Singen und Tanzen (Proud / Sing and dance)
- 1990: 6 für Deutschland (6 for Germany)
- 1992: 6 für Deutschland Vol. 2
- 1992: Könige für einen Tag (Kings for one day)
- 1995: Digital World
- 1995: Heilige Lieder Gold (Holy Songs Gold)
- 1996: Nur die Besten sterben jung (Only the best die young)
- 1998: Buch der Erinnerung (Book of memories)
- 2001: Wir schrieben Geschichte (We wrote history)
- 2003: Fahrt zur Hölle! (Go to hell!)
These are releases from their former labels Rock-O-Rama, Metal Enterprises and Bellaphon Records. There are also over 200 bootleg recordings, such as live performances, mixes or private Best-Of albums.
[edit] External links
- http://www.onkelz.com - The Official Website (English)
- http://www.onkelz.de - The Official Website (German)
- http://www.3Tioz.de - Supporters Fanzine (German)
- http://www.dunklerort.net
- http://www.onkelzbootlegs.de - Download all Live-Bootlegs and Mixes for free. Even DVDs are offered.
[edit] Sources and references
- Edmund Hartsch: Böhse Onkelz – Danke für nichts (Frankfurt am Main, BO Management AG, 1997)
