Die Toten Hosen

montage · April 26, 2017, 12:24:48 PM

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Die Toten Hosen (Dead Pants) is a German punk band from Düsseldorf.

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. The 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 was an honorary member of the band until his death in 2016. The drummer until 1985 was Trini Trimpop, who became the band's manager when Wölli joined.

The band is reputed to have played for free at private birthday parties or similar events in their early years, provided that the host provided them with unlimited beer and covered all damage caused by the band.

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. According to their friend and one time promoter Andrea Berzen, they chose the name Die toten Hosen – which literally translates as "the dead trousers" but connotes the German idiom "hier ist tote Hose" or "hier herrscht tote Hose" meaning "there is nothing going on here", "it's boring here

" – over Die Pariser. According to Andrea Berzen, Campino preferred the former because it implied that their concerts might not be sold out, but there might be "tote Hose" on the nights.

At their first concert at the Bremer Schlachthof over Easter 1982, the compère mistakenly introduced them as Die Toten Hasen (The Dead Hares). The debut single Wir sind bereit (We are ready) was released in 1982, and was followed by their first album, Opel-Gang, the next year.

Guitarist Walter November left the band in November 1983 due to his drug problems. 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.

At the end of 1983, they released Hip Hop Bommi, a hip-hop version of Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder featuring New York rapper Fab Five Freddy.

In 1984, the band played a session on the BBC's John Peel Show. EMI were displeased with the band's high travel costs 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 a 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 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. 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.