Böhse Onkelz

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Biography

Böhse Onkelz (, derived from the German term "Böse Onkels", roughly translated as "bad uncles" or "evil uncles") was a German Rock band|rock group that existed from 1980 to 2005. Despite criticism by the mass media over their controversial past, since Viva los tioz in 1998 almost every one of their albums have reached number one on the German album charts. According to record certifications and additional sources, they have sold over 5.338.000 records and 425,000 videos/DVDs.Chartquellen: E.I.N.S. is their most successful album with over 510,000 units sold.

History

1980–1981: Founding

Inspired by bands like the Sex Pistols or the Ramones , Böhse Onkelz started out in November 1980 in Hösbach as a punk rock band. Founding members were Stephan Weidner|Stephan "Der W" Weidner , Kevin Russell (musician)|Kevin Russell and Peter Schorowsky|Peter "Pe" Schorowsky . According to the official band biography the bandname came from some younger teenagers of their neighbourhood, when they warned their younger siblings about them with the words:„…Vorsicht, da sind die bösen Onkels!…“ because they would take away their sledges.Edmund Hartsch: In: Böhse Onkelz, Danke für nichts. First Edition, 1997, p. 28.
The name is an intentionally incorrect spelling of "evil uncles" ( böse Onkel ). Before that they called themselves Beulenpest for two weeks, as seen on the Tour 2000-film. Initially, the band was active mainly in the region of Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main .

The band kept its initial line-up until Matthias Röhr (nicknamed Gonzo after the Ted Nugent album of the same name) joined them in 1981. Musically he was by far the most experienced of the group; he had been playing guitar for six years, and had played in other bands such as Antikörper .Edmund Hartsch: In: Böhse Onkelz, Danke für nichts. First Edition, 1997, p. 39. Since Weidner played guitar, Matthias started out on bass, but they switched instruments before their first recordings for the punk sampler Soundtracks zum Untergang 2 .Edmund Hartsch: In: Böhse Onkelz, Danke für nichts. First Edition, 1997, p. 58.

1981–1985: Skinhead scene

:de:Soundtracks zum Untergang|Soundtracks zum Untergang 2 ( Soundtracks to the Downfall Vol. 2 ) was a left-wing oriented punk sampler on which Böhse Onkelz featured in the band's first widely released recording. However, after the until-then apolitical punk movement moved further into anarchism, the band lost interest in this subculture. Football (soccer)|Football became more important in their lives, and with it, the fights surrounding it.

Initially the band considered themselves part of the (originally nonpolitical) Oi! genre, but they underwent their first drift to the political right in the early 1980s. Their album Der nette Mann was released in 1984 by the label Rock-O-Rama , which left its punk roots behind and concentrated on records by Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi and far right bands. This album was Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons|indexed in September 1986 because of its alleged sexism and glorification of violence. The album also contained the patriotic songs "Stolz" ("Pride") and "Deutschland" ("Germany"), which gave the band cult status in the far right scene. The album was followed by Böse Menschen – Böse Lieder in 1985. Shortly after the release of the Mexico (album)|Mexico EP in late 1985, the band split with Rock-O-Rama, because the band was defrauded of royalties and because of the growing far right reputation of the label, which did not represent their point of view.

In 1985, Böhse Onkelz played roles in the TV movie Zagarbata from Tabea Blumenschein. The film was a co-production of the ZDF and was directed by Christoph Dreher. It was about the skinhead and punk subcultures in the early 1980s.

1986–1992: Indexing and media attention

Apart from the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons|indexing of Der nette Mann in 1986, it became calm around the band after their departure from the skinhead scene. After one charity concert, there were no live performances until 1989. In 1987, they released the album Onkelz wie wir... , which was followed by Kneipenterroristen in 1988. The albums also contained songs about drinking and violence, but were much richer musically and lyrically. Despite substantial problems caused by Russell's alcohol and heroin addictions, the band continued to work together.

Around this time, the band was widely ignored by the media, but this changed with rising album sales of Es ist soweit , Wir ham’ noch lange nicht genug and Heilige Lieder .

On 16 June 1990, the band's best friend, Andreas "Trimmi" Trimborn, was stabbed to death during an incident in a bar located in Frankfurt's Sachsenhausen (Frankfurt am Main)|Sachsenhausen district. Only two days, later Böhse Onkelz supporters located the assailant, a " Bundeswehr " soldier whose father held a high military rank. The murderer was tried in court but released without sentence. The judge stated that the Böhse Onkelz band and entourage were known to be violent, and that the stabbing was committed in self-defense. Even today, all witnesses sharply reject this claim that Trimmi threatened the killer and his companion, both of whom allegedly snorted cocaine just minutes before the incident. Russell fell into a severe depression over the loss of his friend and tried to compensate his grief with drugs and alcohol. His substance abuse habits became so destructive that he almost died. The songs Nur die besten sterben jung ( Only the best die young ) and Der Platz neben mir ( The place beside me ) were written about, and dedicated to, Trimmi.

1992–1997: Commercial success and criticism

In 1992, without any marketing, the album Heilige Lieder rose to no. 5 on the German LP charts. Despite their increasing commercial success, the band was marked with the stigma of being a right-wing band till the end. Following some critical reports, the Onkelz faced substantial criticism, which among other things led to radio stations refusing to play their songs. Many observers simply did not believe that the band had "seen the light" and instead considered their exit from the white power scene as a maneuver to avoid bans and prosecution. The band's reputation suffered due to several poorly researched articles written about them. As a reaction to this, Weidner wrote songs like "Fahrt zur Hölle" ("Go To Hell") on Weiß & Schwarz|Weiß or "Danke für Nichts" ("Thanks for Nothing") on Hier sind die Onkelz ( Here are the Onkelz ).

Big department stores such as Media Markt , World of Music (WOM) and Saturn (store)|Saturn refused to sell their albums. By the end of the 1990s, however, Media Markt and WOM took the albums back into their range of products. Only Saturn refused to sell them until the band's final album Adios (Böhse Onkelz album)|Adios in 2005 which, along with others of their later albums, was on top of the charts for several weeks.

From the early 1990s onwards, the Onkelz repeatedly took public positions against extremism of any kind, and referred to themselves as outsiders with no political affiliation. In 1993 on the album Weiß , in reference to the Riot of Rostock-Lichtenhagen , the band made their first song clearly disapproving of right-wing extremism : "Deutschland im Herbst" ("Germany in Autumn"). Singing about "braune Scheiße" ("brown scum"), referring to the colour of the NSDAP , "ich sehe blinden Hass, blinde Wut feige Morde, Kinderblut" ("I see blind hatred, blind anger cowardly murders, childrens blood") and "blinde Parolen von Idioten und Verlierern" ("blind slogans of idiots and losers"). The song "Ohne mich" ("without me") from the 1998 album Viva los Tioz speaks out against right and left wing extremism. The lyrics of the first verse argue that anti-fascists were, in fighting the band, not seeing their real enemy, and were no better than fascists, at whom the second verse, which consists mostly of swearing, is directed. The band also acknowledges its past in the skinhead scene singing: "Ihr seit dumm geboren, genau wie ich. Doch was ich lernte, lernt ihr nicht." ("You were born dumb just like me. But what I learned, you are not learning")

In 1994, the band moved to the record label Virgin Records and were signed for the first time to a major label , under which they released the album Hier sind die Onkelz one year later. It reached number five on the album charts. The 1996 album E.I.N.S. followed (no. four on the charts), and its title was interpreted by some in the media as Eigentlich immer noch Skins ( In fact still Skins ). On the album, there was a song called "Enie Tfahcstob rüf Ediona-RAP" that criticized those interpretations and made them look ridiculous. The album E.I.N.S was voted in multiple reader-polls of professional music journals (e.g. Rock Hard (magazine)|Rock Hard , Metal Hammer ) into the top 10 of the category of Best Metal Album of All Time, although it was not the most sold album of the band.

Since the mid-1990s, the band referred to their fans as "nephews" and "nieces" to strengthen the communal spirit with them. This is expressed in the song "Danke" from the album „Ein böses Märchen… …aus tausend finsteren Nächten“.

1997–2004: Number 1 in the charts

The band has a huge fan community and is one of the most successful German music groups. In 1998, they sold about 300,000 copies of the album Viva los tioz within the first 48 hours after release. In 2000 they released Ein böses Märchen the first album under their new record label rule23 Recordings and produced their first music video for the single Ein böses Märchen#Single|Dunkler Ort , which was broadcastet on MTV . Later an MTV Masters special about the Onkelz was made. When the Onkelz saw the final version, they felt mistreated and presented in a wrong way, which lead to a small feud. In 2002 the Onkelz released the diss track "Keine Amnestie für MTV" ("No Amnesty for MTV"), indicating that they will never work together in the future again. In 2002 the Onkelz released the album Dopamin , which was entirely recorded on the Spanish island Ibiza and mastered in the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.

On 8 August 2003, despite negative headlines, the Böhse Onkelz were chosen as supporting act to the The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones for their concert in the AWD-Arena|Open Air Arena in the Hanover fairground . In the same year they played a Club tour in Germany under their alias "Los Tioz", which is Spanish for "Die Onkelz".

2004–2005: Career end

When the band's five year contract with Virgin ended in 2003, they found a new distributor in SPV GmbH for their final album, Adios (Böhse Onkelz album)|Adios . On 24 May 2004 the Onkelz officially announced their retreat from the active music business. 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 took place on 17 and 18 June 2005 at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (in Lusatia , Brandenburg ) under the name Vaya Con Tioz , in front of approximately 120,000. It was the biggest open air show by a German band ever. Supporting bands included Motörhead , Machine Head (band)|Machine Head , J.B.O. , In Extremo , Psychopunch, Children of Bodom , Pro-Pain , several other bands and Onkelz-coverbands like the Enkelz or the Kneipenterroristen.

2005-present: Aftermath

On February 16. 2007 the last concert was released on four DVDs under the name Vaya Con Tioz which is Spanish for "go with the Onkelz" referring to "Vaya con dios" which means "Go with god". In 2008 it was certified with an Echo (music award) in the category „Musik-DVD-Produktion (national)“. In November 2007 the Onkelz released a re-recording of their album Onkelz wie wir... because it was the only possibility to regain the musical rights for the songs, that still belonged to their former label "Metal Enterprises". Each Stephan Weidner und Matthias Röhr have since released two solo album s and one Live album .

On New Year's Eve 2009 Russells car collided with another car and, he committed hit and run under the influence of drugs. Two young men were seriously injured in the accident. On October 4, 2010, Russell was sentenced to two years and three months prison by the court of Frankfurt am Main .

Multiple events around the topic "Böhse Onkelz" are organised in Germany, such ase G.O.N.D. (Größte Onkelz Nacht Deutschlands) (Greatest Onkelz night of Germany) which has been held since 2006. In 2009, around 18,000 people attended.

Musical style and lyrical content

Their musical style has changed several times. Originally they played punk rock , starting with the demo (music)|demo album . They were heavily inspired by punk bands such as Sex Pistols and the Ramones , as well as Oi! bands like Sham 69 , Cock Sparrer and Angelic Upstarts . Their music was stylistically similar to Oi& #33; in the early and mid 1980s, and later to heavy metal music|heavy metal and hard rock . Russell's brutal vocals have also been a very distinctive part of the band's style.

On later albums, the band experimented with different musical styles. The song "1000 Fragen" ("1000 questions") is a tribute to The Doors , with metaphysical lyrics and organ music. On the album Viva los tioz they combined hard rock rhythms with electronic music . An Indian sitar was used in the song "Einmal" from the album Adios (Böhse Onkelz album)|Adios . The nickname of the guitarist Gonzo is derived from the album title Double Live Gonzo from Ted Nugent , whose music he listened to regularly. Gonzo and Stephan were also fans of the American blues rock musician Stevie Ray Vaughan , whom they dedicated the instrumental song "Tribute to Stevie" on the 1993 album Weiß .Official biography, "Danke für nichts"

At the beginning of most of their albums, the first song is a kind of a welcome, in which the Böhse Onkelz present themselves as the greatest in an ironic way. Many of their songs are directed against their critics, especially journalists. For example "Danke für nichts", "Zeig mir den Weg", "Jaja", "Keine Amnestie für MTV". Furthermore, in earlier years the Onkelz sang various drunkard hymns like "Heute trinken wir richtig", "Alkohol" and "Freibier".

Beyond that, lyrics 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 already!"''). 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 Andreas "Trimmi" Trimborn, mentioned above. This event was mentioned in several songs ("Nur die Besten sterben jung", "So geht's Dir (Deine Hölle)", "Das Messer und die Wunde", "Ganz egal", and "Der Platz neben mir").

Other topics addressed by the band's lyrics are individualism, self-finding and self-love. In the song "Wenn Du wirklich willst" are the lyrics „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" and "Ich bin wie ich bin" refer strongly to that topic.

In later albums, the past is addressed again and again, whereby it often concerns the wild experiences 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, have to go my way alone. Farewell, beautiful time, good bye"''), the topic is the band's exit from the skinhead scene. The songs "Ein langer Weg", "Scheiße passiert", "Nie wieder", "Flammen", "Deutschland im Herbst", "Buch der Erinnerungen" and "Ohne mich" also concern themselves occupied with this topic.

Accusations of right-wing extremism

Even today, the band is accused — despite many attempts at dissociation — of having extreme right-wing tendencies. Often the band's 1981 song Türken raus is mentioned as an example. This song was written during their punk phase, and the band says it was written as a reaction to a specific gang of Turks which often fought against them. Critics claim that the song does not refer to a specific group, but demands that "all Turks have to go". This generalization must, according to the band, be taken in the context of their primitive way of thinking at that time. The song Deutschland den Deutschen ( Germany to the Germans ) from 1983, is also often mentioned. The band says that this song was also written in reaction to their experiences on the street.

Another song from 1981, "SS-Staat" ("SS state"), on the single Kill the Hippies - Oi! , is, according to the band, to be understood as "a glaringly provocation and anti-Nazi-song." Due to the bad recording quality, the line "SS-Staat im Staate, wir wollen's nicht erleben" ("SS-state in the state, we don't want to experience it") can be misheard as "SS-Staat im Staate, wir wollen's mit erleben" ("SS-state in the state, we want to experience").

"Türken raus" and "Deutschland den Deutschen" were never officially released. These songs were spread by copying and passing on the demotapes. Weidner said: "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."

The band has denied all right-wing tendencies since 1985, and have written several songs against extremism, totalitarism and racism. Later political songs promote independent opinion and oppose hate.

Discography

Studio albums

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1984: Der nette Mann (indexed) (Rock-O-Rama Records)

1985: Böse Menschen – Böse Lieder (Rock-O-Rama Records)

1985: Mexico (album)|Mexico (Mini-LP) (Rock-O-Rama Records)

1987: Onkelz wie wir... (Metal Enterprises)

1988: Kneipenterroristen (Metal Enterprises)

1989: Lügenmarsch|Lügenmarsch (Picture-Mini-LP) (Metal Enterprises)

1990: Es ist soweit (Metal Enterprises)

1991: Wir ham’ noch lange nicht genug (Bellaphon Records)

1992: Heilige Lieder (Bellaphon Records)

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1993: Weiß & Schwarz|Weiß (Bellaphon Records)

1993: Weiß & Schwarz|Schwarz (Bellaphon Records)

1995: Hier sind die Onkelz (Virgin Records)

1996: E.I.N.S. (Virgin Records)

1998: Viva los tioz (Virgin Records)

2000: Ein böses Märchen|Ein böses Märchen… …aus tausend finsteren Nächten (Rule 23)

2002: Dopamin (Rule 23)

2004: Adios (Böhse Onkelz album)|Adios (Regel 23, fmr. Rule 23)

2007: Onkelz wie wir (Re-recording, Rule 23)

Since 2001 the albums released under Bellaphon are distributed by the label SPV/regel23. The albums from the Metal Enterprises era: „Kneipenterroristen“, „Es ist soweit“ and the EP „Lügenmarsch“ are distributed with an altered cover by SPV/regel23 since March 2005. The album „Onkelz wie wir…“ was re-recorded and released on November 2, 2007. On December 4, 2009 a new mastered version of the original recordings of "Onkelz Wie Wir" was released as "Onkelz Wie Wir (Black Edition)" by Reflex Distribution & Media (Intergroove), which had bought the rights from Metal Enterprises.

Singles

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1981: Kill the Hippies – Oi (I EM OI; 2 copies)

1992: Heilige Lieder#Single|Ich bin in dir

1995: Hier sind die Onkelz#Single|Finde die Wahrheit

1998: Viva los tioz#Single|Terpentin

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1998: Shape CD (Ticket for the tour of 98)

2000: Ein böses Märchen#Single|Dunkler Ort

2002: Dopamin#Single|Keine Amnestie für MTV

2004: Adios (Böhse Onkelz album)#Singles|Onkelz vs. Jesus

Awards & record certifications

Awards

Year	Presenter	Awards	Result
1999
2001
2003
2005
2006
2008

Record certifications

Goldene Schallplatte|Gold Certification Record Certifications:

* 1995: for the Album „Heilige Lieder“

* 1996: for the Album „E.I.N.S.“

* 1996: for the Album „Hier sind die Onkelz“

* 1997: for the Album „Wir ham' noch lange nicht genug“

* 1997: for the Video „Live in Dortmund“

* 1997: for the Video „Live in Vienna“

* 1998: for the Album „Live in Dortmund“

* 2000: for the Single „Dunkler Ort“

* 2000: for the Album „Ein böses Märchen aus tausend finsteren Nächten“

* 2001: for the Album „Gestern war heute noch morgen“

* 2003: for the Album „Gehasst, Verdammt, Vergöttert“

* 2003: for the Album „Live in Vienna“

* 2003: for the Album „Schwarz“

* 2003: for the Album „Weiß“

* 2005: for the Album „Live in Hamburg“

* 2005: for the DVD „La Ultima / Live in Berlin“

* 2006: for the DVD „Böhse Onkelz Tour 2000“

* 1998: for the Album „Viva los Tioz“

* 1998: for the Album „Hier sind die Onkelz“

* 1998: for the Album „E.I.N.S.“

Platinum Certification

* 2000: for the Album „Ein böses Märchen aus tausend finsteren Nächten“

* 2003: for the Video „Live in Vienna“

* 2005: for the DVD „La Ultima / Live in Berlin“

* 2006: for the Album „E.I.N.S.“

* 2006: for the DVD „20 Jahre - Live in Frankfurt“

* 2006: for the DVD „Böhse Onkelz Tour 2000“

* 2006: for the Video „Live in Dortmund“

Goldene Schallplatte|3x Gold Certification

* 2005: for the DVD „La Ultima / Live in Berlin“

* 2006: for the DVD „20 Jahre - Live in Frankfurt“

2x Platinum Certification

* 2007: for the DVD „La Ultima / Live in Berlin“

Country	Gold	Platinum
DEU>IFPI	23	9
AUT>IFPI	3	0
total	26	9

|}

Sources and references

Copyright Citations

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1. In Extremo 2. Pro-Pain 3. Vaya Con Dios

Undetermined Music Artists

Böhse Onkelz

Biography

History

1980–1981: Founding

1981–1985: Skinhead scene

1986–1992: Indexing and media attention

1992–1997: Commercial success and criticism

1997–2004: Number 1 in the charts

2004–2005: Career end

2005-present: Aftermath

Musical style and lyrical content

Accusations of right-wing extremism

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards & record certifications

Awards

Record certifications

Further reading

Sources and references

External links

Copyright Citations