The Formative Years - Die Ärzte
If you read the previous instalment of this series, you might recall that reference was made to two Teutonic bands that at some stage have played an integral part and contributed to the descent of youth into the maelstrom of punk in the 1980/90s.
Die Toten Hosen was one of those and their fierce rivals back in the day were based in Berlin: Founded in the same year as Die Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte started as a trio and not unlike DTH rose out of the ashes of a previous punk band, in this case Soilent Grün.
Funnily enough, both bands appeared on the compilation 20 schäumende Stimmungshits, which features a ditty called “Vollmilch”, which pretty early on signified their musical style and self-deprecating sense of humor.
In 1983 they recorded their first 7”, before they were signed to the major label CBS, which – again a parallel to DTH - helped to get them exposure outside the confines of underground music and resonated immensely well with teenagers.
A range of albums followed, which saw the band evolve from a minimalist style to more traditional means of distorted rock with their trademark tongue-in-cheek humor remaining the reliable constant USP.
Lyrically, they moved to taboo subjects like incest and bestiality, which got them indexed by the German government equivalent to the PMRC and resulted in the band being unable to play the respective songs live or promote their albums.
Needless to say, this kind of censorship only added to their appeal as it infused it with a sense of danger, and it became en vogue to trade tapes and sing their songs publicly wherever inappropriate.
Eventually, record sales dropped because of their albums being forcefully removed from record shops and the ever-resourceful band circumvented the ban by releasing all censored songs on an album that was not to be sold to minors, which was also put on the index.
Momentum built and when they released their next album, “Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit”, it charted immediately. The band decided to end things on a high, did one last sold out tour and ended their first chapter in 1987 with a fantastic triple live album, which was celebrated frenetically and sealed their legacy.
When they reformed in 1993, they reformed with a powerful statement against the emerging right-wing development in reunified Germany, the album on which it appeared instantaneously resonated with its varied compositions comprised of rock, punk but also ballads, which were still performed in their trademark ways yet lacked the childish humour and urge to forcefully ridicule everything in their path.
The following albums and decades saw them continue to carve their own niche while scoring number one hits along the way.
All three protagonists ventured out to launch successful solo careers, with Die Ärzte only convening when they deemed that the stars aligned to record a new album or play selected shows and tour, sometimes incognito in little clubs under pseudonyms.
Not unlike Die Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte are pioneers of German punk, which due to their idiosyncratic style is largely unknown outside the confines of countries where their language and humour is not understood and they remain one of the very few bands in Germany with a punk rock pedigree that maintains relevance and successful while not succumbing to any formula.
