The Year 1983
On a high from these modest successes, the second year in the annals of Hosen-History was to begin with the production of the first long playing record.
Before that the remaining five - in the meantime guitarist Walter had deserted to join the Jehovah's Witnesses - recorded their third single "Bommerlunder" which further cemented their reputation as a bunch of "chaos-merchants with a concept". This exceedingly popular melody came about in collaboration with Kurt Raab, as did that infamous church video, which was never permitted on TV and resulted in the reconsecration of that particular House of God.
The recording sessions for the debut album "Opel Gang" turned into an endless marathon due to the band's deplorable financial situation. "Whenever we'd saved a mark or two, it went straight back into the recordings, and when the funds were gone, it was out fly posting and off doing any odd job to get money." The band set off on tour again with song titles such as "Modestadt Duesseldorf" ("Fashion-city Duesseldorf"). On this occasion and in Italy's capital city no less, the gap between performer and audience was bridged by a mass punch up on stage. Back home again, the Toten Hosen played on the Rhein embankment in Duesseldorf; hundreds of fans, who had travelled from afar and warmed only by free beer, endured not just the arctic temperatures, but also doggedly continued the journey on through the night with the band to their next gig in Moers.
To crown it all, at the end of the year the Hosen showed great pioneering spirit. Together with the New York rapper Fab Five Freddy the first "punk meets rap" record in music history was made: "Hip Hop Bommi Bop", the continuation of "Bommerlunder" using different stylistic methods, was hopelessly way ahead of its time - to be heard on the Hosen's first maxi-single.
|
