The Year 1999
Vom Ritchie
In January and February the Hosen travelled through India on motor bikes "and didn't speak a word about music for five whole weeks" (Campino). No sooner had they returned, it was back to writing songs, for a good three years had passed since "Opium". Quite out of the blue, the Hosen received the enticing offer to provide the title track for the film "You are dead" - a cross between Trainspotting, Killing Zoe and A Clockwork Orange. Because the film appealed to them, they agreed and the eponymous song title appeared on the soundtrack.
Towards the end of the year the album "Unsterblich" ("Immortal") appeared - itself an attempt to combine the carefree attitude of the early years with more profound lyrics. And for the first time classical elements, swing and sounds from the sixties, could be discerned in their music. These extremely popular melodies which typify the music of the Toten Hosen, arose partly in collaboration with the Berlin artist and singer Funny van Dannen. The album went straight to No 1. The first single "Schoen sein" was available for two days as a free download on the Internet and no fewer than 100,000 Hosen-Homepage hits were registered from fans from 73 different countries, including the USA, Australia, Argentina and the Coconut Islands.
Wölli, who had been suffering from a lumbar disc problem from the previous tour, took five. He was replaced by his long-standing drum tech, Vom Richie, but remains a fully-fledged band member, promising the fans that "I'm gonna carry on torturing you!!!!"
|
