Die Toten Hosen

Die Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. They are one of very few German-language acts who have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany; Die Ärzte, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and Herbert Grönemeyer being the only other contenders in this respect.

Related Topics:
German - Punk - Düsseldorf - Die Ärzte - Marius Müller-Westernhagen - Herbert Grönemeyer

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The members of Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Pants" in English; "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "lifeless", "boring", or "nothing going on") are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Vom Ritchie), Andi (Andreas Meurer) and Breiti (Michael Breitkopf). Vom replaced Wölli as the drummer in 1999 (Wölli's untimely departure from the band was due to injuries caused by a car accident), who himself had replaced Trini in 1985 and is still an honorary member of the band; Trini became the band's manager.

Related Topics:
English - Campino

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The band has existed for over 20 years, and their songs' focus gradually shifted from funny and nonsensical to serious; the songs from their first LP were mostly about having fun, but by the end of the 1980s they were focussing more on political and social issues such as racism.

Related Topics:
LP - Racism

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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. In 1988, Die Toten Hosen released the LP "Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau". It refers to the movie A Clockwork Orange based on the book by Anthony Burgess. In 1993, Frank Castorf produced a German theater version of the book, in which Die Toten Hosen performed as actors and musicians.

Related Topics:
1982 - Opel - 1988 - A Clockwork Orange - Book - Anthony Burgess - Frank Castorf

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Their 1000th concert was on 28th June 1997, in the Düsseldorfer Rheinstadium, and was attended by more than 60,000 fans. A Dutch girl died in the crowd; after various talks with security and police, the band decided to play soft songs until the end, in order not to panic the crowd. Later the band produced the song "Alles ist Eins" in memoriam for the Dutch girl.

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Die Toten Hosen have collaborated with numerous other musicians (like Bad Religion, AC/DC, U2, Rolling Stones); they are also one of the few German punk bands popular outside of Germany (esp. in South America, Australia, eastern Europe) other notable bands being Die Ärzte and WIZO.

Related Topics:
Bad Religion - AC/DC - U2 - Rolling Stones - South America - Australia - Eastern Europe - Die Ärzte - WIZO

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As longtime fans of the their local soccer team Fortuna Düsseldorf they have been sponsoring the club from 2001 to 2003.

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