Die Toten Hosen

Coming together at the Ratinger Hof, a Düsseldorf bar notorious for being one of the premier hang-outs for punks all over the city, Die Toten Hosen formed as a six piece and in true punk rock style, played their first show barely a month after they formed in 1982. So new were they that when they were introduced on stage the compere got their name wrong. However, the band weren’t to be deterred and soon got enough of a cult following around their local punk scene that they could record and self-release their first single “Wir Sind Bereit” (We Are Ready). Although they lost their guitarist Walter November in 1983, the rest of the year was very kind to them, as thanks to the success of their single Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder (ice-cold Bommerlunder schnapps) on German radio, they signed to EMI Records in the summer of the same year and released their debut album “Opel-Gang” soon afterwards.

For the remainder of the decade, the band were one of the most outspoken and controversial names in German rock music. Never afraid to puncture the egos of their paymasters whether it was EMI or Virgin Records, who they signed to in 1984, or take a stand for what they believed in as a band. By 1989, the band were big enough to sell out the cavernous, 16,500 capacity Westfallenhallen in Dortmund and the album that they released afterwards, 1990’s “Kreuzzug ins Glück” (Crusade to happiness) would go on to sell over 150’000 in its first week of release. Ever since then, the band have managed to do the impossible in the world of punk rock, which is to have a lengthy, succesful career in mainstream rock without ever capitulating to anyone else’s idea of what they should be as a band. They remain punk rock heroes to this very day, releasing the most vital material of their career over thirty years after forming. For that, Die Toten Hosen come highly recommended.

The band should stand as living proof to punk rock purists that commercial success is not, and has never been, the same thing as selling out. Yes, the band’s sound is far more accessible today than the visceral hardcore of their early years.

However, if they were to take a cursory listen to the lyrics of any random song of theirs, they would be shocked to find that they are still as intelligent, profound and straight up angry as they ever were and this even stretches to the bands biggest hits.

Take songs like “Help Is on the Way", “Savior”, "Make It Stop (September's Children)" and “Prayer Of The Refugee” for example. These are polarising songs about difficult, yet very topical subjects that don’t shy away from taking a defined stance.

However the combined Youtube hits for those videos are, astonishingly enough, around 86 Million. This is a band that manages to plug the It Gets Better project, PETA and Amnesty International while filling arenas in their home country and large theaters and concert halls around the world.

To have a fully-fledged rock band with a message as vital as theirs playing on such a large scale the world over is a blessing that we haven’t had since the days of The Clash. With a tour schedule like theirs, it’s only a matter of time before they play wherever you are, and there are few bands out their more likely to change your life than the one and only Rise Against.