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 Böhse Onkelz:In the winter of 1979, in Hösbach, Stephan Weidner, Kevin Russell & Pe, aka Peter Schorowsky, founded the "Boehsen Onkäls" as a hardcore punk band in Kevin's basement. They had a bass, an amplifier, two drums & a guitar pick. Entering the Frankfurt scene they quickly made a name for themselves as a not so good but authentic punk band. They wanted Gonzo, aka Matthias Röhr, as their fourth man but it wasn't until he'd left playing bass for Anti-körper that he joined the band for good.A demo-tape came out & it was about this time that the band started to take an interest in "oi" & the skin influence from England was seen in both manner & dress... In 1981 two songs, "Hippie" & "Religion" appeared on "Untergang II", their first official release & in 1982 they found themselves playing, for the first time, outside of Frankfurt. Their first album, "Der nette Mann" appeared in May, 1984 & struck the scene like a bomb! Barely a year later they put out "Böse Menschen, Böse Lieder". It had nothing that could be misconstrued, it was about football, violence & drinking. In the beginning of 1986 they released "Onkelz wie wir" which, for the first time, drew the attention of the metal scene. As the fanbase grew, the band also thought it was time to officially cut links with the skin scene but the change wasn't accepted by all... Press & radios advocated boycotts, stage bans followed & in September 1986 "Der nette Mann", because of glorified violence & pornography :-O, was indexed by the BPS. 1987's "Kneipenterroristen" probably didn't help matters w/ songs about fighting, drugs & alcohol. In 1991, the "professional phase" began when they switched to Bellaphon, their first major deal. "Wir ham' noch lange nicht genug" received good reviews with certain critics & sold 150,000 copies. Hostilities continued as well as stage bans which is why when "Live in Vienna" came out on LP & video, the video ended up containing statements from the band trying to clarify the situation. In 1992, B.O. Management was created & "Heilige Lieder" was put out. Going to #5 on the charts only served to create a high point in media rabble rousing & record stores boycotting their merchandise. Part of the '92 tour had to be completely cancelled because of it. Things seemed to calm down a bit after the band switched to Virgin Records in 1995. "Hier sind die Onkelz" went to #4 & the following tour proceeded with little incident. Press & concert reviews became better even though there were a couple stations & record chains that continued their boycotts. Their fall tour in 1996 was a huge success with sold out shows in Frankfurt & Dortmund. Recordings of the Dortmund shows were released on a double CD & video entitled aptly enough, "Live in Dortmund". It hit #6 & "Viva los Tioz" went straight to #1! Their newest, "Dopamin" just came out in spring of 2002. -Mikki 4/02 A sad update: The Böhse Onkelz, after 24 years, are calling it quits... They have done what they wanted & believe they have pinnacled & don't wish to become old rock stars who keep making records past their prime... I personally think they would have had a good many more years before hitting that stage but I understand & although I hate to accept this, I have no choice & thus am forced to do so... It is the end a special, albeit turbulent, era: Good-bye Onklez :( Although we will miss you, we wish you the best of luck & best of times in the future!!! -Mikki 7-04 More at:
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