Bela B

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bela B (2016)
Bela-B logo.svg

Bela B or Bela B Felsenheimer (born December 14, 1962 in West Berlin ; real name Dirk Albert Felsenheimer , until 2009 spelling with a full stop : Bela B. ) is a German musician, composer, author and actor. He is best known as a member of the punk rock band Die Ärzte .

Life

Dirk Felsenheimer grew up with his twin sister in Berlin-Spandau . Her parents separated when the siblings were five years old.

Felsenheimer started playing drums in his youth when he made his first attempts in the basement of his sister's friend. He soon bought his own drum kit. His parents supported him and he was given his own rehearsal room in the basement. Contrary to what is often shown, however, he never sang in a choir.

Felsenheimer began training as a police officer, which he broke off. He then began an apprenticeship as a window dresser at Hertie , where he was dismissed because of his dyed hair and then worked in a women's clothing store.

Felsenheimer derived his stage name from the Dracula actor Bela Lugosi , for whom he has been enthusiastic since childhood.

Music career

Bela B in 1998
Bela B at Nova Rock 2010

Even at the end of his school days Felsenheimer was enthusiastic about punk , joined the scene and founded his first band Empire. He then played in the bands Wild in the Streets and Kawumm and from 1979 to 1982 together with Hussi Kutlucan , Bernd van Huizen, from 1980 also with Jan Vetter alias Farin Urlaub in the punk band Soilent Grün , named after the science fiction film ... Year 2022 ... who want to survive (in the original Soylent Green) . 1982 saw the first and only studio release , Die Fleisch EP . The band gave their farewell concert in 1982 in Berlin's SO36 . Back then, ZK , the predecessor band of the Toten Hosen, played as the opening act .

Bela B then founded the band Die Ärzte with Farin Urlaub and Sahnie . After two successful albums, Bela B and Farin Urlaub separated from bassist Sahnie due to personal differences and recorded the third album together. After another studio album and a live album, the doctors broke up for the time being. In 1989, Bela B founded the band SUMP with Rodrigo González , which was later renamed Depp Jones , but was unable to build on the doctors' successes. After two unsuccessful albums, the record company canceled the existing contract. With a multi-page letter from Farin Urlaub, Bela B was persuaded in 1993 to re-establish Die Ärzte. Rodrigo González became the new bass player.

In 2006 Bela B released his first solo album, Bingo , produced by Wayne Jackson and Olsen Involtini . For the album he worked with Lee Hazlewood , Charlotte Roche and Lula , among others . He also performed with his band Bela B. y Los Helmstedt during a tour and at festivals such as Rock im Park , Rock am Ring , MTV Campus Invasion and the Gurten Festival . His second solo album Code B was released on October 2nd, 2009 . It includes guest appearances by Chris Spedding , Marcel Eger , Emmanuelle Seigner and Alessandro Alessandroni . This time he went on tour with Los Helmstedt again. For the movie Teufelskicker Bela B sang the title song Tag für Sieger, which was released as a single on March 12, 2010.

The album Bye was released on April 4, 2014 and the pre- single Abserviert on March 14, followed by Bye now! -Tour in May. The second single, Always Be That , followed on July 25, 2014.

On January 20, 2017 Bela B single was released one remains lying . In the accompanying music video, Bela B appears together with marionettes from the Augsburger Puppenkiste . A Bela-B puppet also plays.

Authors and publishers

Bela B was the owner of the Leipzig comic publisher Extrem Successful Enterprises, which published horror comics, including German editions of independent series such as Faust and Satanika . In-house productions such as Schweinvogel and a comic for the band 'Die Ärzte' were also part of the publishing program. In an interview with the Berlin city magazine zitty at the beginning of September 2006, Bela B announced the task of the publishing project: “The publishing house has only been bobbing around for the last few years. We published Ten Little Goths in 2005 and three other books. That's not much for a publisher, and that's why we've now decided to close EEE. ”As an author, he wrote for the vampire anthology Liber Vampirorum: Last Blood and for comics for his publisher.

As Bela B Felsenheimer he published his first novel Scharnow in 2019. It is about a bizarre village, about which the publisher writes: “In Scharnow, a village north of Berlin, the dog is buried. Seemingly. In fact, the world is being turned around here: Riflemen lie in wait to destroy the agents of a universal power, murderous books wreak havoc, and in the middle of it all, a lucky pact suddenly runs out of beer. When a Syrian intern campaigns for a Manga girl, love is not far either. "

Acting

Bela B (2012)

As an actor, Bela B is registered with the “Charade” agency and has worked, among other things, in the crime scene and in several Alarm-für-Cobra-11 episodes as well as in the film A divine job . In 2003 he played a media scholar in the independent film Operation Dance Sensation by Thilo Gosejohann . In 2004 the film Edelweißpiraten was released, in which Bela plays the leading role, the concentration camp inmate Hans Steinbrück. He was also one of the main characters in the film Richy Guitar . As a voice actor, he speaks the role of Clay in the MTV - animated series free for all . Together with Thomas D from the Fantastischen Vier , he recorded the radio play Faust vs. Mephisto and the audio book Venus in Furs with the actress Catherine Flemming . In 2003, Bela B starred in the film Garden of Love , directed by Olaf Ittenbach. In 2005, Bela B took on a role in the short film KINGZ (directed by Benni Diez and Marinko Spahić) produced by the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy, as well as the role of Ronnie in the crime parody Salamander (by Barbara Gebler ) and he spoke all the voices in the German Dubbing the Danish film Terkel in Trouble. In 2007 a biography of Elvis Presley was published as an audio book, which was spoken by Bela B.

In 2006 Bela B played for the film Vineta by Franziska Stünkel together with the pop group Wir sind Helden, whose song Are you not tired again. For this purpose, he had rewritten the original together with the band. He also plays a small guest role in the film as the mansion guard. Also in 2006, Bela B played the pastor in the film Deichking .

In 2007 Bela B interviewed his favorite director Quentin Tarantino for the newspaper Die Welt on the occasion of his new film Death Proof . He made a cameo in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds in 2009 . Bela B played Detective Petersen in the horror film production of the private broadcaster ProSieben Gonger in 2008, and in 2012 he also played a mysterious seat belt maker in Alexander Marcus ' movie Glanz & Gloria .

Since 2013 Bela B can be heard as "Tin Man" in the production The Wizard of Oz in the Augsburger Puppenkiste . Bela B plays a confused artist in a supporting role in the series M - A city is looking for a murderer , which can be seen in advance on the Internet on “ TVNOW ” in February 2019 .

social commitment

Bela B is a member of the globalization-critical movement attac and supports the drinking water organization Viva con Agua .

In 2004, Bela B had himself photographed with Franka Potente and Catherine Flemming for posters for the animal rights organization PeTA to demonstrate against the wearing of fur. He also supports the initiative “ Don't feel like Nazis ” launched by the Berlin punk rock band ZSK . A song produced for it from 2006 ("Germans, don't buy from Nazis!") Was released as a free download. He also supports the courage against right-wing violence campaign created by Stern and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in 2000 .

In the summer of 2016, Bela B presented the Ratsgymnasium Stadthagen with the certificate "School without Racism - School with Courage" as a project sponsor.

He is also a football fan of FC St. Pauli . He tries to be present at every home game at the Millerntor. Bela is considered a fan of Turbonegro ; In 1996 he founded the Turbojugend St. Pauli as the first chapter of the association. He is very active as a runner himself.

Music style and playing technique

Bela B in Cologne's RheinEnergieStadion (2013)

Bela B has by his own account a high affinity for the horror genre, which is also in several of his songs (your Vampyr, Mystery Land, The Count, The Night We are beautiful, the vampire with Colt, Monster Party, Anti-Zombie) precipitation has found. Regarding the song Light at the End of the Coffin , he states that this dark image actually gets on his mind, but the song is meant ironically.

Since seeing the Stray Cats with their drummer Slim Jim Phantom in 1983 , Bela B has preferred to play the drums standing up at live concerts. The reason for this is his stage presence as the band's second frontman and singer.

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
bingo
  DE 2 
gold
gold
05/26/2006 (21 weeks)
  AT 5 05/26/2006 (14 weeks)
  CH 40 05/28/2006 (5 weeks)
Code B
  DE 5 October 16, 2009 (7 weeks)
  AT 7th October 16, 2009 (5 weeks)
  CH 40 October 18, 2009 (3 weeks)
Bye (with Smokestack Lightnin ')
  DE 5 04/18/2014 (5 weeks)
  AT 19th 04/18/2014 (4 weeks)
  CH 39 04/13/2014 (1 week)
Bastard (with Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin ')
  DE 13 02/24/2017 (2 weeks)
  AT 25th 03.03.2017 (1 week)
  CH 58 02/26/2017 (1 week)
Singles
This Girl Was Made For Loving You (as Heike & Dirk)
  DE 63 08/25/1997 (5 weeks)
Candy (with Killer Barbies )
  DE 58 10/14/2002 (9 weeks)
Tag with dust jacket
  DE 13 04/27/2006 (9 weeks)
  AT 21st 04/27/2006 (7 weeks)
1st, 2nd, 3rd ... (with Charlotte Roche )
  DE 16 08/03/2006 (9 weeks)
  AT 37 08/03/2006 (11 weeks)
  CH 95 08/13/2006 (1 week)
Football Is Still Important (with Fettes Brot , Marcus Wiebusch & Carsten Friedrichs)
  DE 61 08/18/2006 (6 weeks)
She missed something
  DE 47 11/17/2006 (4 weeks)
Guitar down
  DE 62 08/31/2007 (3 weeks)
Hell (with KIZ )
  DE 39 06/20/2008 (8 weeks)
Old asshole love
  DE 41 October 02, 2009 (5 weeks)
  AT 54 October 02, 2009 (1 week)
Black and white (with Marcel Eger )
  DE 83 December 04, 2009 (1 week)
Day for winners
  DE 72 03/26/2010 (1 week)
Served (with Smokestack Lightnin ')
  DE 74 03/28/2014 (1 week)

Albums

  • 2006: Bingo
  • 2009: code B
  • 2014: Bye (Bela B & Smokestack Lightnin ')
  • 2017: Bastard (Bela B feat.Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin ')

Singles

  • 1989: Genschman (produced for Scheel, homage to Hans-Dietrich Genscher )
  • 1989: Pogo Dancing (with PVC )
  • 1989: Grönemeyer can't dance (with Wiglaf Droste )
  • 1989: Bombed out (with Sodom )
  • 1990: We need… Werner (with Farin Urlaub . From the soundtrack to the film Werner - Beinhart! 1990)
  • 1997: This Girl Was Made for Loving (with Heike Makatsch , as Heike & Dirk. From the soundtrack to the film Obsession )
  • 2000: Leave (with Lula, from the soundtrack to the film Kaliber Deluxe 2000)
  • 2001: Are You Ready for Some Darkness? (with Denimgirl aka Jasmin Wagner on Alpha Motherfuckers - Tribute To Turbonegro )
  • 2002: You'll Never Walk Alone (Bela B. & The Tikiwolves feat. Gary 'o' Wolf)
  • 2002: Candy ( The Killer Barbies feat. Bela B.)
  • 2003: Ban on dancing (Schill to Hell) (with Fettes Brot )
  • 2006: day with dust jacket
  • 2006: 1. 2. 3.… (Bela B. feat. Charlotte Roche )
  • 2006: Football is still important (with Fettes Brot, Marcus Wiebusch from Kettcar and Carsten Friedrichs from Superpunk )
  • 2006: She missed something
  • 2007: The Count vs. Horror Punks (Bela B. and Balzac )
  • 2007: guitar down
  • 2008: Hell ( KIZ feat. Bela B.)
  • 2009: Old asshole love
  • 2009: black and white
  • 2010: day for winners
  • 2010: In this life
  • 2013: In the club (with Peta Devlin and Smokestack Lightnin ')
  • 2014: Served (with Peta Devlin and Smokestack Lightnin ')
  • 2014: Always be like that (with Peta Devlin and Smokestack Lightnin ')
  • 2014: Matchstick Man (with Peta Devlin and Smokestack Lightnin ')
  • 2017: Pizza - Antilopen Gang feat Bela B
  • 2017: He belongs to me - The Twang feat. Bela B
  • 2017: One remains lying down (with Peta Devlin and Smoketrack Lightnin ')
  • 2019: Das Lied - SDP feat Bela B

Radio plays and books

  • 1992: Die Nixe / The Mermaid (by and with Christa Fast)
  • 2002: The bride princess
  • 2003: The KLF the fast way to the No. 1 hit
  • 2004: Gabriel Burns - Episode 6, "The Dead Machine" (as a bartender)
  • 2004: Thomas D vs. Bela B - Faust vs. Mephisto
  • 2005: Venus in fur
  • 2005: Bad Night Stories
  • 2006: Captain Berlin vs. Dracula (by Jörg Buttgereit )
  • 2006: Vampira radio play series by Lübbe Audio
  • 2007: Last Train to Memphis ( Elvis-Presley -Biography - Part 1)
  • 2007: Careless Love (Elvis Presley biography - 2nd part)
  • 2009: Kill Your Friends (by John Niven )
  • 2011: Exit Mundi - the best worldsfall (by Maarten Keulemans and AW Bruna Uitgevers)
  • 2016: Sartana - still warm and already sand on it
  • 2019: The three ??? and the dancing devil

Books

Filmography

Web links

Commons : Bela B  - Collection of Images
Wikiquote: Bela B  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bela B. Felsenheimer In: Munziger Archive accessed on July 29, 2013
  2. ↑ Interview with Bela B at radioeins ( Memento from February 21, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) At: radioeins from February 20, 2017
  3. ↑ Is that still punk rock? Retrieved February 25, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Nibo: Punk rock until the doctor comes: For Bela B's 50th birthday At: t-online.de from December 13, 2012
  5. ↑ Teufelskicker - This is the making of (2010). Retrieved from : IMDb on July 29, 2013
  6. ↑ BelaB_official: Bela B - One remains lying down (official video). January 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Interview with Bela B ( Memento from July 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) In: zitty from September 3, 2006.
  8. ↑ PC Action : Inglourious Basterds: Tarantino's masterpiece about Nazis and their hunters. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 26, 2009 ; accessed on July 3, 2020 .
  9. ↑ imdb: Glanz & Gloria Retrieved June 18, 2013
  10. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine: A substance for the box ( Memento from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved on July 3, 2020
  11. ↑ Article on the PeTA homepage ( Memento from March 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Not in the mood for Nazis - Bela B. releases MP3 single "Kauft nicht bei Nazis". Soundspion , May 5, 2006, accessed on August 23, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Germans, don't buy from Nazis! (MP3). ( MP3 ; 3.16 MB) BPX 1992 , accessed August 23, 2014 .
  14. ^ Against right-wing violence, Burkhard Schröder, Tagesspiegel of April 30, 2003
  15. ^ School without Racism - School with Courage: Ratsgymnasium. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Bela B. - a star in the Lümmellauf. In: Hamburger Abendblatt from January 20, 2004
  17. ↑ 20 minutes online : Interview on the occasion of a solo performance in Switzerland. Retrieved December 14, 2010 .
  18. ↑ a b Chart sources: Germany - Austria - Switzerland
  19. ↑ Awards: DE
  20. ↑ Genschman . die-beste-band-der-welt.de. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
The doctors
Studio albums

Debil / Devil (1984/2005) • In the shadow of the doctors (1985) • The doctors (1986) • This is not the whole truth ... (1988) • The beast in human form (1993) • Planet Punk (1995) • Le Frisur (1996) • 13 (1998) • Down with the donation pants, invisible! (2000) • 5, 6, 7, 8 - Bull State! (2001) • Noise (2003) • Jazz is different (2007) • Also (2012) • Hell (2020)

Extended plays

To be too good to be true! (1983) • We're fine… (1984) • From 18 (1987) • 1, 2, 3, 4 - Bull State! (1995)

Live albums

After us the flood (1988) • We only want your soul (1999) • Satanic horses (1999) • Rock 'n' Roll secondary school (2002) • The night of demons (2013)

Compilation albums

Is that all? (1987) • Doctors earlier! (1989) • The best from shortly after earlier to now (1994) • Bäst of (2006) • Seitenhirsch (2018) • They've Given Me Schrott! - The Outtakes (2019)

personal data
SURNAME Bela B
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Felsenheimer, Dirk Albert (real name); Felsenheimer, Bela Barney
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German rock singer and drummer
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin