Epitaph (German band)

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Epitaph is a German rock band .

Band history

The story of Epitaph begins in the winter of 1969/70 in the Dortmund music club Fantasio , in whose basement the Brit Cliff Jackson (vocals, guitar), his compatriot James McGillivray (drums) and bassist Bernd Kolbe (who previously worked with Jackson under the name Red Roosters had traded) rehearsed. While well-known bands like Yes , Black Sabbath or Colosseum were giving concerts upstairs in the club , this trio (initially called "Fagin's Epitaph") was preparing for their first appearances as a rock band in the basement. In the spring of 1970 the group moved to Hanover , shortened their name to Epitaph, changed managers and gave their first concerts. The group then practiced in the basement of the garbage can , a rock club on Lister Meile, and thus became a house band. At the same time, when their qualities as the accompanist of the blues pianist Günter Boas became clear, the musicians accepted a contract offer from Polydor and strengthened themselves during the recording of their debut album of the same name with the guitarist Klaus Walz. In April 1972 this formation was back in the studio to record stop, look and lists .

1973-1976

At the end of the year McGillivray got out, from now on Achim Wielert drummed for him . Numerous appearances in Germany followed, including at German festivals of the time, such as B. the "Klein Woodstook Open Air" in Scheeßel . In August and November 1973 Epitaph went on extensive American tours twice. They signed a contract with the US company Billingsgate Records and produced their third album, Outside the Law , in Chicago under the aegis of company boss Gary Pollack . In the summer of 1974 Epitaph changed the drummer again (for Wielert came the former Carthage drummer Norbert "Panza" Lehmann) and in October started another trip to the USA. However, high transport costs due to long journeys and, in comparison, the low number of viewers forced the band to return to Germany. Since their American record company had also filed for bankruptcy and the musicians feared they would have to pay for Billingsgate's debts, Epitaph disbanded in January 1975.

The contract with the company officially ended on August 8, 1975, so the group was back in mid-August. In addition to Jackson, Kolbe, Walz, McGillivray drummed again at first, while the later Eloy drummer Fritz Randow also helped out on a television recording for the Rockpalast .

1977-1985

In the summer of 1977 Klaus Walz and Bernd Kolbe left the band, for them came guitarist Heinz Glass , bassist Luitjen “Harvey” Jansen († 2008) and keyboardist Michael Karch . After a concert in Budapest in front of more than 30,000 spectators, Epitaph signed a contract with the German record label Brain in 1979 and delivered the albums Return to Reality (1979) and See You in Alaska . Without a keyboard player, but again "powerful and down to earth" ( Hamburger Morgenpost ), Epitaph presented itself on their 1981 live album, which was recorded during the "See You in Alaska" tour in Wertheim , Dallau and Triburg . From autumn Jackson reformed the original line-up again (with Walz, Kolbe and Lehmann) and produced the work Danger Man for the small record company Rockport , which the Musikexpress, however, considered an "irrelevant album". After the entire system of the band in Dortmund was stolen in 1983, and Epitaph were once again completely penniless, Jackson finally dissolved the band. After guitarist Klaus Hess left, Klaus Walz moved to the Hanoverian formation Jane .

1985-2007

Epitaph continued despite all adverse circumstances. For the 15-year anniversary concert of the band Grobschnitt they gave a concert in 1986 in the Stadthalle Hagen as support. The band played in a special line-up this year: Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe, Dirk Edelhoff , and Ralf Bloch (formerly Red Rooster) was on the drums. Even after that, the band gave a number of concerts in the region.

Bernd Kolbe and Cliff Jackson released three studio albums with the hard rock band Domain (originally called Kingdom) from 1988 onwards. In the meantime, Kolbe was also part of Jane's line-up. In spring 1998 he tinkered with another domain album. Cliff Jackson ran a musical instrument shop in Unna until 2000.

In 2001 Epitaph started a comeback with a concert in the Lindenbrauerei Unna with the cast Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe, Heinz Glass and Jim McGillivray. A recording was published on CD. After the reunion concert, McGillivray got out again, and Achim Wielert came back into the band for him. In December 2004 Epitaph performed at the Krautrock Meeting together with Amon Düül , Birth Control and others in the Rockpalast . In 2005 a double DVD was released. In September 2007 a new album was released and Epitaph went on a club tour in Germany.

Discography

  • Epitaph (1971)
  • Stop, Look and Listen (1972)
  • Outside the Law (1974)
  • Return to Reality (1979)
  • Handicap Vol. I (1979)
  • See You in Alaska (1980)
  • Handicap Vol. II (1980)
  • Live (1981)
  • Danger Man (1982)
  • Resurrection (2001)
  • Live in the 21st Century (2001)
  • Remember the Daze (2007)
  • Live at Rockpalast (2007)
  • Dancing With Ghosts (2009)
  • The Acoustic Sessions (2014)
  • Fire from the soul (2016)
  • Long Ago Tomorrow (2019)
  • Five Decades Of Classic Rock (2020)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From the “garbage can” in the Capitol, www.Rockszene.de , concert announcement from November 9, 2012.