Carousel (belt)
| carousel | |
|---|---|
 Carousel during a concert in Dresden in October 2009 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | skirt |
| founding | 1976, 1994/2007 |
| resolution | 1991/1994 |
| Website | www.karussell-rockband.de |
| Founding members | |
| Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke | |
| Peter glasses | |
| Jochen Hohl | |
Vocals, guitar |
Reinhard Huth |
Vocals, guitar |
Lutz Kirsten |
| Claus Winter | |
| Bernd Schumacher | |
| Current occupation | |
Keyboard |
Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke (since 1976) |
Vocals, keyboard, harmonica
|
Joe Raschke (since 2007) |
Vocals, guitar |
Reinhard Huth (1976 to 1984 / since 2007) |
Electric bass, vocals |
Jan Kirsten (since 1988) |
Drums |
Benno Jähnert (since 2008) |
guitar |
Jens Legler (since 2019) |
| former members | |
Vocals, guitar |
Bernd Dünnebeil (1978 to 1980) |
guitar |
Tom Leonhardt (1983 to 1984) |
singing |
Lutz Salzwedel (1984 to 1985) |
singing |
Dirk Michaelis (1985 to 1990) |
guitar |
Jürgen Hofmeister (1988 to 1994) |
singing |
Larry B. (1994) |
Drums |
Ali Zieme (1994) |
Drums |
Frank Endrik Moll (2007 to 2008) |
guitar |
Hans Graf (2007 to 2019) |
Karussell is a German rock band from Leipzig . Along with Karat , City , Puhdys , Silly and Electra, it is one of the most important and popular groups in the GDR . The band is best known for their titles Wer die Rose Ehrt , I want to stay honest , Autostop and, above all, When I went away - which is still played by some radio stations today and is one of the most popular hits from the GDR era.
Band history
The band was formed in April 1976 through a reorganization of the Leipzig amateur group Fusion with former members of the recently banned Leipzig band Renft - largely initiated by keyboardist Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke, who also worked as an IM for the GDR State Security. In addition to him, the band also included: Peter Cäsar Gläser ( vocals and guitar ), Jochen Hohl ( drums ), Reinhard Oschek Huth (guitar), Lutz Kirsten (vocals and guitar), Claus Winter ( electric bass ) and Bernd Schumacher ( Saxophone and flute ).
Musically, Karussell took over Renft's legacy for many. Not only the former Renft members Jochen Hohl and Peter Gläser stood for this, but also the Renft-style songs Whiskey , Lebe und Welt im Sand , which were initially produced in the radio studios, as well as the reinterpretation of the Renft classic Wer die Rose honors the band for the second long-playing record. Lyricist and songwriter Kurt Demmler also accompanied Renft and Karussell - he wrote most of the lyrics interpreted by Karussell.
Thanks to a sponsorship agreement with the Central Council of the FDJ and the Concert and Guest Performance Directorate Berlin (KGD), the group turned into a professional formation in 1978, which gave them a new upswing and an appearance at the " Rhythmus '78 " festival. In the same year her first Amiga single, The Guitarist, was released.
Even then it became clear that the band name Karussell was also a program for its members. In the course of its history, the members' carousel turned frequently and faster and faster, and many musicians not only left the band, but also the GDR. The first conversion took place in 1978 when Bernd Dünnebeil (guitar) replaced Lutz Kirsten. Also, since Bernd Schumacher's departure, Karussell has not had a saxophonist or flutist. Various guests as well as Bernd Dünnebeil took over this instrument for studio recordings or concerts. In 1979 they recorded their first LP, either or , with this line-up . Soon afterwards, in 1980, their second LP, The Single Life , followed .
When recording their third LP, Schlaraffenberg (1982), Bernd Dünnebeil was no longer there. Tom Leonhardt, the former guitarist of the bands ZOE and Schwarzer Pfeffer , came for him . In 1983 Peter Cäsar Gläser - until then the defining voice - left the band to devote himself entirely to his solo project with his own group. Lutz Salzwedel , former singer of the group Passion , was accepted as the new front man in the group. By the way, the rest of the Passion group acted some time later as the accompaniment of Peter Gläser. However, Leonhardt and Salzwedel left Karussell a short time later. While the band was touring the Federal Republic of Germany with their new album Was Can I Do (1984), they broke away.
With this departure to the west and above all with the renewed absence of their front man, the band was on the verge of breaking up in 1985. It was only thanks to the efforts of Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke, who had previously held the band together again and again, and the integration of the young singer and composer Dirk Michaelis as the new front man that they made a comeback. With Jürgen Hofmeister, a new guitarist joined the group.
In 1987 Karussell reported back with their LP Café Anonym and the hit As I went (text: Gisela Steineckert ). With Michael Sellin , the group also had a new copywriter. However, in the following years Claus Winter left the band. He was replaced by Jan Kirsten (bass guitar). In 1990 her last LP, such as you, was released . Like many other groups in the GDR, it disbanded in 1991. Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke became hotel manager. The long-time drummer Jochen Hohl ended his musical career and now lives in Lübeck. Jan Kirsten became the bass player in the Takayo group . Dirk Michaelis started a solo career.
In 1994 Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke and Jan Kirsten tried a new start with the new singer Larry B., the prince drummer Ali Zieme and the integration of Takayo and brought out the CD Sonnenfeuer under the name Karussell . However, the fans did not accept the renewed renovation - unlike everyone else before - so that it was not successful.
In January 2006 the long-time bassist Claus Winter died, which was hardly noticed by the public. Reinhard Huth sang from 1987 to 2007 with the Leipzig band Beat-Club . Peter Caesar Glasses died of cancer in 2008.
New beginning
In 2007, after a break of more than ten years, Karussell was reorganized on the initiative of Reinhard Huth. The band started their comeback with a first concert in September 2007 with the line-up Wolf-Rüdiger Raschke (keyboard, vocals, bandleader), Joey - later "Joe" - Raschke (vocals, keyboard, blues harp ), Reinhard Huth (vocals, guitar) , Jan Kirsten (electric bass, vocals), Frank Endrik Moll (drums) and Hans Graf (guitar). The new concert tour under the title “Wiedersehen im Traum” began in early 2008 and lasted until 2009. Benno Jähnert, who used to be a member of the bands Logo and Zebra, has been playing the drums since 2008.
On June 17, 2011 the album was released after a break of almost 17 years .
Musical creation
Regardless of the high fluctuation of its members, Karussell celebrated great success in almost all of its line-ups and was able to rely on a loyal fan base. The hallmark of this musical creation was her "earthy" rhythm & blues and the clear, unmistakable interpretation of the often critical texts by Kurt Demmler and later Michael Sellin. With their "world hits that weren't allowed to become because their country was sealed off from the world" ( Olaf Leitner ), they traced everyday socialist life just as clearly ( hitchhiking , I want to be honest ) as they dealt with existential questions of the time deal with ( the only life ). Even if critics consider the ballads What can I do for you (composition: Tom Leonhardt) and Sterne der Nacht (composition: Jochen Hohl) and many other of their songs, filled with humanistic pathos, as milestones in GDR rock history, When I went away (Composition: Dirk Michaelis) her greatest success.
Discography
Albums
- 1979: either or
- 1980: the only life
- 1982: Schlaraffenberg
- 1984: What can I do
- 1987: Cafe Anonymous
- 1990: like you
- 1994: Sun fire
- 2002: Actually, we're fine (re-release of such as you )
- 2011: let go
- 2018: Earth wind
Compilations
- 1991: Rock from Germany East. Vol. 9
- 1995: I want to be honest
- 1996: for a lifetime
- 1999: The most beautiful ballads
- 2009: The 5 original Amiga albums
- 2016: 40 years - 40 hits
Singles
- 1978: The guitarist / Either or
- 1980: But when the cocks cock / reunion in a dream
- 1981: Nobody wants to die / doubt
- 1986: Halley's Comet / Now and then
- 2009: Maxi 2009 (four well-known songs in current line-up)
- 2010: Maxi 2010 belongings (three new songs and a new version in the current line-up)
Represented on samplers
(Focus on GDR times)
- 1977: Live on Disco Tip
- 1978: Window closed on disco hit '78
- 1978: The guitarist on rhythm '78
- 1978: Whiskey on 20 original beat hits
- 1979: Autostop on The Great Successes '79
- 1979: I honestly want to stay on Rock + Pop 2 '79
- 1980: But when the cocks get ready for Rock + Pop '80
- 1981: The Only Life on The Album - Rock Balance 1981
- 1981: I am happy with Schlager '81
- 1982: Nobody wants to die on Rock for Peace '82 and Das Album - Rockbilanz 1982
- 1983: Nobody wants to die on peace should be ( EP )
- 1983: Bambule on The Album - Rock Balance 1983
- 1984: Howdy Grenada on Rock for Peace 84
- 1984: Like a fish under the ice on The Album - Rock Balance 1984
- 1985: Like a fish under the ice on rock ballads
- 1985: Nobody wants to die for 5 years of rock for peace
- 1986: Who are you on Disco Non Stop
- 1987: Giant Hearts on The Album - Rock Balance 1987
- 1989: Schattenkreuze on Das Album - Rockbilanz 1989
- 1998: Like a fish under the ice in the middle of the heart - 16 top hits from the East Volume I
- 1999: When I left for Mitten ins Herz - 18 top hits from the East, Volume II
- 2003: Schattenkreuzze , McDonald , When I went away , Like a fish under the ice on Good Bye DDR - music without borders
- 2009: When I Left 2009 version on Mystic Spirits XX: Elements Of Mystery
See also
Web links
- Homepage of the band
- Portrait at deutsche-mugge.de
- Portrait at ostbeat.de ( Memento from May 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (archive version)
- Official fan club
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joachim Hentschel: What the Stasi had to do with the music of the GDR. August 3, 2011, accessed December 4, 2019 .