Music of the GDR

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Music of the GDR describes the music that was created in the German Democratic Republic between 1949 and 1990. The freedom of art was restricted by the requirements of the state and the SED . At the same time, numerous musicians endeavored to explore the existing limits. Especially with rock , blues and folk musicians and songwriters , but also with composers of so-called serious music , there were conflicts with state power.

E-music

Hanns Eisler (1950)
At the Bach celebration in 1950, Ernst Hermann Meyer spoke about Johann Sebastian Bach in line with Marxist-Leninist inheritance theory - no end, a beginning.
Georg Katzer
Kurt Masur and the singers Theo Adam , Eva-Maria Bundschuh and Klaus König (from left) in the Leipzig Gewandhaus (1983)
The Kreuzchor in the Kreuzkirche in Dresden on January 1st, 1963

There were numerous composers of new and contemporary music in the GDR . The most famous are the Austrians Hanns Eisler , Paul Dessau and Günter Kochan , who moved to the GDR from exile or West Berlin .

In 1948 the first “key work” of New Music in what would later become the GDR was composed, the 1948 Festival Overture by Ottmar Gerster , whose theme is the Revolution of 1848 and in which battle songs were symphonically treated. The music academies in Dresden, Weimar, Leipzig and East Berlin were henceforth responsible for training. Eisler and the poet Johannes R. Becher wrote the GDR's national anthem in 1949 . From 1950, music creation was increasingly regulated in line with the doctrine of socialist realism . In the same year Eisler and Becher's Neue Deutsche Volkslieder were composed , and the SED functionary and music sociologist Ernst Hermann Meyer composed the Mansfeld oratorio . These two works were considered exemplary for the future musical culture of the GDR. In March 1951, the SED passed the “ formalism resolution ” which was supposed to force the artists in the GDR to follow an official course. In August 1951 the music department of the State Commission for Art Affairs , "Stakuko" for short, began its work. In the period that followed, mainly “mass songs” were written. In 1952 Eisler's ideology-critical opera fragment Johann Faustus was written , which was described as “formalistic” and was only allowed to be performed in the GDR in 1982. After Stalin's death in 1953, the compositions became more diverse again. The "Stakuko" went up in 1954 in the newly founded Ministry of Culture . In the early 1960s there was another break away from socialist realism. Georg Katzer is one of the well-known composers of this era .

The international Halle Music Days in Halle (Saale) have been dedicated to contemporary music since 1955. The "International Festival of Contemporary Music" took place annually in East Berlin from 1967 onwards. In 1987 the Dresden Days of Contemporary Music , founded by the composer Udo Zimmermann , were held for the first time . The most important prize for serious music in the GDR was the Hanns Eisler Prize from 1968 to 1990 . The most important interpreters of contemporary serious music in the GDR were the Berlin Wind Association from 1966 and the Hanns Eisler New Music group from 1970 . From 1971 onwards, numerous long-playing records with new music were released by the state record label Nova . Most of these works had previously been released by Eterna , for which the record series “Our New Music” had been available there since 1965, from which the Nova label emerged.

Important directors of the music theater were Walter Felsenstein and Harry Kupfer , who worked successively at the Komische Oper Berlin , and Ruth Berghaus . Gisela May was one of the most famous interpreters .

Classical music had a large space in the GDR. Important opera houses were rebuilt after the Second World War, such as the Unter den Linden State Opera in East Berlin and the Semperoper in Dresden . A representative opera house was built in Leipzig and in 1981 the New Gewandhaus , world-famous for its excellent acoustics, was built. No other country had as many symphony orchestras as compared to the population as the GDR. Almost every city theater had its own orchestra.

In addition to other styles of classical music, baroque music was particularly cultivated. In Leipzig who found Bach Festival held in Halle , the Handel Festival and in Magdeburg , the Telemann season . The Dresden Kreuzchor and the St. Thomas Choir achieved great fame in Leipzig. Well-known conductors were Herbert Kegel and Kurt Masur . Well-known soloists included singers Theo Adam and Peter Schreier and trumpeter Ludwig Güttler . For other artists see also category: Classical Music (GDR) . Numerous records of classical music have been released on the Eterna label.

Classical music was co-opted for socialism in 1950 in line with hereditary theory . Ernst Hermann Meyer's speech at the Bach celebration in 1950 in line with the Marxist-Leninist hereditary theory of Johann Sebastian Bach - No end, a beginning provided the view of classics for many years.

Sacred music was mainly performed in the church environment. Rudolf Mauersberger and the organist Herbert Collum are among the composers of sacred music who were more attached to tradition . Contemporary composers of sacred music such as Rainer Kunad , Jörg Herchet and the church musician Edgar Thomaschke were outside the party line with their compositions. Many people sang in church choirs . In Saxony, for example, around 30,000 people were temporarily members of a church choir, compared to 17,000 in 2007. At the end of the 1960s, the popularity of organ concerts also increased in non-church circles, so that numerous church organs were restored. The sacred music of the baroque was particularly cultivated by Eterna . Recordings of a number of Bach cantatas were available on vinyl. The only choir of the GDR could Rostock Motet Choir an LP of sacred music, all Bach - Motets , record.

Transitions from light music to serious music

Many artists of popular music dealt with the classical music, whatever it was that they had the most to prove an academic musician training, to get a license to practice. So put Holger Biege many classic elements of style in his songs one, shards of glass from lift was only by strings accompanied, and the rock musician Ed Swillms of carats played cello in the song And I love you . The group Bayon combined classical elements and modern serious music with European and Cambodian folk, while electra and Stern-Combo Meißen adapted classical pieces of music and added elements of rock music.

Conversely, classical singers like Gunther Emmerlich also dealt with light music .

Light music

Manfred Krug and Nina Hagen (far left) in the Friedrichstadtpalast (1976)
Pop music event on the 30th anniversary of the existence of the GDR (1979)

The popular music in the GDR tried to do a balancing act between the different claims:

  • the listener's desire for western oriented music
  • the rejection of beat music, especially by the Ulbricht government
  • the processing of topics that people dealt with
  • the state censorship of the texts.

Western dances like boogie-woogie and rock 'n' roll were still seen in the 1950s as the barbaric poison of Americanism, which threatens to numb the brains of the working people, which arouses the lowest instincts. The specially created dance Lipsi should replace it . But it was "a pure propaganda thing that quickly collapsed". The twist wave, on the other hand , had something innocuous about it. In 1963 Manfred Krug's Twist in the Night and Susi Schuster's Yodel Twist appeared in the GDR . After the 11th plenum of the Central Committee of the SED in 1965, tough action was taken against the emerging beat bands until in 1970, around the same time as Erich Honecker took office , there was a conscious promotion of young rock bands. From the mid-1980s, the lyrics became more direct and revealing. In 1988 the GDR musicologist Georg Knepler took stock of GDR music policy. “Fortunately, we have given up the fundamental objections to pop music in our country, but the funding is half-hearted, the provision of the instrumental equipment is not guaranteed, and their performance opportunities are rare. Obviously the same syndrome of deliberations prevails that made me look at jazz with suspicion at the time. "

The granting of a playing permit for professional musicians (professional ID) requires a solid musical education. Musicians without a college degree had to pass an exam held by a commission from the district entertainment arts committee. In some cases, a political stance on the part of musicians that was unsuitable for the GDR regime prevented them from being granted a license to play.

Certificate "Outstanding Amateur Dance Orchestra of the GDR"

The amateur musicians (lay musicians and part-time musicians) as representatives of the “artistic folk creation” also required a state license to perform in public. Without this permission, the bands known as “amateur dance orchestras” were usually not allowed to perform in public.

The so-called amateur musicians were often equal to their colleagues from the professional camp in terms of ability, for example when they achieved the highest classification “special level with concert authorization” on the legally stipulated classifications in front of an acceptance committee for local cultural officials. Some of them, like Badister from Rostock , who demonstrated their professionalism at the world premiere of the rock opera Rosa Laub , were even able to publish pieces on the state-controlled record label Amiga .

At the workshop for dance music organized at district level, the best were awarded the “Outstanding Amateur Dance Orchestra of the GDR”, such as for the blues band Handarbeit 1988. In the 1980s, these bands were able to perform at the Ministry of Culture and one on two Years of temporary approval as a professional musician. This was linked to the requirement to take a theoretical music exam at the end of this time in order to be able to work permanently in the professional field.

The special importance of the amateur bands for the cultural scene in the GDR can be seen from their number alone. At the end of the GDR, there were around 110 professional amateur bands compared to around 2,000.

Schlager and mood songs

Frank Schöbel at an autograph session (1980)
Dagmar Frederic and Siegfried Uhlenbrock at the GDR Schlager competition in 1970

Schlager has played an important role in the country's music scene since the GDR was founded. The director and editor Heinz Quermann is considered the most important sponsor of the hit in the GDR. From 1958 to 1994 he moderated the show Schlagerrevue , which was broadcast weekly by Radio DDR 1 until 1990 . The editor was Siegfried Jordan from 1963 to 1988 . Other hit programs were Das Schlagermagazin on Berlin radio and the show Schlagerstudio on GDR television . Heinz Quermann was also active as a talent scout and promoter with the program Herzklopfen free . He discovered Regina Thoss , Dagmar Frederic , Frank Schöbel , Chris Doerk and Helga Hahnemann , who were among the most important pop singers in the GDR. Record production at the national record label Amiga was particularly high in the Schlager segment. Mostly singles appeared in the 1950s and 1960s, but later mostly long-playing records, including many compilations .

In addition to the singers, some of whom remained popular for several decades, there were a number of composers and lyricists who were just as closely linked to the hit industry. The composers of numerous hits include Arndt Bause , Ralf Petersen , Michael Heubach , Gerd Natschinski , Thomas Natschinski , Siegfried Schulte , Gerhard Siebholz and Siegfried Jordan. The main copywriters were Wolfgang Brandenstein , Ingeburg Branoner , Kurt Demmler , Fred Gertz , Burkhard Lasch , Dieter Lietz , Dieter Schneider and Gisela Steineckert , some of whom also worked in the rock scene. The performers were mostly accompanied by orchestras. Among them were the orchestras of Günter Gollasch , Joachim “Jo” Kurzweg and Günther Kretschmer .

In addition to local artists, there were numerous Eastern European interpreters in the GDR who sang Schlager in German, for example Václav Neckář from Czechoslovakia , Ivica Šerfezi from Yugoslavia , Maryla Rodowicz from the People's Republic of Poland , Lili Ivanova from Bulgaria and Gjon Delhusa and Zsuzsa Koncz from Hungary . The Swedish singer Nina Lizell also produced numerous Amiga records. The International Schlagerfestival Dresden and the International Schlagerfestival der Ostseeländer in Rostock took place every year and were held as a competition, as was the GDR's national hit competition .

The Amiga record label regularly brought out compilations of the most popular hits, for example Amiga Express , Star Parade and The Great Successes . Several albums were also created for the hit festivals. In addition, numerous long-playing records with mood music were released, such as mood, joke, fidelitas .

The performers cannot always be strictly assigned to a genre . For example, pop singer Chris Doerk sang a mood song with The Hammock , while Romance is more likely to be assigned to the chanson - both titles were combined on the LP Chris Doerk 2 in 1974 . The Gerd Michaelis Choir initially sang Schlager, later it turned to political songs and pop music . The Uve Schikora Band combined Schlager and Progressive Rock on their 1972 album .

For a list of pop singers and other articles on pop music from the GDR see category: Schlager (GDR) .

Beat music

Before the emergence of beat music in the GDR, there was a time of careful exploration of the possibilities of establishing a dance music that was halfway modern, but not too western sounding. In the early 1960s, a number of instrumental music records were made in the GDR with danceable, but less “wild” music than Western music. The fact that this is instrumental music is due to the fact that music in the English language was rejected by the GDR cultural bureaucracy, but the German language seemed to most musicians to be unsuitable for this type of music. The radio dance orchestras played a major role here. For example, several pieces composed by the Cambodian head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk were recorded by the Leipzig Radio Dance Orchestra and published on Amiga singles.

At the beginning of the 1960s, there were 4,500 amateur dance bands in the GDR who played music on dance evenings. A large part of these "bands" dealt with the new way of making music, beat music, which had a great effect on young people. The young musicians tinkered with instruments and amplifiers and thus created a new sound. Titles from the Shadows , the Beatles , but also from American groups were reenacted. The influences of Afro-American music, blues and country music were unmistakable.

The media reaction started in 1964 and 1965. A so-called “Germany Music Meeting” took place. Beat groups such as the Sputniks , the Butlers and the Diana Show Quartet performed there . The establishment of the DT64 radio program resulted in a change in the music programming. The two records Big Beat I and Big Beat II were produced in 1964 with the Sputniks, the Butlers and the Franke Echo Quintet . It was pure instrumental music that was similar to the US surf . In 1965 there were productions with the Michael Fritzen Quartet and the Theo Schumann Combo .

After the riots following a concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin's Waldbühne in September 1965, the GDR leadership fundamentally changed its attitude towards the beat movement, which it had tolerated until then. In the same year Walter Ulbricht complained : “I think, comrades, with the monotony of the ever-ever , and what it all means, yes? [...] Is it really the case that we have to copy every filth that comes from the West? " In Leipzig, where the local party and cultural officials took particularly drastic action against the beat movement, the Leipzig beat demo took place .

From 1967 to 1969 the number of radio productions grew continuously. The bands Theo Schumann Band (LP 1969), Gerhard Stein Combo , Günther Fischer Quintett, Manfred Ludwig Sextett , Ulrich Gumpert Quintett, Horst Krüger Sextett , The Alexanders , Joco Dev Sextett , Dresden Sextett , Reinhard Lakomy Combo, Music became -Stromers and Thomas Natschinski and his group (LP Die Straße , 1968) produced where the first German texts were sung in beat music titles.

Technically, the stereo process found its way into the production rooms of radio and record during this period , which gave rise to new sound forms and musical ideas.

In the late 1960s, several musical-like music films were made under the direction of Joachim Hasler , the best known of which is Hot Summer (1968, with Frank Schöbel and Chris Doerk ).

Jazz music

The Jazz came after the end of World War II only as American music in the then current styles ( Swing , Rhythm 'n' Blues , but even as Bebop ) as far as East Germany and was reproduced by local musicians.

The Radio Berlin Tanzorchester (RBT) founded by Michael Jary was founded in 1945 under the direction of Horst Kudritzki and Erwin Lehn and the arranger Walter Jenson . Probably the most famous soloist of the RBT was the violinist Helmut Zacharias . The later GDR label Amiga began the wide range of its jazz productions in 1947 with recordings of the RBT.

The Rundfunk-Tanzorchester Leipzig (RTO Leipzig) under the direction of Kurt Henkels was of international importance . It included well-known soloists such as Walter Eichenberg (trumpet, arrangements), Günter Oppenheimer (piano, arrangements), Rolf Kühn (clarinet, who was the first to deal with bebop ), and Fips Fleischer (drums), who later became important orchestral conductors themselves . In 1959 Kurt Henkels fled to the Federal Republic of Germany.

In Dresden, Günter Hörig led the Dresden Dance Symphony with the trumpeter Günther Karpa and the saxophonists and clarinetists Friwi Sternberg and Helmut Vietze since the 1950s . It was not until the 1960s that local musicians began to actively explore jazz; some of them saw themselves as jazz musicians and increasingly developed the claim to express themselves through music. Around 1970 the GDR state power gave up its reserved attitude towards jazz music and "declared" jazz an integral part of GDR cultural policy. Under these conditions, jazz music in the GDR developed a certain independence.

Unlike modern jazz , for example , Dixieland in the GDR remained the domain of amateur musicians. Papa Binne's Jazz Band , founded in 1961, was one of the best-known representatives of this style . While the band initially played jazzy dance music, later swing and dixieland gained more and more the upper hand. The band Jazz Optimisten Berlin was formed around the same time, and they performed together with Ruth Hohmann until 1968 and also worked with Manfred Krug . The "First Lady of Jazz" of the GDR was banned from performing , but from 1972 appeared regularly with the newly founded Jazz Collegium Berlin . The emergence of other bands like the Blue Wonder Jazz Band , the Jazz-Makers Berlin , the Tower Jazz Band and the Jena Oldtimers with Klaus Schneider and a growing audience led to a Dixieland revival in the GDR.

Manfred Schulze in the early 1980s

In the professional field, a broad spectrum developed, ranging from mainstream jazz ( Manfred Ludwig Sextett , Klaus Lenz Big Band ) to free jazz ( Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky , Ulrich Gumpert , Manfred Hering ) and free music ( Hermann Keller , Manfred Schulze ) to jazz rock / pop jazz ( Günther Fischer , Hansi Klemm , Uschi Brüning , Modern Soul Band with Regine Dobberschütz , Wolfgang Fiedler's Band Fusion ) and the compositions of Hanns Eisler and Paul Dessau by Hannes Zerbe Blechband . The professional jazz music in the GDR reached a high artistic standard and has produced a number of internationally respected top musicians. These include the "old master" Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, "Ulli" Gumpert, Friedhelm Schönfeld and Conny Bauer .

In addition to Amiga (VEB Deutsche Schallplatten), the GDR radio , which, in addition to various jazz programs , regularly broadcast recordings from the International Dixieland Festival in Dresden from 1971 and from the international jazz stage in Berlin from 1977 , contributed significantly to the spread of jazz music in the GDR. Both events developed into high points in jazz life in the GDR. In addition, jazz workshops were held in Peitz , between 1979 and 1981 also in the form of open-air festivals, which attracted not only jazz enthusiasts but also the GDR " blues scene " and where musicians from abroad (East and West) performed (1982 banned) . The growing popularity of such events led in the early 1970s to increased formation of "Jazz Club" - the oldest was founded in 1959, jazz club Eisenach - and so-called communities of interest Jazz at the Cultural Association of the GDR . But also series of events such as Jazz in der Kammer (from 1965 in the Deutsches Theater Berlin), Jazz im tip (in the Berlin Palace of the Republic ) and the Leipzig Jazz Days contributed significantly to the spread of this music in the GDR.

Blues music

In the GDR, jazz lovers found an early interest in the blues . They dealt with this music in fan circles and jazz clubs. The jazz club in Eisenach , officially founded as a working group in 1959, even published its own information sheet “The Trumpet” and thus promoted the spread of the music to the public. But with the growing interest in the blues, so did the criticism of official cultural policy. By defaming it as “decadent” and “corrupt” music, the state tried to prevent its growing popularity in the 1950s.

But at the beginning of the 1960s, the relationship fundamentally changed and the blues gained official recognition in the GDR. Artists and promoters grew in popularity and were even subsidized by the state. In the state music school lessons at the POS , besides jazz, the blues and its history were also dealt with.

Early amateur bands like the Diana Show Quartet , the Lunics and the Butlers played predominantly British blues songs without getting to the roots of the blues. That was only to change when the East Berlin jazz expert Karlheinz Drechsel brought the American Folk Blues Festival to the GDR in 1964 . The festival made five guest appearances in the GDR (1964, 1966, 1982, 1983 and 1985) and had a great success, so that the VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin released recordings of the 1966 and 1982 festivals on its Amiga label . From then on, appearances by international blues musicians in the GDR such as John Mayall in Kino International and Memphis Slim counted as cultural contributions, but were no longer officially recognized. Interested fans often only found out about the concert after the concert, because it was usually scheduled at very short notice and / or only made public through small, local, limited posters. Many concerts were still a success because the “ scene ” obtained information through word of mouth , while at others the hall was half empty and the audience consisted largely of citizens close to the state.

In the mid-1960s, a new audience began to take an interest in the blues. Rock lovers found the Afro-American originals through the cover versions of the popular bands Rolling Stones , Yardbirds and The Animals .

In 1966 the theologian Theo Lehmann published the GDR's first blues book and contributed to the spread of this music. Blues & Trouble was published in 1966 by the Henschel publishing house in Berlin.

At the beginning of the 1970s, the first "generation of blues" emerged in the GDR and with it the first indigenous blues bands. As an oppositional subculture , the blueser or customer scene reached its peak around 1980. The “engines” of this GDR-specific youth culture were bands like Engerling , Freygang , Monokel , Die Firma , Passat , Handarbeit , the Hof-Blues-Band , Mama Basuto , Zenit , Jonathan Blues Band and musicians like Jürgen Kerth , Stefan Diestelmann , Hansi Biebl and Bernd Kleinow .

Two centers developed in the GDR blues scene. The bands from the Berlin area were based on Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan . As with Hansi Biebl and Engerling, the “Berlin Blues” had an unmistakable German note. The bands from the Thuringian region and Leipzig, on the other hand, played the original black blues, which differed significantly from the "Berlin blues". Far away from the mainstream in the GDR and the official cultural policy, watched suspiciously by the state power, these bands inspired a predominantly young audience. Only a few bands (such as Engerling, Kerth and Diestelmann) were given the opportunity to radio productions and recordings at the end of the 1970s. Opportunities to appear in youth programs on GDR television , such as " rund ", were the exception.

That changed cautiously from 1983, when the Amiga label brought together well-known musicians from bands from the rock, jazz and blues scene to produce a blues record. This first GDR blues project was called the Amiga Blues Band and the LP Not Fade Away became a bestseller. In 1986 the "uncomfortable" band Monokel got their first record deal. In 1989 further blues projects followed with numerous musicians, which were released as LP under the names Lutz Kerschowski & Blankenfelder Boogie Band and Stormy Spring .

To popularize the blues among young people, the blues masses between 1979 and 1986 played a major role in some East Berlin churches. Within a church room and thus away from government supervision, young people could also hear groups and individual artists who were banned from performing in the GDR. At the same time, texts or poems with politically non-conforming content were read out, for example on the subject of swords to plowshares . The number of participants rose rapidly through word of mouth. On June 24, 1983 z. B. 7000 participants counted. Knowing about the obvious surveillance by the Ministry for State Security , the blues masses developed into a specific form of youth opposition in the GDR .

From the mid-1980s, with the emergence of a heavy metal scene and the spread of punk in the GDR , was the heyday of the blues in the GDR past, although some of these bands, such as grubs, monocle or Kerth, the turnaround largely unscathed survived and still indulge in the blues today.

Rock music

Group elephant (1976)

Around 1970 beat music became rockier . Some bands took up stylistic elements of progressive rock or jazz rock . In 1970, "Open House Days" were held by the radio in the GDR to track down and promote talented musicians. From 1971 there was the " rhythm " initiative of radio, Amiga and television of the GDR, which also served to introduce musicians to the public. In this context, the first radio broadcasts began in 1970 with “ Frank's Beatkiste ”, the “ Radio DDR Tip Parade ” and the “ DT64 Music Studio” (later “DT Metronom”). Amateur bands were able to appear on television in the program “ The Central Bank ”. The targeted promotion of rock music was related to the temporary liberalization of GDR cultural policy in the course of the 6th party congress of the SED , after Erich Honecker had become its general secretary . The first GDR rock music album in the narrower sense is the LP Das Gewitter by the Uve Schikora Combo , which contains extensive pieces in the tradition of progressive rock and art rock as well as hits. Bands like Thomas Natschinski and his group and Panta Rhei were also able to release their first albums. Other style-defining albums created at that time are the compilations hallo No. 1–12 and Rhythm 71–78 . For many of the later known GDR rock bands, these were the first recordings.

Only a few bands were given the opportunity to produce LPs or singles under their name. As an alternative, bands like Electra-Combo , Puhdys , Klaus Renft Combo , Scirocco , Lift , Wir , Jürgen Kerth , Ekkehard Sander Septett , Bürkholz-Formation and Modern Soul Band could produce titles on the radio. They were mainly inspired by Western musicians, but also by bands from countries such as the People's Republics of Poland and Hungary . Bands and performers such as Omega (Hungary) and Die Skalden and Czesław Niemen (Poland) were also popular with the audience.

When performing in concerts, songs by artists from the West were usually played back on the program. Due to the 60/40 rule , however, the proportion was limited to two fifths. Occasionally the musicians were so inspired by examples from the West that the similarity was evident. The Puhdys were at times clearly based on Uriah Heep , and the similarity of their titles If a man lives with Spicks And Specks by the Bee Gees , Go to her with Look Wot You Dun by Slade and Alt wie ein Baum mit 39 by Queen is significant .

But at the same time, rock music in the GDR developed its peculiarities. While only a few musicians sang German-language texts in the west, a large variety of German-language rock and related music such as soul , blues and jazz emerged in the east . Many bands played "song-like rock". The lyrics covered a wide range of topics: In addition to lyrics about love, there were numerous songs about wisdom such as I want to be honest or took up the lifestyle of the customer scene at the time, such as Autostop (both carousel ). Sagas and legends were thematized ( Icarus , Hildebrand or The Amber Witch ), historical events were taken up ( The Battle for the South Pole ) , but also more folkloric themes were implemented in rock songs (haymaking) . The Electra group (the former Electra combo) used the sound of church organs in rock music ( Step into the Cathedral ) , while the Bayon group combined classical music with elements of Cambodian music.

This diversity and musicality at a high level was achieved, among other things, by the fact that the musicians had to complete several years of music studies in order to be able to receive the license to play as professional musicians. So it can be understood that so many bands had the ability to incorporate classical elements into their music, for example Electra with her 1976 album Adaptations . Likewise, many texts were written by professional copywriters. They included Kurt Demmler , Jens Gerlach , Ingeburg Branoner , Gisela Steineckert , Burkhard Lasch and Heinz Kahlau .

With the 1973 World Festival , government restrictions on rock music were temporarily relaxed. This resulted in committed songs that were produced but later fell victim to censorship. There were many tape disintegrations from 1973 to the mid-1970s. This had partly political and partly artistic causes. So in 1973 Thomas Natschinski and his group formed the group Brot & Salz and the Horst-Krüger-Band was founded, which drew lasting attention to itself with the title Die Tagesreise . In 1975 , Panta Rhei emerged as Karat , while the Panta Rhei singer Veronika Fischer now appeared with her own band. The groups Magdeburg and Reform developed from the monastery brothers - also under pressure from the state - in 1975 .

The well-known group Renft (formerly Klaus-Renft-Combo) was banned by the authorities in 1975 due to overly rebellious song texts. By Gerulf Pannach texted songs for a third album talked critical issues such as the largely hushed by the state construction soldiers of the NVA in the song matters of faith on. In the ballad of little Otto , the title character wishes for an escape to the West.

As a result of Wolf Biermann's expatriation in 1976, many popular musicians such as Nina Hagen or Renft band members such as singer Thomas Schoppe moved to the Federal Republic of Germany after signing the “Protest resolution against Biermann's expatriation”. Other Renft companions such as Gerulf Pannach and Christian Kunert were forcibly relocated to the FRG after nine months in prison .

On the one hand, the bands were integrated into the system prescribed by the state, for example through the stipulation that all song texts had to be approved. On the other hand, some of the musicians, often long-haired and with a rebellious attitude, contrasted with the ruling system. There were also fan groups who followed their favorite bands and sometimes caused a stir.

Other bands became known nationally: Stern-Combo Meißen , Berluc , Transit , Prinzip , Sieghart Schubert-Formation , Kreis , SET , Express , Karussell , College Formation and City . The Puhdys and - in 1978 - Karat released their first LPs and became the most popular groups in the country. There were the first guest appearances by GDR bands in western countries, for example by the Puhdys.

From 1977 to 1979 numerous new groups were founded and other artists performed such as 4 PS , Neue Generation , Fritzens Dampferband , Gruppe Drei , Peter and Paul , Eva Maria Pieckert and the Silly family . At the beginning of the 1980s, publications by established artists and new, emerging bands were pushed. From 1980 to 1983, over 500 new titles were produced. In 1980, Neumis Rock Circus and Dialog brought new styles to the range of music. During this period, pop- oriented titles increased in popularity . Some well-known bands such as electra stayed true to their musical style in the form of mature works (1979/80: The Sistine Madonna ).

From 1981/82 onwards, new bands such as Petra Zieger & Smokings , Pankow , Keks , Primaner and Metropol played straight rock music with straightforward lyrics. Silly with the singer Tamara Danz became the most successful band. Petra Zieger & Band released their first album in 1984 and received a gold record . As part of the event series " Rock for Peace ", which took place from January 1982 to 1987 in the East Berlin Palace of the Republic , many successful songs were created, such as The Blue Planet (Karat), The Book of the Puhdys and Superwoman by Petra Zieger.

Other new bands complemented the rock music offer. From 1982 onwards, Rockhaus showed a new kind of music and stage presentation. Formula I , Regenbogen , Babylon , Metall, MERLIN, Feuerstein, Mephisto and Biest played hard rock . Numerous bands began to change their musical style significantly in line with trends, for example by using electronic instruments and turning away from long rock pieces. Some groups were inspired by the Neue Deutsche Welle . The Puhdys, whose album computer career is characterized by spoken word and electronic sounds, later returned to their rock style. The star combo Meißen was called Stern Meißen from 1980. In 1984 she turned away from art rock , largely changed her line-up and from then on played for a different audience.

He wants to be different , appeared in 1986 on the album Keine Stars von Pankow, became the motto of large parts of the young generation in the second half of the 1980s in the GDR and was chanted loudly in the choir by singers and audience during live performances while they were At this point in time the other bands were already on their way to establish a musical culture independent of government supervision and control.

In the lyrics of the other bands there is an increasing willingness to address previously taboo topics directly. Bands like Freygang and Feeling B were consistently critical of the system. In 1988 the compilation The Other Bands appeared in the Amiga record series Kleeblatt .

The other bands also included punk bands , which initially only played underground and brought their music to the public with their own illegal cassette distribution. The punk album GDR from below , which was created underground in 1983 and was released in West Berlin , brought its protagonists not only the fame of the first GDR punk album but also considerable difficulties with the state organs of the GDR. Only in a few exceptional cases, such as the Skeptics , did these bands receive state funding. They were only occasionally present in the public media towards the end of the GDR, for example in the Parocktikum program on DT64 , which was moderated by Lutz Schramm .

Other GDR musicians were able to perform in the Federal Republic of Germany from the mid-1980s. Peter Maffay sang Over Seven Bridges You Must Go by Karat and made the band known in the West too. The city album Casablanca from 1987 is considered a milestone , conceptually a unity of text and music. The partly critical texts were approved for the record by the censorship authorities, but partly were not allowed to be played on the radio.

“In half the country and the cut up city, halfway satisfied with what you have. Half and half."

- City, half and half

City, Die Zöllner , NO 55 and Rockhaus performed alongside international stars such as James Brown , Fischer-Z and Marillion at the largest rock festival in the GDR in June 1988 on the Weißensee cycling track in Berlin .

In the run-up to the peaceful revolution, numerous GDR musicians wrote the " Resolution of Rock Musicians and Songwriters " on September 18, 1989, to the government of the GDR calling for political changes in the country. Many concerts began with a - forbidden - reading of the resolution, which was followed by sanctions such as concert cancellations, fines, etc.
Tamara Danz von Silly was one of the selected first signatories of the appeal " For our country ", published on November 28, 1989, which called for an independent, democratic development of the GDR on the basis of forced "revolutionary renewal".

Folk music

Until the mid-1970s, folk musicians - often as part of the singing movement - played mostly foreign songs. As a result of the 1973 coup in Chile, several LPs with Chilean songs were produced. The group Bayon took on Cambodian elements in their music. There were also groups that sang German folk songs in a popular way. Around 1976, a few years after the emergence of folk music in the Federal Republic of Germany, bands were also formed in the GDR who arranged old folk songs in a modern way. In October 1976 the first folk workshop in GDR history took place in Leipzig. As a result, folk music became quite popular. Sometimes there were problems with the state power, as many of the songs had a political content that drew attention to current conditions. The main source was the folk song collections of the East Berlin ethnologist Wolfgang Steinitz , who had died in 1967.

From 1979 folk bands in the GDR were able to produce long-playing records. The number of publications until 1989, however, remained low. De Plattfööt made non-political music and released three albums. Piatkowski & Rieck from Rostock also played Low German songs . Like the groups Folkländer , Horch and Wacholder , they were represented with two albums. Further albums were released by the Liedehrlich group (with Stephan Krawczyk ), the folk cabaret duo Sonnenschirm , Kurt Nolze (actually a songwriter) and the West German folk band Liederjan .

Despite the small number of sponsored bands, folk music was quite popular with young, sometimes rebellious people. Even today, the Rudolstadt Festival, Germany's most important folk festival, takes place in Thuringia . It was established as a new event in 1991, but is based on the dance festival that has been held at the same location since 1955 and focused on traditional folklore and folk songs.

Songwriters and chansons

Gerhard Schöne at the Festival of Political Song (1988)

In the GDR there were numerous well-known songwriters and chansonniers from around 1965 . Due to the strong importance of the text in their music and the standpoint represented by it, they were partly close to the SED, partly they were among the best-known opposition activists in the GDR. Hartmut König, for example, was a leading member of the October Club , which led the singing movement, was an SED and FDJ functionary and in 1989 became deputy minister of culture of the GDR, while the songwriter Wolf Biermann was not allowed to perform at all from 1965 until his expatriation in 1976. Kurt Demmler , who was also responsible for many rock lyrics, and Gerhard Schöne , who belonged to the alternative, church-related milieu and also became known for children's songs, are among the most famous songwriters in the GDR . Gerulf Pannach and Christian Kunert also had to leave the GDR in the course of Biermann's expatriation, Bettina Wegner (Sind so small hands) gave occasional concerts and left the country in 1983. Stephan Krawczyk was banned from performing in 1985, after which he only performed in churches and had to left the GDR in 1988. The Mecklenburg Ingo Barz got no work permit and was allowed to perform his songs only in the church. The songwriter Gerhard Gundermann was active around the time of the fall of the Wall and was considered the voice of the people in the Lusatian lignite mining district around Hoyerswerda . Hans-Eckardt Wenzel and Steffen Mensching at times devoted themselves to clown-like song theater, Wenzel was at the same time and is successful as a soloist to this day, Mensching as an author and theater director.

From 1970 to 1990 the festival of political song was held in East Berlin every year . The organizer was the FDJ. In addition to well-known GDR songwriters who were in line with the party line, many well-known foreign performers performed who otherwise would not have been able to experience live . Up to 1990, an average of 50,000 spectators flocked to the festival every year, the main venues of which were the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle , the House of Young Talents (HdjT) and the theater. Because it was a window to the world for many - even non-conformist - young people and songwriters: "The hundreds who stood in front of the door and wanted to get in [...] who volunteered and wanted to work - from year to year there were more -, they also had this longing for cosmopolitanism, for contacts [...] . So it was like the World Festival , it also had a certain intoxication [...] “ The so-called festival of political songs got its popularity from what u. a. The World Festival or the American Folk Blues Festival had also distinguished: The GDR youth didn't come all over the world, but the world did come to the GDR.

From 1973 to 1992, the GDR's chansontage took place every two years in Frankfurt (Oder) , which was also open to songwriters. In 1977 Kurt Nolze won the competition, Stephan Krawczyk won four years later with his former group Liedehrlich. In 1987 Gerhard Gundermann was the winner of the main prize. Well-known chanson singers from the GDR include Barbara Kellerbauer , Barbara Thalheim , Gisela May and Eva-Maria Hagen . They mostly sang their songs in German.

Hip hop

Hip-hop finally reached the GDR via West German radio and television . The film Beat Street was shown in GDR cinemas in 1985 to show the misery in New York's Bronx from the perspective of the state authorities . However, the film had a stronger influence on the fashion and musical tastes of many young people and brought about the emergence of the first East German breakdance crews. The 2006 documentary “Here we come” by director Nico Raschick dealt with the East German breakdance scene and showed, among other things, a large amount of archive material.

At the end of 1987, the Electric Beat Crew, the first and only English-speaking hip-hop group in the GDR, was founded, which was best known for the piece Here We Come , published on Amiga .

In summer 1988 and on 28/29 In July 1989, rap contests took place in what was then the “Tonhalle” in Radebeul near Dresden , each with around 2500 visitors. In addition, in January 1989 a hip-hop workshop took place in Schloss Nickern near Dresden, in which over 30 people took part.

After the turn

Klaus Renft from the Renft group (2003)
Lift at a concert in 2008

In the course of the fall of the Wall, the first signs of disintegration of the old system quickly became apparent: no sooner were the border crossings open than songs by Veronika Fischer could be heard on the radio again. A German-German hit parade with old and new rock tracks from East and West was broadcast under the title Beat-Radio D. But this equal coexistence only had a short lifespan. Since the interest in the music of the former GDR bands decreased significantly, many of them broke up.

A few years later, from about 1993 onwards, numerous Amiga disks were re-released as CDs . In addition, many samplers such as Rock aus Deutschland Ost (1991, 20 CDs) and Jugendliebe were created. Those were our hits (1993, 4 double CDs). At the same time, many "Eastern musicians" gave concerts and produced albums again. The rock music of former GDR musicians was henceforth often referred to as " Ostrock ".

In an accompanying text to Rock from Germany East , the publicist and cultural journalist Olaf Leitner wrote that there is a treasure hidden here that many people can still find. However, this treasure has been largely ignored so far - here the so-called "wall in the mind" became particularly clear. The broadcasting stations of the GDR were gradually taken over by West German operators (see Broadcasting of the GDR ) and then played the same music as in the West. Music from the GDR was mostly ridiculed as a curiosity in history and dismissed as an Ostalgie . It was only played very rarely. Especially on the day of German reunification , some GDR titles could be heard. Typical of this is the German-German anthem by Petra Zieger Das Eis thaws , published in 1989 . The commercial success of this title was greater in the USA than in West Germany.

Many artists and bands performed and continue to perform, but mostly in East Germany .

In 2000 there was a spectacular rock concert by the rock group Karat, which took place in the Wuhlheide in Berlin. Peter Maffay sang along on some of the pieces. In addition to well-known classics, pieces that had been written after the fall of the Berlin Wall were played here successfully.

In the program "Our Best - Hits of the Century" broadcast by ZDF on November 25, 2005 , five GDR titles came in the top 16 places:

The music of the GDR influenced the development of the German music scene after reunification. A prominent example is Rammstein , at times the most successful German-speaking band outside of Germany, whose musicians have repeatedly stated in interviews that they would never have developed their typical style without their GDR past. In 2010, Silly reached third place in the German album charts with her album Alles rot and thus the best ranking of a former GDR band in the unified Germany.

censorship

All productions were subject to censorship . Texts had to be submitted and shows had to be approved in advance, performances were observed. Nobody was exempt from this, not even famous artists with connections to the highest levels of the SED government. Under this pressure, strategies were developed to get critical texts to the public despite censorship. So Heinz Quermann intentionally built an extreme gag into his entertainment program so that the censors had something to delete and the other gags were less critical under the microscope. Tamara Danz von Silly, who followed a similar strategy with political texts, justified the term “ green elephant ” for such passages . In popular music, messages were smuggled past the censors between the lines, wrapped in images and metaphors , for example in the song Am Fenster von City . Occasionally, texts that were not meant to be critical were also censored, for example the song Tritt ein den Dom by the Electra combo, which achieved top spots in rating programs, but was then largely banned because it supposedly called for entry into the church.

In the early 1960s, the youth of the GDR were also under the influence of the Beatles and their music. Initially, this music was tolerated and supported by the GDR leadership, especially with the help of the FDJ . The high point of this era was in 1965, when GDR bands not only got radio and television appearances, but were even allowed to make recordings. Also brought Amiga an LP out by the Beatles. The SED realized, however, that they could not control this essentially rebellious and western-oriented movement and steer it in a pleasant direction. Most of the bands were therefore simply banned, the rest were strictly controlled. For example, Thomas Natschinski's band had to change its English name "Team 4" to the German name "Thomas Natschinski und seine Gruppe". Other bands weren't so adapted. Renft in particular was repeatedly banned from performing, and later also the blues rock band Freygang , whose members went into hiding and then played under pseudonyms .

Even convinced socialists like the songwriter Wolf Biermann were banned from appearing because they had different ideas about socialism than the SED put it into practice. In 1976 Wolf Biermann was allowed to tour the West and this was immediately taken as an opportunity to expatriate and refuse to return home. Numerous artists protested against it and were forced to leave the country - some after imprisonment - including members of Renft, as well as Manfred Krug and Nina Hagen . Other artists left voluntarily. In 1981 , Veronika Fischer did not return from a performance in West Berlin , after which her songs were no longer allowed to be played by GDR broadcasters.

But West German productions were also subject to censorship. For example, the song by Udo Jürgens Once upon a time there was a balloon was added to the index because of the line “They know no borders, the balloons of the world”. It was not until 1987 that Udo Jürgens was allowed to perform again in the GDR. Udo Lindenberg , for example, had similar problems. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was only allowed one appearance in the Palace of the Republic on the occasion of the event " Rock for Peace " (October 25, 1983) despite all efforts (such as his song Sonderzug nach Pankow ) .

In the 1980s, censorship seemed to be loosening. Texts about the longing for freedom (including Albatros von Karat) became possible. But it was only in the course of the peaceful revolution in October 1989 that songs by Veronika Fischer were heard on the radio again.

Official songs

Rehearsal for the 9th "Parade of the Soldiers' Song" in Schwerin (1972)

In the 1950s , orchestras and choirs were set up in ministries, factories, NVA units, etc. (for example the Erich Weinert Ensemble ), which performed songs with officious political texts and some of them were also recorded on record on the state label Eterna . In addition, such songs were interpreted by radio choirs and orchestras, but also by cabaret ensembles. These fighting songs ranged in content from the Stalinist personality cult , for example Stalin, Freund, Comrade (1949, German text: Alexander Ott), several Thälmann songs about songs that generally propagated the political system of the GDR and the SED (e.g. the song of the party ( 1950, composition and text Louis Fürnberg )), up to current political events (e.g. several songs about the building of the wall , among others by Heinz Kahlau ).

For the Junge Pioneers and the FDJ , singing songs, some of which were politically propagandistic, was part of the organized leisure activities. Several songbooks have been published for the Young Pioneers and the FDJ. For example, the song about the blue flag is well-known , which was written by Hanns Eisler and Johannes R. Becher as a commission for the 1st German Youth Meeting at Whitsun in 1950.

In the 1960s, the singing movement emerged in the GDR . Small groups of amateur musicians and singers played songs that took musical influences from American folk and had German-language lyrics. The singing groups were channeled through the incorporation into the FDJ; The best known was the October Club , but companies and units of the NVA also had their own singing groups. Most of the texts now served as propaganda for the political system of the GDR. Numerous singing groups performed at the annual festival of political song .

A curiosity of the semi-official song material is the greeting to the party recorded in 1976 : to avant-garde-sounding music by Paul Dessau (with the repeated tone sequence Es-ED ), a singer sang the quotes selected by Heiner Müller from a speech by Erich Honecker .

See also

literature

  • Ronald Galenza, Heinz Havemeister (ed.): We always want to be good. Punk, New Wave, HipHop, independent scene in the GDR 1980–1990. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-86265-230-3 .
  • Lutz Kirchenwitz: Folk, Chanson and Songwriter in the GDR. Dietz, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-320-01807-8 .
  • Olaf Leitner : Rock scene GDR - aspects of a mass culture in socialism . Reinbek 1983, ISBN 3-499-17646-7 .
  • Bernd Lindner : GDR Rock & Pop . 1st edition. KOMET, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-89836-715-8 .
  • Hansgeorg Mühe : On the history of popular music in the GDR: A critical inventory (PDF; 608 kB) Giessen electronic library
  • Michael Rauhut : Rock in the GDR . 1st edition. Federal Agency for Political Education, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89331-459-8 .
  • Werner Sellhorn : Jazz GDR facts . Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-936033-19-6 .
  • Lars Klingberg: "Politically firmly in our hands": Musical and musicological societies in the GDR. Documents and analyzes. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 1997, ISBN 978-3-7618-1352-2 .
  • Daniel zur Weihen: composing in the GDR. Institutions, organizations and the first generation of composers until 1961. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-412-09399-8 .
  • Michael Berg, Albrecht von Massow, Nina Noeske (eds.): Between power and freedom. New music in the GDR. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2004, ISBN 978-3-412-10804-5 .
  • Matthias Tischer (Hrsg.): Music in the GDR. Contributions to the musical conditions of a disappeared state. Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2005, ISBN 978-3-936637-05-2 .
  • Nina Noeske: Musical deconstruction. New instrumental music in the GDR. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-20045-9 .
  • Christiane Sporn: Music under political auspices: party rule and instrumental music in the GDR since the Wall was built: work and context analyzes. Pfau, Saarbrücken 2007.
  • Nina Noeske, Matthias Tischer (eds.): Musicology and the Cold War: The example of the GDR , Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-412-20586-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Daniel zur Weihen: Composing in the GDR. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-412-09399-8 , p. 50.
  2. ^ Daniel zur Weihen: Composing in the GDR. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-412-09399-8 , p. 59.
  3. ^ Daniel zur Weihen: Composing in the GDR. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-412-09399-8 , p. 71 f.
  4. ↑ List of Nova Publications , accessed December 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ Cf. commemorative speech given by Ernst Hermann Meyer on behalf of the Minister of Education , in: Report on the scientific conference of the Society for Music Research. Leipzig July 23 to 26, 1950, edited by Walther Vetter and Ernst Hermann Meyer on behalf of the German Bach Committee 1950 , edited by Heinrich Eggebrecht, CF Peters, Leipzig 1951.
  6. ↑ Revised and published as an essay: Ernst H. Meyer: Johann Sebastian Bach - no end, a beginning. In: Ernst H. Meyer: Essays on music. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1957, p. 10 ff., Cf. also Bach Bibliography [1] .
  7. ↑ a b c Church music as a niche? - Music Wiki ( Memento from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 19, 2011.
  8. ^ Wording of the authoritative music sociologist Ernst H. Meyer : Musik im Zeitgeschehen , page 162 ff, Verlag Bruno Henschel und Sohn, Berlin 1952.
  9. ↑ Hans Bentzien , quoted by Johanna Metz: The sound of the Cold War . In: Parliament No. 12 / March 20, 2006 Archive version from 2007 ( Memento of June 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on September 29, 2012.
  10. ^ Rüdiger Bloemeke: Roll over Beethoven, How Rock'n'Roll Came to Germany . P. 166, Hannibal Verlag, St. Andrä-WIERT, 1996.
  11. ↑ Georg Knepler : Musical Realism - New Thoughts on an Old Problem . In: Contributions to Musicology , Issue 4 1988 (editorial deadline March 9, 1988), Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin, p. 250.
  12. ↑ Law Gazette of the GDR , Part II, No. 112: Order No. 2 on the practice of dance and light music from November 1, 1965.
  13. ^ Olaf Leitner : Rock scene GDR: Aspects of a mass culture in socialism . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1983, ISBN 3-499-17697-1 , pp. 135ff.
  14. ↑ Stutterer-Blues , On the way, Amiga 855660.
  15. ↑ Michael Rauhut : Rock in the GDR . Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89331-459-8 , p. 11.
  16. ↑ cf. Ulli Blobel (ed.): Woodstock am Karpfenteich: The Peitz Jazz Workshop. Federal Agency for Civic Education Bonn / JazzWerkstatt Berlin 2011.
  17. ↑ Götz Hintze: Rock Lexicon of the GDR. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-303-9 , p. 247.
  18. ↑ Michael Rauhut : Beatkiste 5th preface in the CD booklet .
  19. ↑ Protests by more than 90 GDR artists against the expatriation of Wolf Biermann (on gegen-diktatur.de).
  20. ↑ Jürgen Balitzki: electra, Lift, Stern Combo Meißen. Stories from the Saxon threesome . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin, ISBN 3-89602-323-3 , p. 42 f.
  21. ^ Bernd Lindner: GDR Rock & Pop . KOMET, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-89836-715-8 , p. 151.
  22. ↑ Michael Rauhut : Rock in the GDR . Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89331-459-8 , pp. 103f.
  23. ^ Bernd Lindner: GDR Rock & Pop . KOMET, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-89836-715-8 , pp. 198 f.
  24. ^ Bernd Lindner: GDR Rock & Pop . KOMET, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-89836-715-8 , p. 196.
  25. ↑ Michael Rauhut : Rock in the GDR . Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89331-459-8 , p. 121
  26. ↑ Christian Hentschel: '' You forgot the color film and other Ostrockgeschichten. '' Schwarzkopf and Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-317-9 , p. 312.
  27. ↑ Biggest rock festival in the GDR from 16. – 19. June 1988 on the Weißensee Radrennbahn on concertarchiv.net.
  28. ^ Portrait of Ingo Barz , accessed on November 29, 2014.
  29. ↑ Regina Scheer in: "Tell me where you stand", MDR television film by Axel Grote and Christian Steinke, 1993, quoted from Lied 1999, p. 50.
  30. ↑ Article at kulturation.de
  31. ↑ Here we come  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at imdb.de, accessed on May 9, 2011@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.imdb.de  
  32. ↑ herewecome.de - Official website of the film, accessed on May 9, 2011.
  33. ↑ Very young pioneers: Hip-Hop in the GDR at tagesspiegel.de, accessed on May 7, 2011.
  34. ↑ Mike Wagner: Rap is in da house. HipHop in the GDR. In: Ronald Galenza, Heinz Havemeister (Ed.): We always want to be good. Punk, New Wave, HipHop, independent scene in the GDR 1980–1990. Berlin 2013, pp. 602f.
  35. ↑ Matthias Wyssuwa: State-certified rapper In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of November 7, 2009, p. 9.
  36. ↑ Wagner 2013: Rap is in da house. Pp. 602-610.
  37. ↑ Jürgen Balitzki: electra - Lift -star Combo Meissen. Stories from the Saxon threesome. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-323-3 , p. 72.