Pleasure + Pain

Pleasure + Pain
Studio album by The Bates
Publication (s)	February 16, 1995
Label (s)	Virgin Records
Format (s)	CD
Genre (s)	Punk rock
Title (number)	18th
running time	44:06
occupation	Vocals / E-Bass: Markus "Zimbl" Zimmer Guitar: Michael "Reb" Rebbig Drums: Frank “Klube” club decision Rhythm guitar: Thomas "Pogo" Möller
production	The Bates and Andi Jung
Studio (s)	Vielklang Studios, Berlin, October / November 1994
chronology The Bates (1994) Pleasure + Pain Kicks'n'Chicks (1996)
Single releases January 1995 Say It Isn't So June 26, 1995 Billie Jean November 24, 1995 A real cool time

Pleasure + Pain is the fifth studio album by the Eschweg-based punk rock band The Bates . With this album the band came in the mid-1990s of the breakthrough, mainly thanks to the success of Michael Jackson - cover Billie Jean . The album was released in 1995 on Virgin Records .

History of origin

The album was recorded in October and November 1994 in the Vielklang Studios in Berlin. In addition to the band itself, Andi Jung was the producer. With Say It Isn't So a second professional video was shot after Hello (a cover of the Shakespears Sister ). The single will be released before the album is released in January 1995. On February 16, the album itself was finally released via Virgin Records.

Music and lyrics

The album is in the typical style of the Bates. It contains mostly fast-played three-chord punk rock, especially with Fuck , Tonight , Fuck the World or A Fuck on the Edge of the World , but which deals with melodic songs like Say It Isn't So and ballads like High Above the Ground and A Real Cool Time alternates. A special feature is the cover version Donna Clara , an old hit from the 1920s. On the one hand, it is the only German song on the album, on the other hand Bela B. and Farin took over Urlaub (under the pseudonym "Kill Kill Gaskrieg") from background vocals to the doctors . The song Rock'n'Roll Heart was created with the participation of the Lemonbabies .

The lyrics of the album are relatively simple. Political texts were avoided, instead an attempt was made to implement a punk attitude. The theme of love also recurs in the songs.

Artwork

The layout of the record makes a confused impression. The typeface looks like a ransom note glued together from newspaper clippings. The cover of the album adorns a drawn, naked blonde woman who, kneeling and leaning back, tries to pull a furry green monster out of her throat (or tries to swallow it, depending on how you look at it). The reverse shows two barmaids, dressed in the style of the 1950s, with cigarettes, top hats and walking stick framing the list of titles. The album label shows a black and white section from a handbag brochure; the band members are individually mounted as black and white photos in the slide-in compartments of wallets. For the first time, the lyrics are also printed on Pleasure + Pain - mounted in a confused arrangement around a black and red duplex graphic. It shows a crucifix on which instead of the original inscription " INRI " there is a sign with the imprint "Gute Welt".

Track list

1. Tonight - 1:58
2. The Only One - 2:31
3. Still the Same - 2:38
4. In This Town - 0:54
5. A Fuck on the Edge of the World - 2:06
6. Shine - 3:17
7. Yeah - 1:12
8. High score - 2:57
9. Say It Isn't So - 3:24
10. Don't Wanna Be Like You - 2:44
11. Junkie - 2:19
12. Fuck the World - 0:54
13. Rock'n'Roll Heart - 2:02 - with the participation of the Lemonbabies
14. A Real Cool Time - 3:53
15. Billie Jean - 4:24
16. Fuck - 0:54
17. Donna Clara - 3:01
18. High Above the Ground - 2:48

success

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Pleasure and Plain   DE 24 03/06/1995 (30 weeks)

Singles

Billie Jean   DE 21st 07/24/1995 (21 weeks)   AT 40 10/01/1995 (1 week)   CH 10 08/20/1995 (16 weeks)   UK 67 02/03/1996 (1 week)

Billie Jean , originally by Michael Jackson , became the band's biggest hit, especially due to the heavy rotation at VIVA and MTV . The music video was a short version of the film Psycho and was shot in black and white by the Austrian directing duo Dirk Meints and Toni Weiss from DoRo Produktion . The single was also released with a Billie Jean T-shirt in a version limited to 20,000 copies. Due to the success of the single, which reached number 21 in the German charts, the album was also able to advance to number 24 in the charts. The follow-up album Kicks'n'Chicks even reached number 10, but didn't even stay in the charts for half as long. Pleasure + Pain stayed in the Top 100 for30 weeksand is still the best-selling album in the band's history. Another but unsuccessful single was A Real Cool Time , which was dedicated to Dietmar Ritze, a deceased friend of the band. Thanks to the success of the album, the band was also allowed toperform in front of 13,000 fansat the Bravo Supershow , according to their own account as the only band to play live there.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} biography. Laut.de , accessed on February 29, 2012 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Volume History. (No longer available online.) Official website, archived from the original on May 4, 2012 ; Retrieved March 1, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Thomas Aulenbacher: Criticism. Discover.de, accessed on March 1, 2012 . 
4. ↑ criticism. (No longer available online.) Pressure Magazine, April 22, 2007, formerly original ; Retrieved March 1, 2012 .  ( 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.    
5. ↑ Cover artwork of the CD version, Virgin Records 1995, available online on the official website ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Chart tracking. (No longer available online.) Musicline.de, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved February 29, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Chart sources:
   • Billie Jean in the German charts on OfficialCharts.de
   • Billie Jean in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at
   • Billie Jean in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
   • Billie Jean in the Official UK Charts (English)
8. ↑ ^{a b} Helmar Giebel: Interview The Bates. Discover.de, accessed on February 29, 2012 (approx. 1996). 
9. ↑ Single information. (No longer available online.) Official website, archived from the original on May 4, 2012 ; Retrieved March 1, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.