Fehlfarben – Live in der Volksbühne, Berlin (2003) [Bootleg]

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Fehlfarben – Live in der Volksbühne, Berlin (2003) [Bootleg]

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Fehlfarben – Live in der Volksbühne, Berlin (2003) [Bootleg]

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Biography from Allmusic:
Monarchie und Alltag, the 1980 debut album by Die Fehlfarben, is one of the key releases of the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), the German equivalent of new wave. Die Fehlfarben were never quite the same after Monarchie und Alltag – constant lineup shuffling, intermittent streaks of band activity – and though the album fell upon deaf ears initially, it grew in stature over the years and rightly became recognized as a cornerstone of modern German rock, earning a deluxe reissue in 2000. Renowned for decades, the band nonetheless only ever scored one proper hit, "Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran)," a song from Monarchie und Alltag that became a surprise Top 20 smash belatedly in 1982, after EMI reissued it as a single during the height of the Neue Deutsche Welle. The roots of Fehlfarben reach back to the dawn of German punk in 1977. Formed by members of the Düsseldorf punk scene, the band began as a ska outfit а la 2 Tone, evolved to post-punk for Monarchie und Alltag, and then drifted toward new wave over the course of the early '80s before going on hiatus in 1985, by which time only one original member remained in the lineup. Beginning in 1991, Die Fehlfarben reunited with increasing frequency, relishing the critical re-evaluation of their contribution to modern German rock. It may have taken 20 years, but a consensus appreciation for the trailblazing of Die Fehlfarben, particularly on Monarchie und Alltag, did come, better late than never.
In 1979 Die Fehlfarben were formed in Dьsseldorf from the ashes of Mittagspause, an influential punk band comprised of Peter Hein (vocals), Franz Bielmeier (guitar), and Markus Oehlen (drums). The trio had previously established themselves in 1977 as Germany's first punk band, Charley's Girls, as documented in the 22-minute documentary film Charley's Girls (2005), which chronicles the burgeoning Düsseldorf punk scene surrounding the club Ratinger Hof circa 1977-1979. When Mittagspause split in 1979, Bielmeier – already a central figure in the Düsseldorf punk scene, with the first German punk fanzine to his credit, The Ostrich – went on to form an independent record label, Rondo-Label, which he maintained until 1981. Hein and Oehlen, on the other hand, went on to form Die Fehlfarben, a post-punk band, with some fellow musicians from the Düsseldorf punk scene: Thomas Schwebel (guitar), who had played with Mittagspause for a while, as well as the band S.Y.P.H.; Michael Kemner (bass), formerly of the D.A.F. collective; Frank Fenstermacher (saxophone); and Uwe Bauer (drums), who like Schwebel had also played with Mittagspause for a while.
Around the turn of the century there was a revived interest in Germany (as elsewhere) in post-punk and new wave. Though coincidental, it was only fitting that Monarchie und Alltag finally reached gold status in 2000, just as the album was being re-evaluated as a cornerstone of modern German rock. Indeed, to again draw a comparison between Die Fehlfarben and Gang of Four, Monarchie und Alltag is the band's Entertainment! (1979) – a full-length debut touchstone that saw its stock rise significantly during the post-punk revival of the early 2000s, when it was rightly deemed a long-underappreciated classic. EMI keenly came to this realization and reissued the album in October 2000; this new edition boasted remastered sound quality and a handful of bonus tracks, including the Abenteuer und Freiheit (1979) ska 7" single. EMI followed with remastered editions of 33 Tage in Ketten and Glut und Asche in 2003, each appending relevant non-album material as bonus tracks.
The bandmembers were well aware of the sudden resurgence in the popularity of Die Fehlfarben, and they capitalized on the moment by reuniting once again, this time for Knietief im Dispo (2002), released by !K7, a French label associated with dance music. Most of the original members were in place for this album (Hein, Schwebel, Kemner, Fenstermacher), along with occasional members (Jahnke, Pyrolator) and a new drummer (Saskia von Klitzing). A measured success, Knietief im Dispo was the first Fehlfarben album to chart since 1983, and though not everyone was crazy about the album – despite the similar membership, this understandably was a much different band than the Fehlfarben of Monarchie und Alltag, which in the opinion of some deserved to rest in peace as a classic – it was well received overall. In the wake of their comeback, Die Fehlfarben signed a major-label contract with V2 Records, debuting on the label with 26 1/2 (2006), a guest-laden album featuring collaborations with a long list of noteworthy German rockers. A standard album followed a year later, Handbuch für die Welt (2007), along with a 19-date tour of Germany.