BAP (German band)

BAP
BAP concert (2005)
Background information
Origin	Cologne, Germany
Genres	Rock
Years active	1976–present
Labels	EMI, Capitol
Website	www.bap.de
Members	Wolfgang "Maitre" Niedecken Werner Kopal Michael Nass
Past members	Hans "Honçe" Heres (1976-1980) Wolfgang "Gröön" Klever (1976-1980) Bernd Odenthal (1976-1980) Klaus "Major" Heuser (1980-1999) Axel "Effendi" Büchel (1981-1999) Stephan "Steve Borg" Kriegeskorte (1980-1996) Manfred "Schmal" Boecker (1976-1996) Wolfgang "Wolli" Boecker (1976-1982) Hans "Fonz" Wollrath (1980-1999) Jan Dix (1982-1986) Pete King † (1986-1987) Jürgen Zöller () (1987-2014) Mario Argandoña (1996) Jens Streifling () (1996-2003) Sheryll Hackett † (1999-2003) Helmut Krumminga () (1999-2014)

BAP Colognian (Kölsch) pronunciation: [bap] is a German rock group. With eleven albums reaching the number one in the German record charts, BAP is one of the most successful rock acts in their home country.

Nearly all of BAP's lyrics are written in Kölsch, the dialect of Cologne, or more precisely in a Kölsch-influenced derivation of Eifelplatt, a regional variant of the Ripuarian language spoken in the nearby rural Eifel. Niedecken's most prominent musical influences, especially early in his career, were Bob Dylan, the Kinks, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and Wolfgang Ambros.

The group was founded in 1976 under the name Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP in Cologne, Germany by Wolfgang Niedecken and Hans Heres. In 1981, they released their most famous song "Verdamp lang her" (English: Damn long time ago), in which Niedecken describes regrets he has about his relationship with his then recently deceased father. The band's name "BAP" derived from "BAPP", both, a play-on-words on the Kölsch word "Papp" (related to the German word dad), but pronounced differently, and Niedecken's then-times nickname.

Niedecken translated a collection of Bob Dylan's lyrics to German for his 1995 solo album Leopardefell.

(Information valid for 2014)