Ton Steine Scherben
| Ton Steine Scherben | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | "die Scherben" ("the Shards") "TSS" |
| Origin | West Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Folk rock, blues, German rock, protopunk, Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Anarcho-punk |
| Years active | 1970–85 |
| Labels | David Volksmund Produktion (DVP) |
Ton Steine Scherben (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːn ˈʃtaɪnə ˈʃɛːɐ̯bən]) was one of the first and most influential German language rock bands of the 1970s and early 1980s. Well known for the highly political and emotional lyrics of vocalist Rio Reiser, they became a musical mouthpiece of new left movements, such as the squatting movement, during that time in Germany and their hometown of West Berlin in particular. Today, after the band's demise in 1985, and the death of Rio Reiser in 1996, Ton Steine Scherben have retained a cult following and popularity in the related scenes. Recently, some of the remaining members have given reunion concerts.
Ton Steine Scherben's literal English translation is "Clay Stones Shards"; in German, "Ton" can mean "sound" as well, so the band's name may be considered to be an amphibology. "Ton Steine Scherben" also sounds like "Blut Schweiß und Tränen", blood sweat and tears. Singer Rio Reiser usually told journalists the name was taken from a description by pioneer archeologist Heinrich Schliemann of what he saw when he first came to the site of ancient Troy. Other members of the band claim in the biography "Keine Macht für Niemand - Die Geschichte der Ton Steine Scherben" (No power for nobody - the story of Clay Stone Shards") that it is a play on the name of the West German labor union Bau-Steine-Erden (Construction-Stones-Earths). The band name is also a tribute to The Rolling Stones and to "Die roten Steine" (The red stones), a trainee theatre group from Berlin.
Formed in 1970 by vocalist and guitarist Rio Reiser (his legal name was Ralph Christian Möbius), guitarist R.P.S. Lanrue (legally named Ralph Peter Steitz), Kai Sichtermann on bass guitar, and drummer Wolfgang Seidel when the members were all around 20 years of age. They are nowadays considered to have been one of the first genuine German-language rock bands; coming into being after the even more obscure Ihre Kinder, but well before Udo Lindenberg's Panikorchester, the first widely successful, mainstream German language rock act. Their first big-stage appearance was at an Open-Air on 6 September 1970 on the Fehmarn stage where Jimi Hendrix had had his last appearance directly before. A house right next to the stage went up in flames while they were still playing; it has been alleged that it had been set on fire by the security personnel who had just received news that the event's organizers had disappeared with all the revenues. Still many people believed that Ton Steine Scherben had set the stage on fire, which gave them tremendous credibility in the radical scene.
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