Niedeckens BAP Take Fans on Journey Back to Early ’80s

I realize writing about a rock band singing in German may be a bit of a tough proposition for most of my readers who it’s safe to assume don’t understand the language. But Niedeckens BAP aren’t just any group, plus when I started listening to English music as an eight-year-old back in Germany, I didn’t know or understand one word of English. All I was reacting to were melody, sound, groove and the quality of the vocals. To this day, these aspects remain more important to me than lyrics in most cases.

If you’ve been a more frequent visitor of the blog, chances are you’ve seen me gush about Niedeckens BAP, or simply BAP as they used to be called. Founded as Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP in the west German city of Cologne in 1976, the group around singer-songwriter Wolfgang Niedecken became the first German-singing rock band I closely followed starting in 1980. More precisely, they perform their songs in Kölsch, the regional dialect spoken in the area of Cologne. Last Friday (April 26) saw the release of Zeitreise (Live im Sartory), a live album focused on the group’s music from the early ’80s.

As a longtime fan, Zeitreise is a pretty emotional experience to me, taking me back to Germany when I was 14 and, as noted above, discovered BAP. The material was captured during four shows the group played on December 7, 8, 9 and 10, 2023 at the so-called Sartory-Säle (Sartory Halls), one of the biggest entertainment venues in the center of Cologne. This place has special meaning to BAP. Between 1980 and 1984, they performed many gigs there.

Wolfgang Niedecken, the band’s frontman and only remaining original member

The idea to revisit BAP’s past with a series of concerts at Sartory emerged during their 2022/2023 tour in support of their most recent studio album Alles Fliesst (everything is groovy) from September 2020, which I covered here at the time. “It was during songs like ‘Zehnter Juni’ (June 10) or ‘Jupp’ (a German first name – CMM),” Wolfgang Niedecken told local German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. “As I was scanning the audience, I noticed what these songs did to people. How they moved them.”

Shockingly, I can offer you more background on BAP. Perhaps the best overview is this post from February 2020. Now, I’d like to get to some music from Zeitreise, which by the way means something like journey back in time – sort of what I call ‘music time travel’ in my Sunday feature! While I wouldn’t necessarily go as far as characterizing the songs as reimaginations, they are new renditions of old tracks, which reflect the group’s different musical line-up.

I’d like to kick it off with Südstadt, verzäll nix (don’t give me BS, south city), a song criticizing what Niedecken felt was the commercialization of Südstadt, a part of Cologne. The song first appeared on Für usszeschnigge! (to cut out), BAP’s third studio album from October 1981, which became their national breakthrough in Germany. Typically, Niedecken writes all lyrics, while the music is credited to one or more of the band’s other members. During their first two decades, most of the music was provided by Klaus Heuser, the band’s guitarist from 1980 to 1999. As their de facto musical director, Heuser largely shaped BAP’s sound during his tenure.

Nit für Kooche (not even for cake) is a track from BAP’s album Vun drinne noh drusse (from the inside to the outside), the successor to Für usszeschnigge!, which was released in August 1982. The song is making fun of Karneval, a festive season between November 11 and Ash Wednesday, which is celebrated particularly in Cologne and the broader region of the Rhineland. During what is also known as the “fifth season of the year”, people costume and go to special events and parades. And, yes, lots of alcohol is involved as well. Some including Niedecken consider it as largely forced and superficial happiness.

A concert revisiting BAP’s music of the early ’80s cannot skip what I would call the band’s most popular song. In Verdamp lang her (It’s been a long time), another track from the Für usszeschnigge! album, Niedecken recalls what oftentimes were difficult conversations with his father where the two of them had a hard time connecting. It also includes the band’s namesake, “bap,” which means “dad” in Kölsch dialect.

I’d like to call out one additional track: a medley of Wahnsinn (madness)/Häng de Fahn eruss (get the flag out). Wahnsinn is a cover of Wild Thing, a song penned by Chip Taylor and first popularized in 1966 by British invasion outfit The Troggs, with completely re-written lyrics. It was included on the group’s November 1979 debut album Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP rockt andere kölsche Leeder (Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP rocks different Kölsch songs). Häng de Fahn eruss, a fun rock & roller, is an original song from Affjetaut (defrosted), which was the band’s second album that came out in 1980.

Long-running German TV music program Rockpalast produced a special broadcast that captures most of Niedeckens BAP’s concert at Sartory. It’s currently available on YouTube – not sure for how long. Needless to add I watched all of it and loved every minute. It may well be the closest for me to ever see the band live again!

As you might imagine, BAP have seen many changes over the decades. Co-founder and frontman Wolfgang Niedecken remains the only original member. While he has always been surrounded by great musicians, I think the band’s current line-up is their best. Apart from Niedecken (vocals, guitar), it features Ulrich Rode (guitar, banjo, mandolin, backing vocals), Michael Nass (keyboards, Hammond organ, backing vocals), Anne de Wolff (violin, cello, mandolin, lap steel, guitar, percussion, vocals), Werner Kopal (bass, backing vocals), Sönke Reich (drums), Axel Müller (saxophone, guitar), Benny Brown (trumpet) and Johannes Göltz (trombone).

Last but not least, if you like what you’ve heard, here’s a Spotify link to the album. As as BAP fan from Cologne might say, “dat ess affenjeil” (that’s frigging awesome)! 🙂

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

What I’ve Been Listening to: Niedeckens BAP/Live & Deutlich

I guess this is another post you can put in the one-thing-leads-to-another category. The latest installment of my Best of What’s New recurring feature included a new song by Niedeckens BAP, Ruhe Vor’m Sturm, which will be on the German rock band’s next album scheduled for September. After listening to that tune, I felt hungry for more music by what has been my favorite rock band singing in German for close to 40 years. When I checked my streaming music provider, Live & Deutlich (live & clear) popped up, a live double CD capturing a concert at Circus Krone in Munich, Germany on June 6, 2018, conducted as part of the band’s 2018 Live & Deutlich tour.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I think it’s a great album – otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing about it! Plus, as a longtime fan, I’m not unbiased here. Of course, I realize a rock band that not only sings in German but more specifically in Kölsch, a regional dialect spoken in the area of Cologne, may be a tough proposition to most of the blog’s readers who it’s safe to assume don’t speak German. That doesn’t discourage me. It’s also not the first time I’m writing about the band. I hope to those who don’t understand the lyrics – and trust me, not all people in Germany understand Kölsch either – the music, which I feel is an international language, will be enjoyable.

According to this review by Sounds & Books, Live & Deutlich marked the band’s first-ever tour that featured a full-blown horn section, including saxophone (Axel Müller), trombone (Franz Johannes Goltz) and trumpet (Christoph Moschberger). “That was a lot of fun for us, since the three horn players opened up new possibilities for the band,” commented Wolfgang Niedecken, who has led the band since it was founded in 1976 in Cologne and is the only remaining original member. “We had a ball on stage and enjoyed having songs in the set we had not played in a long time and playing other tunes for the first time with real horns.”

The 30 tracks feature a nice variety of songs spanning much of the band’s 40-plus-year catalog. There are classics, such as Verdamp lang her (it’s been a long time), Kristalnaach (night of broken glass), Du kanns zaubere (you can do magic) and Anna, as well as deeper cuts like Nem mich met (take me with you), Psycho-Rodeo and Ruut-wieß-blau querjestriefte Frau (red-white-blue horizontal striped lady). There is also a cover version of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere. Many of the tunes were rearranged, in part because of the horn section. Time to get to some music!

Let’s kick it off with Drei Wünsch frei (three free wishes), which is a nice introduction to the horn section. As usual for original tunes, the lyrics are written by Wolfgang Niedecken. The song first appeared on Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier (between salt pretzels and beer) from May 1984, the fifth studio album by the band that between 1982 and 2014 was simply called BAP. On that record, the music was credited to the entire band.

Psycho-Rodeo has a cool Stonesy sound. I dig the slide guitar (I assume it’s played by lead guitarist Ulrich Rode) and again, the horn work is great. The band recorded this tune for their 11th studio album Comics & Pin-ups that appeared in January 1999. The song was co-written by Klaus Heuser, BAP’s guitarist from 1980 until 1999, and Niedecken. In fact, the two of them wrote most of the band’s songs during that time period.

Diss Naach ess alles drin (tonight, anything is possible) is another track from the aforementioned Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier album. I had not heard that song in many years and feel it sounds really fresh. The horn work is a standout.

Time to slow it down. Here’s a beautiful ballad called Jupp, which is a male name. Originally, it appeared on BAP’s national breakthrough album Für usszeschnigge! (to cut out) from October 1981. The acoustic guitar part combined with the beautiful violin played by Anne de Wolff is the song’s highlight. The tune, another Heuser-Niedecken co-write, also has a nice build turning from an acoustic-focused to an electric power ballad.

After four German songs, I thought it might be a good idea to throw in an English tune, the aforementioned Dylan cover – well, sort of, it’s half English, half German, but, hey, at least it’s got some English! 🙂 Dylan wrote You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere in 1967 in Woodstock, N.Y. during his self-imposed exile from public appearances following his motorcycle accident earlier that year. The tune was first released in November 1971 on his second compilation Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II. For this version, the band is joined by two Bavarian artists, Werner Schmidbauer (guitar, backing vocals) und Hannes Ringlstetter (guitar, backing vocals). I just love this cover – dare I say it, even more so than the original! The Bavarian artists with their local dialect provide character. I also dig the warm rootsy sound of the music, which almost has a John Mellencamp flair to it.

Over the decades, Wolfgang Niedecken has repeatedly written songs with political themes. A recurring topic has been discrimination against immigrants. Here is one of his best, included on BAP’s fourth studio album Vun drinne noh drusse (from the inside to the outside) from August 1982, the above noted Kristallnaach (night of broken glass), another co-write with Heuser.

After such a serious song, I think it’s time for some reggae happiness. Aff un zo (every now and then) is the title track from BAP’s 13th studio album, released in June 2001. The song was co-written by Niedecken and Helmut Krumminga, who succeeded Heuser as lead guitarist in 1999 and was with the band until 2014. Just like Heuser, he became Niedecken’s key songwriting collaborator.

I’d like to highlight one more track, another ballad called Jraaduss (straight shooter). This tune is also from the previously mentioned album Für usszeschnigge! Yet another Heuser-Niedecken co-write, it’s one of my favorite BAP tunes, in part because of the lyrics. An excerpt: Stay where you are/hold on to something/and stay like you used to be/a straight shooter. 

“I’ve always liked live albums,” wrote Niedecken on the band’s website. “Because they authentically capture the sound of a band and are a time capsule. In the ideal case, live recordings document how a band sounds at a particular moment in time.” Speaking of the band, I’d like to acknowledge the other core members I haven’t mentioned yet: Marius Goldhammer (bass), Sönke Reich (drums) and Michael Nass (keyboards). I think I agree with Sounds & Books, which called Live & Deutlich “perhaps the best BAP live album with the most variety since Bess demnähx (see you soon).”

Sources: Wikipedia; Sounds & Books; Discogs; BAP website; YouTube

Revisiting My Favorite German Rock Band: BAP

If you have followed my blog for some time, you may recall seeing the name BAP. The group around singer-songwriter Wolfgang Niedecken was founded in the West German city of Cologne in 1976. They entered my radar screen in 1981 after their national breakthrough with their third studio album Für Usszeschnigge! (translation: to cut out). BAP remain my favorite German rock band, which I realized once again the other day when listening to some of their music. This triggered my decision to do another post on them. And it may not by my last!

One of BAP’s defining features is that Niedecken performs their songs in Kölsch, the regional dialect spoken in the area of Cologne. While I think they are on par with many English singing bands, undoubtedly this has largely limited their appeal to Germany, though they have ventured out to neighboring countries and even once to China. BAP have seen many line-up changes over the decades, and Niedecken remains the only original member. Since September 2014 after the departure of two longtime members, Niedecken announced that going forward the band would perform under the name Niedeckens BAP and no longer have a standing line-up.

Current members of BAP (from left): Wolfgang Niedecken (guitar, vocals), Werner Kopal (bass), Anne De Wolff (multi-instrumentalist), Ulrich Rode (lead guitar), Michael Nass (keyboards) and Sönke Reich (drums)

Niedecken has been BAP’s driving creative force. His key influences are Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The  Kinks and The Rolling Stones. Niedecken has a friendly relationship with Springsteen. In fact, I previously read that whenever the Boss performs in Germany and Niedecken is around, he likes to invite him on stage to play a song together – to me this sounds like something Springsteen would do. BAP have released 17 studio albums, eight live recordings and three compilations to date – more than enough fodder for another playlist, so let’s get to it. Unlike the first chronological playlist I published here, this time, I’m going randomly.

Let’s kick it off with a nice blues rocker called Diego Paz Wohr Nüngzehn (Diego Paz was 19). Co-written by then-guitarist Helmut Krumminga and Niedecken, the tune has a cool ZZ Top La Grange vibe. It appeared on BAP’s 15th studio album Radio Pandora from May 2008.

The next song takes us all the way back to 1980 and Affjetaut (defrosted), BAP’s sophomore release. Here’s the opener Ne schöne Jrooß (greetings) co-written by Niedecken and Klaus Heuser, who had joined the band as their lead guitarist prior to the recording sessions and would become Niedecken’s key musical partner until his departure in 1999. While perhaps not surprisingly the sound is a bit dated, I still dig that tune.

In August 1996, BAP released their 10th studio album Amerika (America), one of my favorites. Here’s the great opener Nix Wie Bessher (nothing like it used to be), another Niedecken-Heuser co-write. As you can hear, BAP’s sound had significantly matured by then.

Time Is Cash, Time Is Money, a humorous take on organized vacation travel, appeared on the band’s sixth studio record Ahl Männer, Aalglatt (old slick guys). The song was co-written by Niedecken and producer Reinhold Mack. Mack had produced, co-produced and sound-engineered for Queen, Billy Squier and E.L.O. According to Wikipedia, it was the first time BAP relied on a “professional” producer – I assume by this they mean somebody who had worked with international acts.

Next up: Do Kanns Zaubere (you can do magic), one of my favorite BAP ballads, and yet another co-write by Niedecken and Heuser. The tune is from their fourth studio album Vun Drinne Noh Drusse (from the inside to the outside) released in August 1982.

Over their long history, BAP have released a number of songs addressing social and political issues, including racism/hostility against foreigners and nationalism – sadly topics I never thought would remain as relevant as they are today in the 21st Century. Here’s Denn Mer Sinn Widder Wer (Coz we’re great again – sound fucking familiar?) The track appeared on BAP’s eighth studio album X Für ‘e U (an “x” for a “u”) released in October 1990 in the wake of Germany’s reunification. And, yes, in case you wondered, Niedecken and Heuser teamed up for this tune as well. The clip I found is not an official video but was put together by the guy who uploaded it YouTube.

How ’bout Shoeshine? Ask and you shall receive. This great song, written by Niedecken, is from BAP’s 13th studio album Aff Un Zo (every now and then) from June 2001. It was an important record for the band after the departure of longtime members Heuser and keyboarder Alexander Büchel. The only YouTube clip of the tune I could find is this version from the 2014 unplugged live album Das Märchen Vom Gezogenen Stecker – Live (the tale of the pulled plug – live). While it’s a bit different from the studio recording, I think it’s actually pretty cool.

A BAP playlist without a tune from their aforementioned breakthrough album would be incomplete. Since I previously featured what is perhaps their best-known song Verdamp Lang Her (such a long time ago), I’m going with the road tune Frau, Ich Freu Mich (Can’t wait to see you, baby). Given this record appeared in 1981, guess who co-wrote the rocker? Yep, Niedecken and Heuser had done it again!

For the next tune, let’s jump to a track from BAP’s most recent studio release, Lebenslänglich (for a lifetime), which appeared in early 2016: Et Ess Lang Her (long ago). The song was co-written by Niedecken and keyboarder Michael Nass. I dig the beautiful acoustic roots sound, which reminds me a bit of John Mellencamp. Since I couldn’t find a clip of the initial studio recording, here’s a similar version that appeared on a 2017 Niedecken solo compilation album titled Reinrassije Stroossekööter – das Familienalbum (pure breed street dogs – the family album)

The last tune I’d like to highlight is from Halv Su Wild (not a big deal) another of my favorite BAP albums. It is from their 16th and the last studio record to date released under the name BAP. It also marked the final album with longtime drummer Jürgen Zöller (1987-2014) and Helmut Krumminga, who had been the band’s lead guitarist from 1999 until 2014. Here’s a live version of Et Levve Ess En Autobahn (life is a highway), which apparently was captured during an open-air gig in Germany in 2012. Written by Niedecken, it’s an autobiographic song about the band’s long history.

During an interview with Swiss newspaper Tagblatt, Niedecken confirmed BAP are working on a new studio album that will likely appear sometime this year, followed by a tour in 2021. Mentioning his most recent solo effort Das Familienalbum (the family album), which was recorded in New Orleans and came out in 2017, Niedecken also hinted the band’s next record is going to feature some of the same U.S. horn players. For a long-time BAP fan like myself, this does sound intriguing.

Sources: Wikipedia; Tagblatt; YouTube

My Playlist: BAP

While in the U.S. and other countries Rammstein, Scorpions and Kraftwerk may be the best known German bands, Germany has much more to offer. A great example is BAP, a band that has been popular there for 40-plus years but isn’t known much beyond Germany and some of its immediate neighbor countries. They also happen to be one of my long-time favorite German rock bands. BTW, I also like the Scorpions. Since unlike the English-singing German hard rockers BAP performs most of their songs in a German dialect, I’m under no illusion that winning over non-German speaking readers is likely going to be a long shot at best. Nevertheless, I decided to put together this post and playlist, if only to prove that German contemporary music is more than heavy rock and electronic music.

The origins of BAP go back to 1976, when singer-songwriter Wolfgang Niedecken formed an acoustic trio with guitarist Hans Heres and percussionist Afro Bauermann, and they started playing in the West German city of Cologne. Prior to that, Niedecken already had gained some local prominence as a solo artist performing Bob Dylan songs and as a painter. Dylan is one of his key music influences, along with Bruce Springsteen, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. In fact, Niedecken is friends with the Boss who occasionally has invited him on stage to play a song during Springsteen gigs in Germany.

BAP in the early ’80s (from left): Wolfgang Boecker (drums), Manfred Boecker (percussion), Steve Borg (bass, cello), Wolfgang Niedecken (guitar, vocals), Klaus Heuser (guitar, vocals), Alexander Büchel (keyboards) and Hans Wollrath (sound engineer)

In November 1979, the band that by then had grown to a six-piece recorded their debut studio album Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP rockt andere kölsche Leeder. In English this means something like “Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP rocks other Kölsch songs.” The remainder of this post includes rough translations of song and album titles in parentheses. Kölsch is a German dialect spoken in the city of Cologne and surrounding areas. To this day, most BAP songs are performed in that dialect, with band leader and lead vocalist Niedecken remaining as the only original member. As somebody who grew up not far from Cologne, I can’t deny this dialect sounds charming to me and has a certain sentimental value.

Starting with their third studio album für usszeschnigge! (to cut out) from 1981, the band shortened their name from Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP to just BAP. “Bap,” which is derived from the word “papa” (as in Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach) was the nickname for Niedecken, who used to call his father that way. The band, which went through various line-up changes over the decades, kept the name BAP until two long-time members Jürgen Zöller (drums) and Helmut Krumminga (lead guitar) left in September 2014. Following their departure, out what appears to be some frustration over yet another line-up change, Niedecken announced that going forward the band would perform under the name Niedeckens BAP and no longer have a standing line-up.

BAP in 2016 (from left): Wolfgang Niedecken (guitar, vocals), Werner Kopal (bass), Anne De Wolff (multi-instrumentalist), Ulrich Rode (lead guitar), Michael Nass (keyboards) and Sönke Reich (drums)

To date BAP have released 17 studio albums, seven live records and three compilations. With more than 5.9 million records sold and eleven no. 1 and 19 top 10 albums, BAP is one of the most successful German language rock bands. After their breakthrough album für usszeschnigge! from October 1981, BAP started touring throughout Germany. Eventually, they expanded to other European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg. In October 1987, they even went to China, playing eight dates there. Niedecken who is politically active has also performed in Nicaragua and Mozambique. Yet BAP haven’t gained a footprint beyond the above European countries, which is likely due to the language barrier. Time for some music!

The first tune I’d like to highlight is Helfe Kann Dir Keiner (nobody can help you) from BAP’s second studio album Affjetaut (defrosted). Niedecken writes all of BAP’s lyrics. Sometimes, he has taken songs written by others, such as Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone or Death Of A Clown by The Kink’s Dave Davies and his brother Ray Davies, and translated/adapted them to Kölsch. The music is often written or co-written by other band members, in this case guitarist Klaus Heuser, who frequently assumed that role during his 19-year tenure with BAP.

Verdamp Lang Her (it’s been a long time) is one of BAP’s best known songs and remains a crowd pleaser during live shows to this day. Another Heuser/Niedecken co-write, the tune was first recorded by the band for their above mentioned studio release für usszeschnigge! The opening chord progression is the same as for Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. Given Dylan’s influence on Niedecken, this may not be a coincidence, though I don’t know.

Next up: Alexandra, Nit Nur Do (Alexandra, you’re not the only one). Credited to Niedecken (lyrics) and BAP (music), the tune appeared on the band’s fifth studio album Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier (between salt pretzels and beer), which appeared in May 1983.

In August 1989, BAP released their seventh studio record Da Capo. It was the first with Jürgen Zöller who replaced Pete King on drums, following his untimely death from cancer in 1987. Here is the great opener Stadt Im Niemandsland (city in no man’s land), which was co-written by Niedecken and Heuser. Check out the nice double lead guitar lines, which are bit reminiscent of Boston.

Amerika (America), another Niedecken/Heuser co-write, is the title track of BAP’s 10th studio release from August 1996. The song describes the impressions of a child witnessing the liberation of Nazi Germany by the Americans after the end of World War II. To give you a flavor, here’s a translated excerpt: So that’s how they look/check it out, there’s also a black guy among them/Look at the fellow on the tank, he’s eighteen at the most, and he liberated us/They warned us about them/Why did we believe all this crap?/These guys have been through so much/walking through mines from the [English] Channel all the way to here/It’s now nighttime where they are coming from/They are still sleeping there across the ocean/They have buildings higher than the dome [of Cologne]/ There’s jazz on the radio all day long…

The follow-on album to Amerika was Comics & Pin-Ups from January 1990. Here is the official video of Lena, a song co-written by Jens Streifling (horns, guitar) and Niedecken.

By the time BAP released their 13th studio album Aff Un Zo (every now and then) in June 2001, long-time members Klaus Heuser (guitar) and Alexander Büchel (keyboards) had left and been replaced by Helmut Krumminga and Michael Nass, respectively. Especially the departure of Heuser, who had been instrumental in writing the music for many of the band’s best known songs, marked the end of an era. But his successor, who like Heuser is a talented guitarist, quickly established himself and helped shape BAP’s sound for the next 15 years. In case you didn’t think Germans could play reggae, here’s the record’s title track.

In May 2008, Radio Pandora appeared. BAP’s 16th studio album was a major release featuring a plugged and an unplugged version. Eight of the 14 tracks on each record were different versions of the same songs, while the remaining six tunes were entirely different. Here’s a cool blues rocker from the plugged edition called Diego Paz Wohr Nüngzehn (Diego Paz was nineteen). It would make a good ZZ Top tune!

Another title track I’d like to highlight is Halv Su Wild (not a big deal). Co-written by Krumminga and Niedecken, the song appeared on BAP’s 17th studio album, the last featuring the guitarist and the band’s long-time ace drummer Jürgen Zöller. Here’s a nice live clip of the catchy rock song.

The last tune I want to highlight is from the band’s most recent 18th studio album  Lebenslänglich, (sentenced to life), which came out in January 2016. Released as Niedeckens BAP, the record features Ulrich Rode as replacement for Krumminga.  Sönke Reich took over on drums for Zöller. As noted on BAP’s official website, the 35-year-old from the Northern German city of Hamburg is the only member who is younger than the band. Here’s a live clip of Dä Herrjott Meint Et Joot Met Mir (god has been good to me).

In March 2016, during a short trip to Germany, I had a chance to catch BAP in the Bavarian town of Neu-Ulm during their 40th anniversary tour. With the departure of Krumminga and Zöller, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great show. BAP continues to rock on. Niedecken, who turned 67 in March, had a stroke in November 2011 from which he fully recovered. In addition to him, Rode and Reich, the band’s current line-up includes Werner Kopal (bass), Anne De Wolff (multi-instrumentalist) and Michael Nass (keyboards). The band is currently on a 2018 tour, which is mostly focused on Germany.

Sources: Wikipedia, BAP official website, YouTube

The Venues: Rockpalast/Rockpalast Nacht

Rockpalast is a live music program broadcast on the German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). It became particularly known for Rockpalast Nacht, a six-hour live late-night show featuring concerts from top international artists.

The inaugural Rockpalast Nacht aired on July 23 and 24, 1977. The line-up included Rory Gallagher, Little Feat and Roger McGuinn’s Thunderbyrd. Fifteen additional shows followed until the 17th and final Rockpalast Nacht on March 15 and 16, 1986. That show featured Big Country, Jackson Browne and the German rock band BAP.

The concert events were conducted at Grugahalle, a well known concert hall in the German town of Essen, and broadcast throughout Europe. The TV show was simulcast on various radio stations, so viewers could mute their TV sets and instead use their home stereos to listen to the sound for better quality.

Rockpalast Nacht mostly featured three or four rock bands. Typically, it mixed relatively unknown artists with top international acts, such as Peter Gabriel, The Police or The Who. The program helped put various music artists on the map in Europe, such as ZZ Top and Bryan Adams. Rockpalast Night gained cult status and is considered a unique program in German and European television history.

Following are clips from throughout the program’s 10-year history.

Roger McGuinn’s Thunderbyrd/Turn! Turn! Turn!, Mr. Tambourine Man & Eight Miles High (1st Rockpalast Nacht, July 23-24, 1977)

Peter Gabriel/Solsbury Hill (3rd Rockpalast Nacht, June 15-16, 1978)

ZZ Top/Dust My Broom (6th Rockpalast Nacht, April 19-20, 1980)

The Police/Message In a Bottle (7th Rockpalast Nacht, October 18-19, 1980)

The Who/Baba O’Riley (8th Rockpalast Nacht, March 28-29, 1981)

The Kinks/Add It Up (10th Rockpalast Nacht, April 3-4, 1982)

Joe Jackson/I’m the Man (12th Rockpalast Nacht, April 16-17, 1983)

Cheap Trick/Surrender (13th Rockpalast Nacht, October 15-16, 1983)

Wolf Maahn & Die Deserteure/Der Clown Hat Den Blues (15th Rockpalast Nacht, March 30-31, 1985)

BAP/Verdamp Lang Her (17th Rockpalast Nacht, March 15-16, 1986)

With the 17th Rockpalast Nacht, the program stopped in 1986. Rockpalast resumed production in 1995 and continues to air to this day, though Rockpalast Nacht remains history.

Sources: Wikipedia, Rockpalast website/Archive, YouTube