Die Ärzte were formed in 1982 by Jan Vetter (alias Farin Urlaub), Dirk Felsenheimer (alias Bela B.) and bassist Hans Runge (alias Sahnie). Bela and Farin had previously played together in the punk band Soilent Grün; after that band broke up they decided to form a band playing fun songs, in contrast to the mostly political bands of the punk scene at that time. While deriving from that punk scene, their early music was heavily influenced by pop and rock and roll, especially The Beatles, whom Farin heard a lot as a child due to his mother playing their records.
In the first two years they mostly played in clubs of their hometown of Berlin. Their first release was a contribution to the sampler "20 schäumende Stimmungshits" (roughly, "20 exuberant mood hits"), which contained a strong alcohol theme. In 1983 they won a rock contest in Berlin; with the prize money they recorded their debut EP "Uns gehts Prima" ("We're doing great"). Finally Columbia Records signed them, and they released their first LP "Debil" in 1984 and the second one ("Im Schatten der Ärzte") a year later.
After the second record they parted ways with Sahnie due to internal problems. On the third record he was replaced by producer Miccey Meuser; later Hagen Liebig, better known as The Incredible Hagen, played bass for them during live performances until their breakup.
In 1987 the German Federal Centre for Media Harmful to Young Persons put the songs Geschwisterliebe ("Sibling Love", a song about incest, from Die Ärzte), Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund ("Claudia has a German Shepherd", about zoophilia, from "Debil") and Schlaflied ("Lullaby", about a monster coming and eating you after falling asleep, also from "Debil") on the German List of Media Harmful to Young People. This prohibited the band from performing the songs live and, more importantly, promoting the two albums, and shops from openly displaying the records in their shelves. After several trials against shops that still openly sold the records a lot of shops removed Die Ärzte completely from their stock. The result was a drop in record sales and big financial problems for the band. In response they released the compilation "Ab 18" ("Adults Only") with all their songs on the index and some other old and new tasteless songs, and the greatest hits album "Ist das alles?"("Is this everything?" but also can be translated as "Is this the end?"). The album and the new singles were fairly successful, partly because of growing media interest due to the previous censorship.
The following album "Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit" ("That is not the whole truth") was even more successful, climbing into the top 10 in the German album charts. They decided to go out on a high note in 1988, breaking up after doing one last tour and recording a live double album that became their first number one in the album charts.
Neither Farin's new band King Køng nor Bela's Depp Jones were really successful, so in 1993 they decided to do a reunion. As bass player they invited Rodrigo Gonzales, who was guitarist in Depp Jones and a friend of Bela. Their comeback single was Schrei nach Liebe ("Cry for Love"), their first ever political song, that they published as a statement against what was perceived as growing racism and right wing extremist violence in Germany at that time.
The album was more diverse than ever, with ballads, punk, rock and traditional German sounds. Both album and single became big hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The follow-up "Planet Punk" was also very successful.
In 1996 they wanted to make an EP just about hair, but they wrote too many songs for an EP and made the Album "Le Frisur" ("The Hairdo") instead. It was slightly less successful than its predecessors. Apart from their own tours they also supported Kiss in that year, a dream come true for Bela and Rod.
1998 was perhaps the most successful year of their career, the single "Männer sind Schweine" ("Men are Pigs") being their first Number 1 single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the album 13 also being Number 1 in Germany and Switzerland. After a lot of promotion and touring in that year they decided to take a break, deciding also to never play again "Männer sind Schweine" at a concert due to the too great success this song had. They did not like the upcoming unwanted and rather unoriginal remakes by other bands as e.g. "Frauen sind Schweine" ("Women are pigs") and also did not like to see their song played at mass tourist beach parties at places like Mallorca/Spain.
In 2000 they came back with another very successful album, "Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer!", and two top 10 singles. As the third single from the album they released the 30-second-song "Yoko Ono", which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the shortest single ever released - another example of their sense of humour. On their tour in 2001 they sold the limited Album "5, 6, 7, 8 Bullenstaat" consisting of short punk songs that were written and recorded while recording the full length album published a year before, and some cover songs published in 1994 on a tour only EP.
After that they again took a break: Bela did some acting, Farin recorded his first solo album (Endlich Urlaub!). In late 2002 they did an MTV Unplugged in a school auditorium together with the school band. After that they made a new double album Geräusch that was released in 2003. On the next tour a Live DVD was recorded and published one year later.
On 2 November 2007, Die Ärzte released their latest album, Jazz ist anders ("Jazz is nothing like this", literally "Jazz is different").
In August 2011 the band announced that they are working on a new album which is set to be released in 2012 with a tour called "Das Ende ist noch nicht vorbei" ("The end is not over yet") following in the summer 2012.
The official homepage for Die Ärzte is www.bademeister.com
Als ich den Punk erfand …
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Da war das alles unerschlossenes Land
Am Feuer saßen die Leute und brieten ihre Beute,
Und wuschen sich mit Sand bis ich den Punk erfand
Und ohne Punk gäb's auch kein Dosenpfand,
Denn Bier in freier Natur, das ist Punkrock pur,
Und auch höchst extravagant, weil ich den Punk erfand
Mann, was bin ich für 'ne crazy cunt,
Und neben dem Bier ist auch als Wertpapier,
Der Punk höchst interessant
Am Neuen Markt entwickelt er sich rasant
Und eins, das muss man ihm gönnen,
Was drei Akkorde so können,
Ist wirklich exorbitant
Ein Glück, dass ich den Punk erfand
Als ich den Punk erfand,
Da habe ich eines leider nicht erkannt
Skrupellose Exporteure verkaufen für ein paar Ore,
Den Punk auch ans Feindessland
Und die Gefahr ist wirklich eklatant,
Um nicht zu sagen hochbrisant
Am besten ich schaffe eine Abwehrwaffe,
Gewaltig und imposant
In mühsamen Forschungsstunden,
Zum Schutz der Gemeinde und gegen alle Feinde,
Habe ich den Jazz erfunden
Jazz
Lebe
Jazz
Lebe
The lyrics of Die Ärzte's song "Als ich den Punk erfand" reflect a nostalgic longing for the early days of the Punk movement, when it was still an unexplored territory and a symbol of rebellion against mainstream culture. The song's protagonist takes pride in having invented Punk, seen as a catalyst for social change and a way to challenge the status quo. The lyrics highlight Punk's authenticity and simplicity, celebrating it as a form of liberation from oppressive forces. The line "Und was ich bin für eine crazy cunt" emphasizes the rebellious spirit and individualism embodied by Punk, as opposed to conformism and traditional values.
The second part of the song introduces a more critical and political view of the Punk movement, as the singer realizes that its potential has been co-opted by commercial interests and global capitalism. The line "Skrupellose Exporteure verkaufen für ein paar Ore, Den Punk auch ans Feindessland" highlights the irony of a counter-cultural movement being marketed and exported for profit, regardless of its original ideals. The singer feels a responsibility to protect Punk from being diluted or appropriated by external forces, hence the creation of "Jazz" as a defensive mechanism against cultural commodification.
Overall, "Als ich den Punk erfand" is a satirical and self-reflective song that captures the ambivalent nature of Punk as a cultural phenomenon. On the one hand, it celebrates the aesthetic and philosophical value of Punk as a symbol of liberation and individualism. On the other hand, it exposes the contradictions and complexities of a movement that has been both a grassroots rebellion and a mass-marketed commodity.
Line by Line Meaning
Als ich den Punk erfand,
When I created punk rock,
Da war das alles unerschlossenes Land
It was like undiscovered territory
Am Feuer saßen die Leute und brieten ihre Beute,
People were still hunting and gathering their own food
Und wuschen sich mit Sand bis ich den Punk erfand
Even basic hygiene wasn't great until punk rock came along
Und ohne Punk gäb's auch kein Dosenpfand,
The existence of a deposit for cans is thanks to punk rock
Denn Bier in freier Natur, das ist Punkrock pur,
Drinking beer outside in nature is the purest form of punk rock
Und auch höchst extravagant, weil ich den Punk erfand
It's also considered extravagant because I created punk rock
Mann, was bin ich für 'ne crazy cunt,
I'm a crazy person
Und neben dem Bier ist auch als Wertpapier,
Punk rock is also valuable as an asset
Der Punk höchst interessant
Punk rock is very interesting
Am Neuen Markt entwickelt er sich rasant
It's developing quickly on the market
Und eins, das muss man ihm gönnen,
One thing you have to admit about punk rock is,
Was drei Akkorde so können,
What just three chords can do
Ist wirklich exorbitant
Is really extraordinary
Ein Glück, dass ich den Punk erfand
It's lucky that I created punk rock
Da habe ich eines leider nicht erkannt
But unfortunately, I didn't realize one thing
Skrupellose Exporteure verkaufen für ein paar Ore,
Unscrupulous exporters are selling punk rock to enemy lands for just a few coins
Den Punk auch ans Feindessland
They're even selling punk rock to our enemies
Und die Gefahr ist wirklich eklatant,
The danger is really obvious
Um nicht zu sagen hochbrisant
To say the least, it's highly explosive
Am besten ich schaffe eine Abwehrwaffe,
I need to create a defense weapon
Gewaltig und imposant
Something powerful and imposing
In mühsamen Forschungsstunden,
After many hours of research,
Zum Schutz der Gemeinde und gegen alle Feinde,
To protect our community and fight against all enemies,
Habe ich den Jazz erfunden
I invented jazz
Jazz
Jazz
Lebe
Live
Jazz
Jazz
Lebe
Live
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind