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
Ausserirdische
Die Ärzte Lyrics
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Ich hielt sie fest I'm Arm, denn es war sehr kalt.
Auf einer Lichtung blieben wir stehen.
Sie gab mir einen KuЯ und alles war schцn.
Neben uns landete ein ufo I'm Gras.
Ich dachte "Vorsicht Kamera", "Verstehen sie SpaЯ?".
Doch dann ging eine Klappe auf und sie sprangen raus -
Kleine, grьne Mдnnchen und sie sahen bцse aus.
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen geraubt.
Als ich wieder zu mir kam war ich ganz allein.
Ich suchte meine Freundin. Wo konnte sie nur sein?
Ich rief bei ihren Eltern an, doch sie war nicht zuhaus'.
Das ganze sah verteufelt nach Entfьhrung aus.
Jetzt sitz' ich jeden Abend an der Stelle, wo es geschah.
Ich warte auf mein Mдdchen, doch sie ist nicht mehr da.
Neulich kam ein Brief. Ich glaube er war von ihr.
"Schцnen GruЯ, mir geht's gut und ich glaub', ich bleibe hier."
Mein ganzes Leben hab' ich nicht an sie geglaubt -
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen geraubt.
Mein Sexualleben ist vцllig ruiniert -
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen entfьhrt.
The lyrics to Die Ärzte's song "Ausserirdische" tell a story of a man who goes for a walk with his girlfriend in the woods. They stop at a clearing where they share a kiss. Suddenly, a UFO lands nearby and the man thinks they are on a television show. However, the aliens that emerge from the UFO are small and green and appear angry. They abduct the man's girlfriend in front of him. He wakes up alone and confused, and when he tries to find his girlfriend, he can't. He suspects that she was abducted by the aliens, and begins to wait at the spot where it happened, hoping for her return. Eventually, he receives a letter from her, but it reveals that she is staying with the aliens and won't be coming back.
The song is a humorous take on extraterrestrial abduction and its potential consequences. It uses a tongue-in-cheek approach to explore the idea of UFO sightings and alien encounters. The song's narrator appears to be stuck in a state of jumbled confusion, as he tries to make sense of what happened to his girlfriend. The song also alludes to the idea that extraterrestrial encounters can have detrimental effects on human sexuality.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich ging nachts mit ihr durch den Wald.
I was walking with her through the woods at night.
Ich hielt sie fest I'm Arm, denn es war sehr kalt.
I held her tight because it was very cold outside.
Auf einer Lichtung blieben wir stehen.
We stopped on a clearing in the woods.
Sie gab mir einen KuЯ und alles war schцn.
She gave me a kiss and everything felt wonderful.
Neben uns landete ein ufo I'm Gras.
A UFO landed next to us in the grass.
Ich dachte "Vorsicht Kamera", "Verstehen sie SpaЯ?".
I thought "Watch out for cameras", "Are they joking?".
Doch dann ging eine Klappe auf und sie sprangen raus -
But then a hatch opened and they jumped out -
Kleine, grьne Mдnnchen und sie sahen bцse aus.
Small, green men who looked angry.
Mein ganzes Leben hab' ich nicht an sie geglaubt -
I've never believed in them my entire life -
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen geraubt.
Aliens have abducted my girl.
Als ich wieder zu mir kam war ich ganz allein.
When I came to, I was all alone.
Ich suchte meine Freundin. Wo konnte sie nur sein?
I searched for my girlfriend. Where could she be?
Ich rief bei ihren Eltern an, doch sie war nicht zuhaus'.
I called her parents, but she wasn't there.
Das ganze sah verteufelt nach Entfьhrung aus.
It looked like a damn kidnapping.
Jetzt sitz' ich jeden Abend an der Stelle, wo es geschah.
Now I sit every evening at the spot where it happened.
Ich warte auf mein Mдdchen, doch sie ist nicht mehr da.
I'm waiting for my girl, but she's gone.
Neulich kam ein Brief. Ich glaube er war von ihr.
Recently, a letter arrived. I believe it was from her.
"Schцnen GruЯ, mir geht's gut und ich glaub', ich bleibe hier."
"Greetings, I'm fine and I think I'm staying here."
Mein ganzes Leben hab' ich nicht an sie geglaubt -
I've never believed in them my entire life -
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen geraubt.
Aliens have abducted my girl.
Mein Sexualleben ist vцllig ruiniert -
My sex life is completely ruined -
Ausserirdische haben mein Mдdchen entfьhrt.
Aliens have kidnapped my girl.
Contributed by Riley W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.