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
Gabi & Uwe in: Liebe und Frieden
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
nicht die äußere Erscheinung.
Gabi ist da wie so oft,
selbstverständlich anderer Meinung.
Manche mögen ihre Parkas.
Viele lieben langes Haar.
Gabi trägt gern enge Röcke.
Uwe schwört auf FKK.
Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out?)?
Denke nach, denn das ist wichtig!
Wenn Dich keiner (keine Sau) mehr anschaut,
machst Du irgendwas nicht richtig (machst Du irgendwas verkehrt).
Uwe meint so richtig wichtig,
ist der eigene Geschmack.
Gabi geht dies Rumgesülze tierisch auf den Keks.
Trotzdem gibt sie heimlich zu,
irgendwo hat Uwe recht,
und ab und zu ein nackter Mann,
ist natürlich auch nicht schlecht.
Gabi geht zu Uwe, gibt ihm einen heißen Tipp, und sie sagt:
Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out?)?
Denke nach, denn es ist wichtig!
Wenn Dich keiner (keine Sau) mehr anschaut,
machst Du irgendwas nicht richtig (machst Du irgendwas verkehrt).
(Dann hast Du ein ziemliches Problem)
Uwe hat sich nur für Gabi seine Haare glatt gekämmt.
Dafür schenkt ihm Gabi, glücklich, ein teures Designer-Hemd.
Uwe schraubt das schöne Hemd voller langer Killernieten.
Auf der Party liest ihm Gabi dafür furchtbar die Leviten.
"Gut", denkt Uwe, zieht sich aus, "Dann gehe ich eben oben ohne,
und wenn Gabi das nicht passt, dann gehe ich eben mit Simone."
Reumütig sagt Gabi: "Ich lieb' Dich wie Du bist."
(Woraus man klar erkennen kann, sie liebt ihn wie er ist)
Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out ?)?
Die Frage ist doch falsch gestellt.
Wirklich "in" für alle Zeit,
sind Liebe und Frieden auf der Welt.
Liebe und Frieden! (5x)
Liebe und Frieden auf der Welt!
The Die Ärzte's song Gabi & Uwe in: Liebe und Frieden is a satirical critique of the obsession with appearances that dominates modern culture. Through the interaction between the two protagonists, Gabi and Uwe, the song highlights the tension between those who follow mainstream trends and those who value individuality over conformity. Uwe believes that what matters most is one's spirit, not one's outward appearance, while Gabi is more concerned with staying fashionable and trendy.
The lyrics suggest that this preoccupation with appearances is ultimately self-defeating, as it leads to people losing sight of what really matters in life: love and peace. While Uwe and Gabi argue about the latest fashion trends and whether nudity is acceptable or not, they overlook the fact that the world is full of hate and violence, and that people should be focusing on creating a more peaceful and loving society.
In the end, the song suggests that the question of what is "in" and what is "out" is irrelevant, as what truly matters is love and peace. The repetition of the phrase "Liebe und Frieden auf der Welt" at the end of the song underscores this message and emphasizes that real beauty and value come from within.
Line by Line Meaning
Uwe meint, was zählt ist Geist, nicht die äußere Erscheinung.
Uwe believes that what really matters is a person's intellect and not their superficial appearance.
Gabi ist da wie so oft, selbstverständlich anderer Meinung.
As usual, Gabi disagrees with Uwe.
Manche mögen ihre Parkas. Viele lieben langes Haar. Gabi trägt gern enge Röcke. Uwe schwört auf FKK.
Everyone has their own preferences in fashion and style; Gabi likes tight skirts while Uwe prefers being naked.
Gabi geht zu Uwe, gibt ihm einen heißen Tip: Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out?)? Denke nach, denn das ist wichtig! Wenn Dich keiner (keine Sau) mehr anschaut, machst Du irgendwas nicht richtig (machst Du irgendwas verkehrt).
Gabi advises Uwe to keep up with the latest trends and fashion, warning him that if he doesn't, he might not appear attractive to others.
Uwe meint so richtig wichtig, ist der eigene Geschmack. Gabi geht dies Rumgesülze tierisch auf den Keks. Trotzdem gibt sie heimlich zu, irgendwo hat Uwe recht, und ab und zu ein nackter Mann, ist natürlich auch nicht schlecht.
Uwe believes that one's personal taste is crucial, but Gabi thinks he's being ridiculous. However, she secretly agrees that Uwe does have a point, and that sometimes it's nice to see a naked man.
Gabi geht zu Uwe, gibt ihm einen heißen Tipp, und sie sagt: Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out?)? Denke nach, denn es ist wichtig! Wenn Dich keiner (keine Sau) mehr anschaut, machst Du irgendwas nicht richtig (machst Du irgendwas verkehrt). (Dann hast Du ein ziemliches Problem)
Once again, Gabi stresses the importance of keeping up with the latest fashion trends and warns Uwe that if he fails to do so, he'll have a problem getting attention from others.
Uwe hat sich nur für Gabi seine Haare glatt gekämmt. Dafür schenkt ihm Gabi, glücklich, ein teures Designer-Hemd. Uwe schraubt das schöne Hemd voller langer Killernieten. Auf der Party liest ihm Gabi dafür furchtbar die Leviten.
Uwe straightens his hair for Gabi, and in return, she gives him an expensive designer shirt. However, Uwe ruins the shirt by attaching long metal spikes to it, and Gabi scolds him for his bad taste at the party.
"Gut", denkt Uwe, zieht sich aus, "Dann gehe ich eben oben ohne, und wenn Gabi das nicht passt, dann gehe ich eben mit Simone." Reumütig sagt Gabi: "Ich lieb' Dich wie Du bist." (Woraus man klar erkennen kann, sie liebt ihn wie er ist)
Uwe, feeling rebellious and unappreciated, decides to take off his clothes and go topless, saying he'll go with someone else if Gabi doesn't like it. Gabi lovingly tells Uwe that she loves him just the way he is.
Was ist in (was ist in?) und was ist out (was ist out ?)? Die Frage ist doch falsch gestellt. Wirklich "in" für alle Zeit, sind Liebe und Frieden auf der Welt. Liebe und Frieden! (5x) Liebe und Frieden auf der Welt!
The song concludes that the question of what's in and what's out when it comes to fashion is irrelevant. Instead, love and peace should always be in fashion and appreciated everywhere.
Contributed by Victoria H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.