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
Popstar
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doch meine Eltern sind leider nicht reich
Ans große Geld, doch wie?
Die Entscheidung war relativ leicht
Die Entscheidung fiel relativ leicht
Ich brauch' noch 'ne Frisur
Gitarrengriffe kann ich schon ein paar
Und schon bin ich der Ultimate Star
The King of Rock, the Mr. Wunderbar
Ich hab' kein Geld, kein Abitur
Nur manchmal Stress mit der Zensur
Bin kein Genie, nein ich bin nur
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa
Früher war ich nichts
Jetzt sind alle Frauen verrückt nach mir
Partys, die sind Pflicht,
Wo unsereins sich köstlich amüsiert
Wo man Wein mit Bambusschirm serviert
Die Lehrzeit ist schon lange her
Statt Chef hab' ich 'nen Manager
Ich mach' das Geld, die Arbeit er
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa Popstar
Bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa
Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Ich bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa Popstar
Bin ein Popstar
Papapapapa, Papapapapa
Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Die Ärzte's song Popstar is a satirical take on the music industry and the culture of celebrity worship. The opening lines suggest that the singer has never been particularly diligent, but given that his parents are not wealthy, he decides to pursue fame and fortune. The decision is a relatively easy one since all he needs is a new hairstyle, a few guitar chords, an album, and a tour. The resulting persona he creates is the "ultimate star," the "king of rock," and "Mr. Wunderbar," but he acknowledges that he has no money, no college degree, and sometimes struggles with censorship.
As the song progresses, the singer revels in his newfound success. He's now irresistible to women, and partying is a must. Rather than working as an employee, he now employs a manager who does the job while he focuses on making money. The chorus of "Papapapapa, Popstar" punctuates the satire of the song, highlighting the shallow and empty nature of celebrity culture.
The song illustrates how the music industry can turn anyone into a star regardless of their talent and abilities as long as they are willing to play the part. Moreover, the song critiques the industry's ability to package and promote a false image of someone for profit without consideration for the individual's well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
Fleißig war ich nie
I was never hardworking
Doch meine Eltern sind leider nicht reich
Unfortunately, my parents are not wealthy
Ans große Geld, doch wie?
How can I achieve great wealth?
Die Entscheidung war relativ leicht
The decision was relatively easy
Die Entscheidung fiel relativ leicht
The decision was made quite easily
Ich brauch' noch 'ne Frisur
I need a new hairstyle
Gitarrengriffe kann ich schon ein paar
I already know a few guitar chords
'Ne Platte und 'ne Tour
A record and a tour
Und schon bin ich der Ultimate Star
And suddenly I'm the ultimate star
The King of Rock, the Mr. Wunderbar
The king of rock, Mr. Wonderful
Ich hab' kein Geld, kein Abitur
I have no money, no high school diploma
Nur manchmal Stress mit der Zensur
Sometimes I have trouble with censorship
Bin kein Genie, nein ich bin nur
I'm not a genius, I'm just
Ich bin ein Popstar
I am a pop star
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Früher war ich nichts
I used to be nothing
Jetzt sind alle Frauen verrückt nach mir
Now all the women are crazy about me
Partys, die sind Pflicht,
Parties are a must
Wo unsereins sich köstlich amüsiert
Where we pleasantly entertain ourselves
Wo man Wein mit Bambusschirm serviert
Where they serve wine with bamboo umbrellas
Die Lehrzeit ist schon lange her
The apprenticeship is long gone
Statt Chef hab' ich 'nen Manager
Instead of a boss, I have a manager
Ich mach' das Geld, die Arbeit er
I make the money, he does the work
Bin ein Popstar
I am a pop star
Papapapapa, Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Papapapapa, Popstar
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Dirk Felsenheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rage4play
Seit Tagen ein Ohrwurm.
Allclass GamingTv
DAS ALBUM HABE ICH ALS KIND AUF KASSETTE JEDEN TAG GEHÖRT OMG ICH KANN NACH 19 JAHREN NOCH JEDES LIED AUSWENDIG ;-)
ShadedGamer
Geiler Rhythmus! ❤️
almeria340
Schöne Zeit damals mit der Musik von den Ärzten! Almeria 1988!
Nicole Defekt
Super Song!! :D
Allclass GamingTv
DAS ALBUM HABE ICH ALS KIND AUF KASSETTE JEDEN TAG GEHÖRT OMG ICH KANN NACH 19 JAHREN NOCH JEDES LIED AUSWENDIG ;-)
hannah
Bestes ever? 😍😍😍JAAA
Sport Billi
Das Ganze Album war / ist gut
Olaf Ernsting
Übrigens am Schluß wieder die Stimme von John Lennon eingefügt (wie bei Bitte, Bitte schon), war das Intro zu seinem Song "Bring on Lucie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q90TEF-Ph3g
Inselbegabter
Stress mit der Zensur :D
Aktueller denn je
Nur ist diese Ehre nun nicht mehr nur für Musiker ein Problem, sondern für alle.
Cheers