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
Wir waren die Besten
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In meinem Schaukelstuhl im Altenheim den ganzen Tag
Ertrage stumm
Die Schmerzen, die mein Rheumakissen kaum zu unterdrücken vermag
Vor langer Zeit
Da war ich ein ganz großer Star
Geliebt von den Frauen und geachtet
Liefen die Leute, um uns zu sehen
Ich hatte das Glück für mich gepachtet
Doch das ist schon eine Ewigkeit her
Heute interessiert sich niemand mehr
Für den früheren Schlagzeuger
Der damals unbestritten besten Band der Welt
Früher haben wir geträumt in nassen Übungskellern
In London und Paris
Ohne Mühe haben wir den anspruchsvollsten Rock gespielt
Nur Reggae fanden wir fies
Phil Collins kam schon mal vorbei
Und wir machten einen Song zusammen fertig
Bis dass der Tod ihn uns nahm
Tja, Phil Collins haben sie letzte Woche beerdigt, soso
Dass das passieren würde, war mir nicht neu
Wenigstens hatte er Geld wie Heu
Im Gegensatz zum armen Rhythmus-Boy
Der nach damals einhelliger Meinung besten Band der Welt
Wenn du mein Kind
Glaubst, dass der Boden auf dem du wandelst immer schon so solide war und gut
Dann bist du blind
Und du hast einfach kein Feeling und kein bisschen Rock im Blut
Ihr jammert und glaubt
Ihr werdet heute nur noch von Retortenmusik gegeißelt
Doch der Boden, auf dem sie gehen
Wurde von uns aus solidem Rock gemeißelt
Das ist wahr
Unser Erbe anzutreten wird schwer
Ihr könnt es schaffen, bemüht ihr euch nur sehr
Schließlich schafften es auch unsereiner
Und mit Blut und Spucke wurden wir die beste Band der Welt
The Die Ärzte song "Wir waren die Besten" is a nostalgic look back on a former musician's life. The song begins with the singer sitting in an old folks home, reflecting on his current state of being a forgotten musician. He reflects on the time when he was famous, loved by women and respected by many. He reminisces on the times when he and his bandmates would dream of playing in excess of crowds around the world; they would practice in wet, dingy basements, where they played challenging rock music.
The singer's former band was the best in the world - they ran the place. Even Phil Collins would come by to make music with them. However, that time feels like eons ago, and the rest of the world has moved on while the singer's golden years slip away from him. He muses that the legacy his band has left behind is not an easy one for others to take on, but with hard work, it is achievable.
Overall, the song questions music's transience, whether or not it is possible to make something that has a lasting impact, and how people live with or against this uncertainty in their lives, particularly when it comes to musicianship.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich sitze rum
I am sitting around
In meinem Schaukelstuhl im Altenheim den ganzen Tag
I sit in my rocking chair at the nursing home all day long
Ertrage stumm
I bear silently
Die Schmerzen, die mein Rheumakissen kaum zu unterdrücken vermag
The pain that my rheumatism pillow can hardly suppress
Vor langer Zeit
Long ago
Da war ich ein ganz großer Star
I was a huge star back then
Geliebt von den Frauen und geachtet
Loved by women and respected by men
Und meilenweit
And for miles
Liefen die Leute, um uns zu sehen
People ran to see us
Ich hatte das Glück für mich gepachtet
I had the luck on my side
Doch das ist schon eine Ewigkeit her
But that was an eternity ago
Heute interessiert sich niemand mehr
Today nobody cares
Für den früheren Schlagzeuger
For the former drummer
Der damals unbestritten besten Band der Welt
Of the undeniably best band in the world back then
Früher haben wir geträumt in nassen Übungskellern
We used to dream in damp rehearsal cellars
In London und Paris
In London and Paris
Ohne Mühe haben wir den anspruchsvollsten Rock gespielt
We played the most demanding rock with ease
Nur Reggae fanden wir fies
We just didn't like reggae
Phil Collins kam schon mal vorbei
Phil Collins came by once
Und wir machten einen Song zusammen fertig
And we finished a song together
Bis dass der Tod ihn uns nahm
Until death took him away from us
Tja, Phil Collins haben sie letzte Woche beerdigt, soso
Well, they buried Phil Collins last week, so there you go
Dass das passieren würde, war mir nicht neu
I was not surprised that it would happen
Wenigstens hatte er Geld wie Heu
At least he had a lot of money
Im Gegensatz zum armen Rhythmus-Boy
In contrast to the poor rhythm boy
Der nach damals einhelliger Meinung besten Band der Welt
Of the band that was considered the best in the world back then
Wenn du mein Kind
If you're my child
Glaubst, dass der Boden auf dem du wandelst immer schon so solide war und gut
Believe that the ground you walk on was always so solid and good
Dann bist du blind
Then you're blind
Und du hast einfach kein Feeling und kein bisschen Rock im Blut
And you just don't have any feeling or a bit of rock in your blood
Ihr jammert und glaubt
You complain and believe
Ihr werdet heute nur noch von Retortenmusik gegeißelt
You're only tormented by artificial music today
Doch der Boden, auf dem sie gehen
But the ground they walk on
Wurde von uns aus solidem Rock gemeißelt
Was carved from solid rock by us
Das ist wahr
That's true
Unser Erbe anzutreten wird schwer
Taking on our legacy will be difficult
Ihr könnt es schaffen, bemüht ihr euch nur sehr
You can do it if you try very hard
Schließlich schafften es auch unsereiner
After all, we ourselves managed it
Und mit Blut und Spucke wurden wir die beste Band der Welt
And with blood, sweat, and tears, we became the best band in the world
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Bela B. Felsenheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind