German Oi! punk

[Bobby Smith]

Anyone out there like German Oi!/punk music?
Chance in a million, I guess!!
However, if you do then drop me a line, as I am the UKs leading expert on such a genre - well over a thousand CDs, 7 inches, etc.
Top band at the moment is Stomper 98 (imagine a harder version of Madness).

[saffron]

Bobby any words ? Any link Possible?

[Bobby Smith]

Sorry - no lyrics - as most are in German!
www.stomper98.de

[a.c.]

Dude, that looks scary. I had to check the wikipedia entry about Oi music to read that it's not neo Nazi, but it has had a lot of confusion with that scene.

I think if you are going to put that stuff up you need to give a very full explanation about it, because it looks a bit intimidating!

Does your wife go to these concerts?!

[Bobby Smith]

Thanks for the interest. Margaret went a couple of times and enjoyed meeting some of the fans but she told me that: "some of the people there could do with a one night stand with a bar of soap."
The Oi! scene - back in England during the late 1970s - was very much split along political lines - with white power Nazi skins against the more left leaning 'spirit of '69' skins. Later on, in the '80s, the SHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) movement came about and further  divided those who make up the skinhead scene. Following on from SHARP we now also have the 'goodnight white pride' movement, a movement that pretty much does what it says on the tin.   
The German Oi! scene, however, is less political than most people imagine and the vast majority of the bands celebrate the music and beer drinking, rather than beating people up!!
I also recommend bands such as The Stage Bottles, Loikaemie, Die Lokalmatadore and 4-Promille. The Swedish band, Perkele, are also very popular in Germany and have the added advantage of singing (most of) their songs in English.
My advice, for what it is worth, is to make up your own mind about things generally, rather than rely on myth, rumour and stereotype. Margaret was scared the first time she went to Germany with me, but soon realised people were more friendly than she was led to believe.   

[a.c.]

No judgement without research dude- that's why I checked on Wikipedia.

I'm by no means averse to a bit of punk. The first live gig I ever went to was NOFX at the Powerhouse in Angel (no longer there!). That was back in the mid 90s and it was full of punks!!

[Bobby Smith]

If you liked NOFX you would like the following American bands: Government Issue, Angry Samoans, 7 Seconds, Operation Ivy and The Templars.
Check out the Perkele song 'Langtan' - I defy anyone not to feel happy after playing it. Loads of entries for them on You Tube. 

[Dev1975]

The most exposure I've had to "OI" music was from the film Romper Stomper.  I'm quite into punky, metally, aggressive type stuff and I loved the soundtrack and am looking for more stuff in a similar vein (only with not so many questionable lyrics, though I guess that was meant to fit the film) .  If you've seen the movie and/or are aware of the soundtrack, perhaps you can throw a few recommendations my way???

Cheers!

[Bobby Smith]

Dear Dev,
Thanks for the interest, always willing to share a few music tips with people.
First of: the English wave of Oi! from he late 1970s, early 1980s. Best bands: 4-Skins, Peter & the Test Tube Babies, The Fits, Blitz (best LP is 'Voice of a Generation' - only £8 on Amazon - a great starter CD for you) 
Germany caught the punk/Oi! vibe in a big way, and the early '80s saw an explosion in German bands. The first major band was Slime ('Alle gegen Alle' - everyone for themselves) is still my favourite LP of all time.) Other major bands around then were: Daily Terror, Aheads, The Buttocks, Neurotic Arseholes (sound like Joy Division actually), Hass, Die Toten Hosen, Male, Razzia...and thousands more. Then, in the early '90s the 'fun punk' scene, as it was later termed, took off - this was basically German punk bands singing about drinking and having a laugh. The German Oi! scene really went through the roof when Rancid got popular, with Rancid openly admitting the influence bands like Blitz had on them.
Anyway, enough of my history lesson! Here are the bands I really recommend:
Oi! bands: Volxsturm, Schusterjungs, Oi-Melz, Stomper 98, Stage Bottles, Loikaemie, Pobel und Gesocks, Perkele, Oxymoron, Mummy's Darlings, Die Lokalmatadore, Discipline (Dutch), Broilers. Punk bands: Terrorgruppe, Die Mimmis, Turbo ACS, The Shocks, The Objex.  Metal cross over: EA80, Dodelhaie. By the way, the Romper Stomper soundtrack was just session musicians. My book also contains lots of entries about German punk - although I do not want to plug it anymore!!! Happy to continue the debate and to answer anymore questions you may have.
           

[Dev1975]

Wow, that is some list there Bobby, thanks for that!!  Have heard of a few of the bands you've mentioned, am looking for more bands similar in style to what I've heard on the Romper Stomper soundtrack, so will have fun going through the ones you've stated and discovering some new music for myself.

Cheers!!

[Bobby Smith]

My pleasure! Forgot to mention 4-Promille on the second list - brilliant German Oi! band with a female vocalist (in English). Half the songs are sung in German by the guitarist as well. You an check out most of the bands on the German Amazon site. Knock Out records are also a good way to pick up the bands stuff.
 

[Bobby Smith]

...and Suspekt (not the rap band).

[Bobby Smith]

Much to my surprise The Observer newspaper, this coming Sunday - in the review segment - has a little piece by me about the joys of German Oi! punk.   

[saffron]

Bobby..look forward to that...would you pop a link up for us?

How you doing? Still loving the book...Its at my bedside when I get 5 mins I read...its been manic...things in my life..so ive not been reading as much as I would like..its a luxury at the moment...But I am nearing the end of the book!

[Bobby Smith]

I will put the finished version on here after Sunday. No idea how to do links!! Remember, I do not even have a mobile phone and still use a cassette walkman!!!
Glad you are still enjoying the book. Margaret sold another two for me today.