About Ton Steine Scherben

Ton Steine Scherben (Literal English translation: "Clay Stones Shards" or "Sound Stones Shards") were a German Anarchist rock band formed in 1970 in West Berlin, Germany when the members were all around 20 years of age. Singer Rio Reiser usually told journalists the name was taken from a description by pioneer archeologist Heinrich Schliemann of what he saw when he first came to the site of ancient Troy. Other members of the band claim it is a play on the name of German labor union Bau Steine Erden (Construction Stones Earths). It is also believed that the name is a tribute to The Rolling Stones. They are considered to have been the first genuine German-language rock band, together with Udo Lindenberg. Their first big-stage appearance was at an Open-Air on 6 September 1970 on the Fehmarn stage where Jimi Hendrix had had his last appearance directly before. The stage went up in flames while they were still playing; probably it had been set on fire by people around Hendrix who had just received news that the event's organizers had disappeared with all the cash, but many people believed that Ton Steine Scherben had set the stage on fire, which gave them tremendous credibility in the radical scene. Their style can be described as somewhere between the Rolling Stones and yet-to-be-invented Punk rock. All their Albums were self-published; they published few singles and are still very rarely played on most German radio stations. Their lyrics were at the beginning quite anti-capitalist and pro-socialist. They didn't think the socialism of the Soviet Union was anywhere near real socialism, but they had connections to the squatter scene and the German Red Army Faction terrorists during the time before the latter turned to violent crime and murder. Later Ton Steine Scherben toned down on socialism and added themes like freedom, love, drugs, and sadness. Most of their songs can be described as slightly mad, sometimes in a funny way, sometimes in a rather scary way. Ton Steine Scherben disbanded in 1985.