Bläck Fööss

The Bläck Fööss are a music group from Cologne, Germany, started in 1970.

Name of the band

The bands' name in Kölsch, a local dialect of Ripuarian, in which the group predominantly sings, means "barefoot". It is pronunced : Audio|Ksh-M-de Bläck Fööss.ogg| [IPA|də˘ ˈbɭæk ˌføːs] . In their early days the group would perform barefoot around the bars of Cologne.

Repertoire

The band's style of music is a cross between Schlager and pop, but they also perform songs with jazz, blues, rock and reggae styles. The group is famous for its lead singer's a cappella singing. Many of the band's songs are popular carnival songs, while others are covers of bands such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Beatles, Hollies or Willi Ostermann.

In August 1985 the band got their biggest chart success, with the song "Frankreich, Frankreich" (France, France) landing in at number 9 in the German charts.

Band members

In their 3+ decades together, the Bläck Fööss have only had a few changes in membership. Willy Schnitzler and Rolf Lammers have both played keyboard; in 1994, the band had its biggest split, with frontman Tommy Engel leaving for a solo career after so-called creative differences.

* Karl Friedrich "Kafi" Biermann: singer, guitar, percussion (since 1995)
* Ralph Gusovius (born March 16 1950): drums, accordion, singer (since 1995)
* Günther "Bömmel" Lückerath (born June 20 1948): guitar, banjo, mondolin, fiddle, vocals (founding member)
* Hartmut Priess (born 19 August 1942 in Cologne): bass, guitar, mandolin (founding member)
* Peter Schütten (born 4 August 1943 in Cologne): guitar, singing, percussion (founding member)
* Erry Stoklosa (born 25 October 1947 in Cologne): guitar, percussion, vocals (founding member)
* Andreas Wegener: piano, synthetiser, accordion, vocals (since 2005)

Willy Schnitzler left the band in 2005 after arthritis of the hand rendered him unable to play. He was succeeded by Andreas Wegener.

Discography

Literature

* Matthias Becker : Bläck Fööss - schwatz op wiess: 124 Lieder in Wort und Bild; Texte, Hintergründe, Kommentare, Kölsch-Lexikon, Chronik, Diskografie. Gerig-Musikverlage, De Bläck-Fööss-Musikverlag, Bergisch Gladbach Bensberg, 2000, 152 Seiten, kartoniert, ISBN 3-87252-312-0

External links

* [http://www.blaeckfoeoess.de Official website]