Ton Steine Scherben 1st LP and Das Schillernde Leben des Nikel Pallat von Ton Steine Scherben Book
Ton Steine Scherben - Warum geht es mir so dreckig? LP
A few weeks back I listened to the latest episode of "Und Dann Kam Punk" podcast from Berlin, a podcast dedicated to finding out what brought people to punk rock, young and old. In the case of Nikel Pallat, the interviewee is not directly someone connected to punk rock but nevertheless played an important role in the development of said genre, especially through the distribution of the music (more about that in the book review below). The podcast episode not only prompted me to actually order a copy of Nikel's biography, but to pull out also my copy of the band's first LP, originally released in 1971. Ton Steine Scherben formed 1970 in West-Berlin around their charismatic singer Rio Reiser and famously played along Jimi Hendrix at the Love & Peace Festival on the isle of Fehmarn, situated between Germany and Denmark. After the band has established itself as a powerful and popular live band on Berlin's live circuit by 1971 it was time to record the first LP. It is unbelievable how well this record has aged, lyrically as well as musically. Ton Steine Scherben are considered to be one of the earliest German-language rock bands, if not the earliest. And with Rock I don't mean some watered down soft-rock band, but an ass-kicking, angry and socially aware band cranking out tunes that meant a lot back then, and still do to this day. The band quickly gained a fanbase within West-Berlin's anarcho and squatter circles, no doubt due to their direct anti-capitalist approach as a band. Ton Steine Scherben released their records on their own David Volksmund Produktion label and thanks to Nikel Pallat managed to gain distribution channels throughout West Germany after the band was initially only known mostly in West-Berlin. I would go as far as comparing Ton Steine Scherben to MC5 or London's Third World War in the sense that they were proto-punk before the term was ever coined. They foreshadowed what was to come later in the decade and musically one can hear Ton Steine Scherben in early German punk bands such as The Pack or Big Balls & The Great White Idiot. Lyrically Ton Steine Scherben influenced countless Deutschpunk bands in the '80s and were also covered quite a few times, most famously by Slime from Hamburg. Even though the band sings in German and many of you out there will not understand the lyrics I highly encourage everyone to seek out this and the band's second LP. They are timeless classics and have shaped radical music in Germany in many ways. RIP Rio Reiser (1950-1996)
Nikel Pallat mit Christof Doerr - Das Schillernde Leben Des Nikel Pallat von Ton Steine Scherben
Publisher: Hannibal Verlag; Year: 2023; Format: Softcover book (German language)
I thought it came handy to combine the review of Ton Steine Scherben's first LP with this book, even though it is in German, hence it's not that easily accessible which is a shame as it's a truly great read. As mentioned above I learned about the life of Nikel Pallat and this book through a podcast and how glad I am I did as the book is not just highly entertaining and informative, but above all inspirational. Pallat first heard Ton Steine Scherben when attending the Fehmarn Festival in September of 1970. Interestingly enough for a young man infected with the Rock'N'Roll virus he had a serious background when it comes to his professional life as a Tax Office employee by trade. According to Nikel back in the '60s places like the Tax Office were a haven for Nazis who often ended up in higher positions, being rewarded for war crimes as if World War II never happened. After having experienced Ton Steine Scherben live and having moved to West-Berlin Nikel was determined to not only meet the band, but to get involved. Initially he had sly hopes to become a member as he had written some songs, but that wasn't to be until a later point. Since the guys in Ton Steine Scherben liked Nikel and learned about his background in finances, they figured why not put the man in charge of distributing the band's "Macht Kaputt" single. And this is exactly the point where Nikel's life changed once and for all as fairly quickly it became clear that Ton Steine Scherben had found themselves not just someone who's good with numbers but also capable of managing the band and gradually turning them into a household name for polito-rockers across West-Germany. Nikel is probably most famous for his TV outburst in 1971 wherein during a discussion about Independent Music he sets out to destroy the table with an axe in order to send a radical message (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN1GEiO1vmI ). Said event marked just the beginning of Nikel's colorful and fascinating career in the independent music scene. After establishing himself as the manager and distributor of Ton Steine Scherben Nikel started Efa (Energie Fuer Alle) in 1983, Germany's first independent record distributor. As mentioned above Nikel did play a significant role in the evolution of punk rock in Germany by bringing labels such as Crass Records or Alternative Tentacle under the umbrella of Efa. Everything comes to an end they say, and so did Efa, but not Nikel's hunger to continue where he left off. Indigo Musikproduktion und Vertriebs GmBH, which exists to this day, is Nikel's home away from home, a record distribution and music production company having succeeded to exist in the age of Spotify, a company Nikel despises by the way. The book is divided into short chapters in which some reflect about Nikel through the voice of a third person. It becomes clear that Nikel is not just a well liked person but someone many look up to as to how to lead a fulfilling life. At 77 years of age Nikel still works full time for/at Indigo and I imagine that will never change. I hope this book gets translated into English at least in order to give Nikel's story more exposure.
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