BAP

A long time ago. That wasn't just BAP's first mega hit: it's also been a long time since the band was founded in 1976. Three years later, Wolfgang Niedecken accepted an offer from an independent label for a record deal. The first major success came in 1981. With the album ‘Für usszeschnigge!’ and ‘Vun drinne noh drusse’ (1982), they each reached number 1 in the German charts and finally shed their reputation as a purely local Cologne band. One of the big hits of those years was the anti-fascist ‘Kristallnaach’, which also impressed writer Heinrich Böll at the time and which, together with ‘Verdamp lang her’, is still considered the most played song on BAP tours today.

So now it's time for the big anniversary. 50 years of BAP and 75 years of Niedecken, whose songs still reveal the major influence of the Kinks and Bob Dylan, the Stones, the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. The band is going on a major tour under the title ‘Die Zielgerade’ (The Final Stretch). Does the motto already hint at a farewell to the stage? Not necessarily. ‘Let's celebrate our anniversary first,’ says Niedecken. ‘A home stretch like this can sometimes be longer than you think. And ours has only just begun.’ 

Photo credit: Tina Niedecken