Die Sterne

Emerging from the influential Hamburger Schule scene of German rock, Die Sterne rank among its more notable acts. Comparable to fellow participants in that movement, the group resists easy stylistic classification, incorporating post-punk, new wave, and funk alongside contemporary indie currents drawn chiefly from pop, rock, and electronica. What sets them apart most clearly is their overall attitude—upbeat, quirky, and marked by a preference for vivid expression. A funky, mildly danceable current runs beneath their rock approach, lending added appeal. As a result the music registers as enjoyable and widely engaging, inventive enough to earn critical notice while stopping short of full pop crossover.

Die Sterne attained their strongest commercial standing in the late 1990s. Wo Ist Hier (1999) became the band’s highest-charting release, reaching number 27 on the German album chart, although Posen (1996) and Von Allen Gedanken Schätze Ich Doch am Meisten die Interessanten (1997) have since come to be regarded more highly in retrospect. After the turn of the century the group reduced its release pace, moving distribution from Epic/Sony to V2/EMI and thereby losing some of its earlier commercial ground, a shift attributable both to lower activity levels and to ongoing stylistic experimentation. Back-catalog reissues such as Wichtig + Fickt das System (2004) and Die Interessanten: Singles 1992-2004 (2004) appeared alongside new albums throughout that stretch.

Although Die Sterne did not assume their current configuration until 1992, singer/guitarist Frank Spilker had already spent years in the Hamburg rock milieu as a solo artist linked to the pioneering label Fast Weltweit during the mid-1980s, a period in which he adopted the band name for his own use and issued a pair of 7" singles under that moniker (Ein Verregneter Sommer [1987], In Einer Nacht Wie Dieser [1988]). Tracks from those singles later appeared on two 1988 Fast Weltweit compilations, Der Rote Cassetten-Sampler and Der Blaue Cassetten-Sampler, alongside material from Jetzt! (Michael Girke), Der Fremde (Achim Knorr), Die Bienenjäger (Jochen Distelmeyer, Thomas Wenzel), Die Time Twisters (Andreas Henning, Jürgen Jahn, Frank Jacobs), and Bernadette Hengst (Bernadette La Hengst).

Once Fast Weltweit folded following those cassette samplers, Spilker formed a band to perform as Die Sterne. In addition to his own vocals and guitar, the lineup featured Thomas Wenzel (bass, vocals), Frank Will (keyboards), and Christoph Leich (drums). Their first release was the 12" EP Fickt das System (1992) on the key independent Hamburg label L'Age d'Or (also known as Lado). The debut full-length Wichtig (1993) followed, initiating a consistent sequence of albums that continued through the rest of the decade: In Echt (1994), Posen (1996), Von Allen Gedanken Schätze Ich Doch am Meisten die Interessanten (1997), and Wo Ist Hier (1999). Each of these albums arrived with multiple maxi-singles containing alternate versions and remixes. On the compilation front, Stell die Verbindung Her (1998) gathered selected tracks from Posen and Von Allen Gedanken for international release, while Unter Geiern (1995) combined Wichtig and In Echt into a two-fer package.

Throughout the mid- to late 1990s Die Sterne built a growing audience, improving their chart placement with each successive album and ultimately reaching number 27 on the German album chart with Wo Ist Hier in 1999. This ascent stemmed partly from a major-label distribution agreement with Epic/Sony that ran from 1996 to 1999 and began with Posen. It also owed something to the band’s live shows, which included a 1998 North American tour underwritten by Das Goethe-Institut, an international German-language school. The resulting visibility encouraged further experimentation: Will and Wenzel supplied music for the film Der Strand von Trouville, while Spilker and Leich contributed to Dunckel. Moreover, Wo Ist Hier—the final album under the Sony arrangement—marked a pronounced shift toward electronics, a move that disappointed some listeners who believed the band had moved beyond its origins.

In the early 2000s Die Sterne entered a hiatus, issuing nothing in 2000 or 2001, not even a maxi-single. Keyboardist Frank Will departed during this interval and was succeeded by Richard von der Schulenburg, who continued a part-time solo career. After securing distribution through V2/EMI, the group reentered the market in 2002 with the Nur Flug EP and the Irres Licht album. A concert tour supported the latter release, and Live im Westwerk (2003) documented one performance from that tour. In 2004 Die Sterne issued another EP and album pair, In Diesem Sinn and Das Weltall Ist zu Weit. That same year the band partnered with Rough Trade to reissue its debut album and EP as Wichtig + Fickt das System and to release the CD/DVD compilation Die Interessanten: Singles 1992-2004. Die Sterne subsequently returned to the studio and completed Räuber und Gedärm (2006), which received favorable responses from both fans and critics and proved more commercially successful than its immediate predecessor.