Biography
Missus Beastly emerged as one of the earliest Krautrock ensembles, though their timeline grew tangled when another act adopted the same moniker and repeated personnel shifts kept occurring. They originated during 1968 in Herford, northern Germany, initially calling themselves Psychotic Reaction after the Count Five track, then switched to Missus Beastly, drawn from a doll featured on a children's television program. The founding lineup included Lutz Oldemeier on drums, Reinhard "Atzen" Wehmeyer handling guitar and vocals, Wolfgang Nickel on keyboards, and Petja Hofman covering vocals and bass. Despite their northern base, most bookings arrived far to the south once friend Gunter Scheding relocated from Herford to Mainz near Munich. Their performances earned notice for ritualistic psychedelic jams in which the musicians improvised continuously for two or three hours without relying on any prepared material or compositions.
The band tracked its debut album at CPM Studio in the opening months of 1970, assisted by Xhol Caravan flautist Hansi Fischer along with Amon Duul II members present in the facility. CPM issued the self-titled release in a pressing limited to 1000 copies. Shortly afterward, Henry Fromm—claiming to serve as manager, flautist, and drummer despite never having met any member—bootlegged the album from an original copy, issuing it under the alternate title Nara Asst Incense with a changed cover and scrambled track order. Fromm later exploited the group's limited recognition for two further albums issued under the Missus Beastly name, Volksmusik in 1972 and Im Garten Des Schweigens in 1973, plus the singles "Fuck You Free" and "Jawa Masa," all featuring Fromm and unrelated musicians.
Meanwhile the authentic lineup endured ongoing instability. Paul Vincent joined on guitar and Michael Scholz on keyboards after the first album appeared, expanding the group to a sextet. By summer 1970 Roman Bunka replaced Vincent, while sax and flute player Jergen Benz came aboard. Wehmeyer and Nickel both exited before year's end. Persistent booking difficulties forced the sale of their van and PA system, culminating in the group's dissolution by late 1971. Hofman departed for India, and the remaining musicians aligned with stronger outfits such as Bunka with Embryo, Benz with Erna Schmidt, and Oldemeier with Checkpoint Charlie.
Following the breakup of Fromm's imitation version in summer 1973, Oldemeier and Benz recruited three additional players to revive Missus Beastly as an instrumental world-jazz unit. This configuration delivered another self-titled album on the Nova label in early 1974. Subsequent personnel adjustments yielded two further records, Dr Aftershave and the Mixed-Pickles in 1976 and Space Guerilla in 1978, alongside several live appearances. By the close of the decade, with none of the original members remaining, the project dissolved as well.
The band tracked its debut album at CPM Studio in the opening months of 1970, assisted by Xhol Caravan flautist Hansi Fischer along with Amon Duul II members present in the facility. CPM issued the self-titled release in a pressing limited to 1000 copies. Shortly afterward, Henry Fromm—claiming to serve as manager, flautist, and drummer despite never having met any member—bootlegged the album from an original copy, issuing it under the alternate title Nara Asst Incense with a changed cover and scrambled track order. Fromm later exploited the group's limited recognition for two further albums issued under the Missus Beastly name, Volksmusik in 1972 and Im Garten Des Schweigens in 1973, plus the singles "Fuck You Free" and "Jawa Masa," all featuring Fromm and unrelated musicians.
Meanwhile the authentic lineup endured ongoing instability. Paul Vincent joined on guitar and Michael Scholz on keyboards after the first album appeared, expanding the group to a sextet. By summer 1970 Roman Bunka replaced Vincent, while sax and flute player Jergen Benz came aboard. Wehmeyer and Nickel both exited before year's end. Persistent booking difficulties forced the sale of their van and PA system, culminating in the group's dissolution by late 1971. Hofman departed for India, and the remaining musicians aligned with stronger outfits such as Bunka with Embryo, Benz with Erna Schmidt, and Oldemeier with Checkpoint Charlie.
Following the breakup of Fromm's imitation version in summer 1973, Oldemeier and Benz recruited three additional players to revive Missus Beastly as an instrumental world-jazz unit. This configuration delivered another self-titled album on the Nova label in early 1974. Subsequent personnel adjustments yielded two further records, Dr Aftershave and the Mixed-Pickles in 1976 and Space Guerilla in 1978, alongside several live appearances. By the close of the decade, with none of the original members remaining, the project dissolved as well.
Albums
