Die Toten Hosen

Since forming in 1982, punk band Die Toten Hosen have released 16 albums that were certified either Gold or Platinum in Germany. ∙ The band worked with hip-hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy in 1983 to record “Hip Hop Bommi Bop,” a rap-influenced version of their German drinking song “Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder.” ∙ Their 1988 LP, Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau, is largely a concept album inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. ∙ For their first English-language album, 1991’s Learning English - Lesson One, they recorded cover songs of their favorite UK punk bands. ∙ Riding the success of their chart-topping album Kauf mich!, the band opened for U2 in 1993 on the German leg of the Zoo TV Tour. ∙ During their 2005 episode of MTV Unplugged, they performed acoustic covers of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and The Clash’s “The Guns of Brixton.” ∙ Die Toten Hosen celebrated 30 years as a band in 2012 and released Ballast der Republik, which topped album charts in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.