The Lords (band)
Encyclopedia
The Lords were the most long-living and successful beat band of West Germany. The band's main headquarter was Düsseldorf
/North Rhine-Westphalia
. No other German band was so active during more than 40 years.
band in Berlin
using partly custom-made instrument
s. In 1964 when Beatlemania
and the British Invasion
swept across the world, they turned into "Germany's First Beat Music Act" and developed their classic style for which they are still known in Germany today. In the period from 1965 until 1969 they had 11 hits in West German pop charts. Their first hit single from 1964 was Shakin' All Over
(originally recorded by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates in 1960). Their other hits included the blues traditional Poor Boy
in 1965, Poison Ivy
in 1965 (originally by The Coasters
, 1959), the Baptist traditional Gloryland
in 1967, and Rockin' pneumonia in 1967 (probably originally by Larry Williams
). They also appeared as supporting act of The Kinks
and The Who
on German tours of the two English bands, and performed on the contemporary TV music program Beat-Club
several times. These Beat-Club performances are still repeated on German TV well into the 2000s, being largely responsible for today's classic image of The Lords back then. Their 1960s cover versions of Shakin' all over, Poison Ivy, and Gloryland still get much more airtime on German radio today compared to the original, earlier, or later recordings of these songs by English and American performers whose versions are therefore comparably unknown in Germany.
Singer of The Lords, Lord Ulli died on 10 October 1999 in Potsdam, after having a breakdown while performing on stage during a concert of their 40 years anniversary tour.
Since 2000 The Lords have re-united once again, and in 2002 they released a new album.
, taking the formal suit fashion introduced by The Beatles
and turning them into waiters' clothing, and dancing like a girl group such as the 1920s Tiller Girls
on stage.
This rather lighthearted attitude led to a rivalry with Hamburg-based band The Rattles
and especially their bandleader and producer Achim Reichel
who took the contemporary British Invasion-influenced music played by both bands more seriously, obviously holding The Lords not in very high regard for their silly antics.
Beside their clownesqueries looked down upon by more ambitious proto-Krautrock
artists such as Reichel
, there was a notorious rumor that singer of The Lords, Ulli Günther ("Lord Ulli") spoke not a single word of English even though it was the language he sang in, and that therefore his German accent was much thicker than was usual in the German-produced but English-sung music scene at the time.
Towards the end of the 1960s, the band was increasingly influenced by psychedelia and brought more social commentary, serious or satirical, into their lyrics, effectually turning from a British Invasion-influenced pop band into a progressive Krautrock group. However, nothing of this development remained after the breakup of their classic line-up in 1971, nor did the 1976 re-formation go back to suits and slapstick. Instead, since their re-formation they foster more of a rough rocker and teddy boy image both in their instrumentation, arrangements, and their clothing, now appearing in jeans clothing and sunglasses, comparable to the new style 1970s glam rock
band Slade
took on during the 1980s, even though today The Lords often perform to playbacks of their old singles when on TV while dressed up in their new style.
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
/North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. No other German band was so active during more than 40 years.
Classic line-up
In 1964 their bassist Knud Kuntze ("Lord Knud") (*18 March 1944) had to leave the band due to an accident. He then started a career as a prominent German radio DJ. In 1965, the classic line-up of The Lords consisted of Ulli Günther (vocals), Bernd Zamulo (bass), Leo Lietz (guitar), Rainer Petry (guitar) and Max Donath (drums). This classic line-up existed until 1971, which marks the end of the classic and most successful period of the band.1959-1971: classic period
In 1959, The Lords started out as a skiffleSkiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
band in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
using partly custom-made instrument
Custom-made instrument
An experimental musical instrument is a musical instrument that modifies or extends an existing instrument or class of instruments, or defines or creates a new class of instrument. Some are created through simple modifications, such as cracked drum cymbals or metal objects inserted between piano...
s. In 1964 when Beatlemania
Beatlemania
Beatlemania is a term that originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success...
and the British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
swept across the world, they turned into "Germany's First Beat Music Act" and developed their classic style for which they are still known in Germany today. In the period from 1965 until 1969 they had 11 hits in West German pop charts. Their first hit single from 1964 was Shakin' All Over
Shakin' All Over
"Shakin' All Over" is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960...
(originally recorded by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates in 1960). Their other hits included the blues traditional Poor Boy
Poor Boy Blues
"Poor Boy Blues" or "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home" is a traditional blues song of unknown origin. As with most traditional blues songs, there is great variation in the melody and lyrical content as performed by different artists...
in 1965, Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy (song)
"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959. It went to #1 on the R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
in 1965 (originally by The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
, 1959), the Baptist traditional Gloryland
Gloryland (album)
Gloryland is the official FIFA release for songs of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States. It has been published under various titles like Soccer Rocks the Globe: World Cup USA 94 and Gloryland WorldCup USA 94-Tracklisting:...
in 1967, and Rockin' pneumonia in 1967 (probably originally by Larry Williams
Larry Williams
Larry Williams was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana...
). They also appeared as supporting act of The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
on German tours of the two English bands, and performed on the contemporary TV music program Beat-Club
Beat-Club
Beat-Club was a German music program that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, Germany on Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen, the national public TV channel of the ARD, and produced by one of its members, Radio Bremen, later co-produced by WDR following the 38th episode...
several times. These Beat-Club performances are still repeated on German TV well into the 2000s, being largely responsible for today's classic image of The Lords back then. Their 1960s cover versions of Shakin' all over, Poison Ivy, and Gloryland still get much more airtime on German radio today compared to the original, earlier, or later recordings of these songs by English and American performers whose versions are therefore comparably unknown in Germany.
1971: Break-up and best ofs
In 1971 the original formation of The Lords disbanded. The original recordings of their singles, later often re-recorded by the band, were issued on CD as the double CD box The Original Singles-Collection/The A & B-Sides in 1999, beside which the CD version of their 1972 best-of album The LORDS 1964-1971 remains a decent seller, while Shakin' all over '70 (1970) and The Lords - The Very Best (1992) like most of their albums after 1971 are more recent, technologically updated re-recordings of their classic songs instead.1976-today: reformation
From 1976 onwards, The Lords re-formed to play together until far into the 1990s with different line-ups, mostly as a nostalgia live band playing their old hits on 60s festivals and TV shows, every few years re-recording technologically updated versions of their songs. Especially "Lord Leo" Lietz has become sort of a bandleader since they have become mostly a 1960s nostalgia act, representing them and still giving the most interviews of all current band members.Singer of The Lords, Lord Ulli died on 10 October 1999 in Potsdam, after having a breakdown while performing on stage during a concert of their 40 years anniversary tour.
Since 2000 The Lords have re-united once again, and in 2002 they released a new album.
Style and reputation
Rather than a serious music band, The Lords were more of a slapstick and comedy troupe especially on stage, probably akin to bands like The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in England at the time (and indeed Johnny Kidd & The Pirates whose Shakin' all over The Lords covered and which became their first hit single), overdoing the contemporary moptop hairstyle by making it look like a stereotypical Medieval haircut as portrayed in the modern comic Prince ValiantPrince Valiant
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
, taking the formal suit fashion introduced by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and turning them into waiters' clothing, and dancing like a girl group such as the 1920s Tiller Girls
Tiller Girls
The Tiller Girls were among the most popular dance troupes of the 1900s, first formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England, in 1890. Whilst on visits to the theatre, Tiller had noticed the overall effect of a chorus of dancers was often spoiled by lack of discipline. Tiller found that by linking...
on stage.
This rather lighthearted attitude led to a rivalry with Hamburg-based band The Rattles
The Rattles
The Rattles are a rock band from Germany. Their biggest selling record was their 1968 recorded song, "The Witch", which sold over one million copies globally.-Career:...
and especially their bandleader and producer Achim Reichel
Achim Reichel
Achim Reichel is a musician, producer and songwriter from Hamburg, Germany. He is known for his 1991 single "Aloha Heja He", and serving as the frontman for the 1960s beat group The Rattles, who, among other achievements, were selected to open for The Beatles on the Fabs' last-ever tour of Europe...
who took the contemporary British Invasion-influenced music played by both bands more seriously, obviously holding The Lords not in very high regard for their silly antics.
Beside their clownesqueries looked down upon by more ambitious proto-Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
artists such as Reichel
Reichel
Reichel is a German surname and may refer to:*Frantz Reichel , French athlete*Manfred Reichel , Swiss micropaleontologist*Bernard Reichel , Swiss classical composer...
, there was a notorious rumor that singer of The Lords, Ulli Günther ("Lord Ulli") spoke not a single word of English even though it was the language he sang in, and that therefore his German accent was much thicker than was usual in the German-produced but English-sung music scene at the time.
Towards the end of the 1960s, the band was increasingly influenced by psychedelia and brought more social commentary, serious or satirical, into their lyrics, effectually turning from a British Invasion-influenced pop band into a progressive Krautrock group. However, nothing of this development remained after the breakup of their classic line-up in 1971, nor did the 1976 re-formation go back to suits and slapstick. Instead, since their re-formation they foster more of a rough rocker and teddy boy image both in their instrumentation, arrangements, and their clothing, now appearing in jeans clothing and sunglasses, comparable to the new style 1970s glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
band Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
took on during the 1980s, even though today The Lords often perform to playbacks of their old singles when on TV while dressed up in their new style.
Album discography
- 1965 In Black and White - In Beat and Sweet
- 1966 The Lords II - Shakin' All Over
- 1967 Some Folks by the Lords
- 1968 Good side of June
- 1969 Ulleogamaxbe
- 1970 Shakin' all over '70
- 1971 Inside out
- 1972 The Lords 1964-1971
- 1979 Birthday Album - 15 years
- 1984 20 Jahre Lords
- 1988 The Lords '88
- 1989 Stormy
- 1992 The Lords - The Very Best
- 1999 The Original Singles-Collection/The A & B-Sides
- 1999 Live 1999
- 2002 Spitfire Lace
- 2009 Lords 50
External links
- Profile at MusicMightMusicMightMusicMight, formerly Rockdetector is a rock music website which provides artist and product information through a global website and an ongoing book series...
- Official Site