Our guest on 26.07.2009 Dieter Birr, Guitarist, Singer and Frontman of the “Puhdys”
Dieter Birr, nicknamed ”Machine,” is the head and driving force behind the most successful rock band in former communist East Germany.
Birr has spent 40 years on stage performing with the ”Puhdys”, who still have a big fan base in reunited Germany. The band sold millions of records and were well-known beyond the Iron Curtain. The East German government even permitted the Puhdys to tour in the West and produce an album in London. With the fall of the Wall in 1989, it seemed that the Puhdys’ career might be over, as East Germans were free to buy albums from the West. But after going hitless during the early 90s, the band staged a brilliant comeback and won new audiences in western Germany. The Puhdys are celebrating their 40th year on stage with a nationwide tour. Birr makes a pit-stop in Berlin to talk rock ‘n’ roll on ”Talking Germany.”
Dieter Birr was born in March 1944 in Köslin, part of Pomerania in what is now Poland. In the years after the second World War, he grew up in East Berlin. Birr describes himself as an anxious child: He was an outsider at school who dreamed of becoming a musician. Birr completed a technical apprenticeship before attending a Berlin music school to study guitar and dance music. Before joining the Puhdys in 1969, he played in a number of different bands. The Puhdys were greatly influenced by their musical role models – Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. They took their brand of rock to the people in November 1969 with the band’s first big concert.
1971 saw their debut on the East German airwaves with a performance of the song "Türen öffnen sich zur Stadt" on a youth TV show. With lyrics in German, their first original composition was a huge hit that cemented their status as rock stars in East Germany.
Steering clear of political taboos helped the band succeed. They were keen to avoid the wrath of the party censors. The Puhdys' songs for the 1973 cult film "The Legend of Paul and Paula" made them a household name.
A year later, they released their first self-titled album on the state-run record label Amiga. At the time, it was only the second real rock album to make its East German debut. As East Germany’s most successful musical export, the Puhdys were even permitted to perform on the other side of the Wall. They played their first West German concert in November 1976 in Hamburg.
20 years and millions of records after taking the stage for the first time, the band decided there was nothing left to achieve. In May 1989, the Puhdys embarked on a grand farewell tour of East Germany. Six months later, the world would say goodbye for good to the Berlin Wall.
And after saying goodbye to the Puhdys, Birr started work on a solo project, "Maschine und Männer." Yet he was unable to duplicate the Pudhy’s popularity. With Birr at the helm, the band re-formed after a two-year split and made a big comeback in 1992 in the now reunified Germany. They shot TV ads and wrote anthems for sports teams like the Berlin hockey club "Eisbären." The band marked their 30th anniversary by taking the stage once more in venues across Germany. And with the successful "Ostrock Klassik" concept, a tour that pairs "Eastern rockers" with a live orchestra, they’re giving East Germany’s bygone musicians another turn in the spotlight.
Dieter Birr and his bandmates are celebrating the Puhdys’ 40th year in the music business with their 34th album, the aptly titled "Abenteuer Puhdys," or "Puhdys’ Adventure."