LA DUSSELDORF
R.I.P. Klaus Dinger (1946-2008) & Thomas Dinger (1952-2002)
La Düsseldorf
Wikipediz sez:
La Düsseldorf was a German band, consisting of onetime Kraftwerk drummer and Neu! multi-instrumentalist Klaus Dinger and occasional Neu! collaborators Thomas Dinger and Hans Lampe. La Düsseldorf was formed after Neu! disbanded following the release of their Neu! ‘75 record. They released a string of successful albums (with sales totaling over a million) during the late ’70s and early ’80s and were considered highly influential by the likes of Brian Eno and David Bowie, with Bowie going so far as calling La Düsseldorf “the soundtrack of the eighties”.
After the dissolution of Neu! in the mid-’70s, its drummer Klaus Dinger set out to take the raw, uncompromising motorik beat, that “thump-thump-thump-thump” neverending 4/4 beat which he pioneered during his early time with Kraftwerk in ‘70/’71, and set it to some hugely glorious pop sounds. Moving up to frontman status, Dinger brought along his brother Thomas and some other musician friends, and made a splash in the German charts with three albums: “La Düsseldorf” (1976), “Viva” (1978) and “Individuellos” (1980). The material’s combination of haunting melodic phrases, vocals that veer back and forth between punk and Monty Python, and a dedication to motorik will not fail to make you smile.
Highlights include the songs “Viva”, “Geld”, “Rheinita”, “Ich Liebe Dich”, and the nine-minute “Time”, a masterwork of tension and release.
La Düsseldorf - s/t LP, 1976 (ZIP file)
La Düsseldorf - “Viva” LP, 1978 (ZIP file)
La Düsseldorf - “Individuellos” LP, 1980 (ZIP file)
August 10th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Bret, you star!! Thanks - I’ve been looking for Viva for years. I got their first LP inm a record fair in the late 90s and fell in love with the band, but struggled to find anything else by them… Much appreciated. A great band in the Neu! / Kraftwerk mould.
August 10th, 2008 at 6:53 am
It wasn’t until I read the Klaus Dinger obits that I discovered that there was apparently a more recent La Disseldorf record called Mon Amour. I don’t suppose you’ve got that? I don’t know anybody who’s even heard it!
August 10th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Hi Bret
The links aren’t opening up properly with WinZip. Could you please check they’re not corrupted? Thanks for posting these - it’ll be great to hear ‘Time’ again.
August 11th, 2008 at 1:43 am
thanx for sharing these bret!
August 11th, 2008 at 6:32 am
another great post, of course. dunno why Individuellos never sat well with me, though…
@SteveBaker: http://sheerinertia.blogspot.com/2008/07/la-dsseldorf-mon-amour-320kbps.html
try that.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Alas. Sad news indeed. If it’s relevant, let me tell you I read about it here first; of course, that just means I’m woefully ill-informed, Bret.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Many thanks for the extra link!
August 19th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Man, I saw this post and waited way too long to actually listen to it. “Individuellos” is pretty awesome.
I have a long drive coming up next week, and I suspect the soundtrack to that drive will be heavily Germanic.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Hey! Thanks so much for this one!!
http://maintransmissions.blogspot.com/
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:40 am
Danke! Been looking for #3 for a while now. Now I can put on my white overalls and dance around like a maniac.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:48 am
OMG! This stuff is just wonderful! Never heard of them before, now I can’t stop listen them! Sad they gone…Thanks a lot.
June 18th, 2010 at 2:22 am
Hi does anyone have a link for “Ich Leibe Dich” from the Mon Amour LP?
I’ve been looking for months and it’s driving me bonkers!