Next!
ACTUALLY, NOT only is the above synopsis
free from artistic licence, but if anything it underplays the impact
these spirited teens have made on a German market where ‘Tokio Fever’ is
now an epidemic…
Since signing with Universal in May 2005, TH have sold approaching three
million records & DVDs in Germany alone, making them the country’s most
successful band, with a host of domestic awards jostling for space in
the collective cabinet (nine platinum/four gold, at last count, plus an
additional four platinum awards for sales in Austria & Switzerland).
And they played the most successful debut live tour EVER to grace German
stages.
The two TH albums – 2005’s ‘Schrei’ (‘Scream’) and follow-up ‘Zimmer
483’ (‘Room 483’), recently released– have both topped the charts at
home, spawning four No.1
singles, and in the case of the former, staying on those charts
for 66 unbroken weeks. Meanwhile, the first leg of the European stadium
tour in support of ‘Zimmer…’ (April 3rd - May 14th) will see the group
playing in front of young crowds six to twenty thousand strong. All
going mad. All of the time. Something underlined in the reddest possible
ink by the ‘Schrei-Live’ DVD, issued in 2006, which has now sold
approximately 100,000 copies in Germany, pushing total DVD sales for TH
to the quarter million mark…
Put simply, it would be an act of rank foolishness to go toe-to-toe with
these guys in terms of statues or stats, with existing records being
rearranged as a matter of routine. They’re the youngest band to reach
the top of their charts at home, for example… and now the highest-placed
German act ever in France, where ‘Zimmer 483’ (the meaning of the title
is hidden somewhere in the album!) recently stormed the chart at No.2,
turning gold week one.
With French national radio station NRJ reporting more
text messages & phone calls for TH than for Madonna,
and their supporters laying siege to any hotel they book into,
it’s clear that this audio/visual fan-driven phenomenon is not
constrained by either language or location. France, Austria, Switzerland
and most East-European countries are all now
making their mark on the gold & platinum scale, paving the
way for a co-ordinated leap into the wider overseas market,
with the US & UK ridin’ high on the ‘to do’ list.
Central to this, the key moments from both albums are being brought
together on ‘Scream’ – a new 12-track package (set to appear on May
21st) that could already, and quite legitimately,
be described as a ‘Greatest Hits’ release. Complete with specially
revised artwork plus newly recorded English vocals (seven songs from the
debut outing had to be re-worked three keys lower for Bill, since he was
only 13 when he sung the original versions),
it will serve as the ideal calling card for those markets yet to
experience ‘The Fever’ at first-hand, with high-profile live &
promotional activity due to take place in support.
And just to make the ‘script’ even more improbable, all of the above
(and more!) has been achieved in less than two years
– although the speed of this breakthrough should in no way imply either
fast-tracking or favoritism. In the world of TH, dues have very much
been paid…
BY VISITING the website of their hometown
Magdeburg you can see who the town (population 230,000) considers its
foremost sons & daughters. Top of the list is Otto von Guericke,
inventor of the air pump, born there in 1602, but also on this roll of
honour (and destined to knock Otto from his primary perch) are Tokio
Hotel. It was in this vicinity, some 405 years later, that the Kaulitz
brothers came into the world, Tom 10 minutes before Bill…
For their guitarist stepfather, encouraging the boys’ musical instincts
seemed the natural thing to do, and by the age of 12, a band had been
formed. It was called Devilish, with Georg & Gustav – who had seen the
twins play using keyboards rather than live bass & drums – coming on
board to add sinew to the spine. Bound together by shared musical likes
(and dislikes), the group launched itself onto the clubs & bars of
Magdeburg, then booked time in a small budget studio to put the live set
to tape. By the end of that session, however, it was obvious to all
parties that lack of time, money & experience had taken its toll,
leaving the sonics and the songs a little frayed around the edges.
In short, more work was required, and once that work was underway (in
conjunction with the producer team:, Dave Roth, Patrick Benzner, Peter
Hoffmann & David Jost, who had previously worked for Mötley Crüe, Jewel,
Faith Hill & Falco, amongst others – they even did remix work for The
DOORS), a whole new level of composition was quick to emerge. Sturdy of
hook, emotive of vocal and walking a confident middle path between pop
sensibility and prime rock rebellion, it was at this point that
the TH sound of today began to find its feet. Accessible? Absolutely.
Modern? Most certainly. But at no point conceived to fall in line with
fashion.
FOR BILL, Tom, Gustav & Georg, this
learning curve is something that still gets discussed in (rare) quieter
moments; their first time as members of an experienced/extended team,
and their first chance to sit in a hi-tech control room,
jet-fighter-cockpit-and-bridge-of-The-Enterprise all rolled into one.
Out of these early sessions came a selection of songs powerful enough to
pull in major industry interest (Universal offered their deal after
another label had ‘fumbled the ball’), and also to captivate the public
in a way that seldom happens, with debut single/video ‘Durch Den Monsun’
(‘Through The Monsoon’) leading the charge in spectacular style…
A prime example of restrained drama and telling melody, ‘… Monsun’
charted at No.1 in Germany on August 20th 2005, with Tokio Hotel now the
name of the band; by the following week, the track had rocketed to No.1
in Austria as well… which at this point makes ‘the script’ impossible to
put down!
Sure, the song was a hit, and a serious one, occupying the top spot in
Germany for seven consecutive weeks and staying in the Top 100 for a
further 16. More than that, however, it took a rather large flame to the
TH fuse, connecting with receptive hearts & minds on a level that
flagged up a healthy future for the group beyond this early assault. It
was also, significantly, the ‘tipping point’ track
in France, where radio reticence was finally overcome with an English
language version (!)… and now it will be the launch song from the
international ‘Scream’ album, supported by a new video filmed in Cape
Town, South Africa with director Daniel Siegler.
FROM THE initial release of ‘… Monsun’
onwards, the words ‘Tokio Hotel’ and ‘major chart success’ have never
been out of the same sentence, with the next four singles all striking
home: ‘Schrei’ (Top Five), ‘Rette Mich’ (No.1), ‘Der Letzte Tag’ (No.1)
& ‘Ubers Ende Der Welt’ (No.1), the latter from ‘Zimmer 483’. No great
surprise then that the band have been consistently honoured at such
high-profile events as the World Music Awards, the Eins Live Krone
Awards, the European Borders Breaker Awards and the Echo Awards, where
they recently premiered new single ‘Spring Nicht’ (‘Don’t Jump’) before
collecting the ‘Best Video’ award for ‘Der Letzte Tag’ (‘The Final
Day’).
With ‘Spring Nicht’ (also from ‘Zimmer…’) due out shortly
in Europe plus the international release for ‘… Monsoon’ now
set at May 7th, ‘the script’ continues to be a page-turner, with
extra cast & crew added all of the time. What there’s no need for,
however, is a stylist, as right from the start the four – particularly,
Bill & Tom – have chosen to explore their own ideas about image, giving
an extra-wide berth to convention & conformity (the clip for ‘Ubers Ende
Der Welt’ tackles this subject with non-political aplomb).
There is a story that, when very young, Bill & Tom would wear T-shirts
bearing their names so as to stop people mixing them up, but there’s no
chance of such confusion occurring today…
On one side, there’s Bill, almost an anime character come to life with
his exotic appearance and shock of hair – a ‘live for the moment’
personality who basically ‘invented’ himself when he was six years old.
He has since become the biggest and most passionate stage performer in
the country.
Tom, on the other hand, favours a different, more urban look, though one
that’s just as defined – all in marked relief to his brother’s tight-fit
taste in fashion. Not unexpectedly, their musical leanings are
individual too, with Tom’s early regard for AC/DC & Aerosmith now giving
way to artists such as German hip hop star Samy Deluxe, whereas Bill, if
pressed, is more likely to talk about David Bowie or veteran German
singer Nena, for whom he’s long nursed an affection.
With so much media attention focussed on the pair (the circulation of
German youth title Bravo has risen by 22 per cent in the wake of TH’s
booming popularity), it can sometimes be hard for decisions to be taken
with a fully level head. In this respect, the ‘two G’s’ – whose musical
loves range from Fall Out Boy & Green Day (Georg) through to Metallica &
Foo Fighters (Gustav) – are on hand to provide the more measured view,
the calm at the eye of the storm. Actually, make that monsoon…
GIVE ALL of the above a stir, and the result is a young band who pride
themselves on playing their instruments since they could walk (Gustav
started on drums when he was four) putting on great live shows (they’ve
recently taken delivery of a new all-moving stage-set) and having
positive things to say to fans their own age. Yes, their demeanour and
their dress have played a significant role in bringing them into the
spotlight, and yes, their average age is only 18, but it would be
foolish to attribute such dramatic (and fast-growing) success to pin-up
power alone. No cheekbones are that sturdily chiselled.
Ultimately, it always comes back to The Music, as in ‘are the songs any
good?’ And in this respect, Tokio Hotel are not to
be found wanting. Quite the opposite. This is one blockbuster destined
to carry a really great soundtrack… |
