Stanfour are a German rock band who formed in 2004. The band was founded on the German island of Föhr where the four core members live. Already prior to the band's formation, brothers Alexander and Konstantin Rethwisch spent years in Los Angeles working closely together with a producer of film music. This is one of several reasons for the band's American style of music.
The name Stanfour was also created in the USA, when the four musicians frequented a café. On Konstantin's cup was written "Stan" (abbreviation of his name). After a conversation with the waitress, the latter suggested Stanfour as a band name and as the group did not have a name at the time, they accepted it and have since kept the name Stanfour.
In September 2007 they released their debut single "Do it all" which entered the German charts on rank 46. Their second single "For all Lovers" was chosen as theme song for the Sat. 1 TV show Nur die Liebe zählt and stayed in the German charts for 18 weeks. The third single is called "Desperate". Their first album Wild Life was released on 29 February 2008. It was mainly recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, and in the band's studio on Föhr, but also in Los Angeles.
Stanfour toured with John Fogerty and the Backstreet Boys and played on shows with Bryan Adams, Daughtry and OneRepublic. In September 2008 a club tour was started in Germany. In November 2008 they were nominated in the "Best Newcomer" category for the EinsLive Krone music award in Germany.
During October and November 2009 they toured through Germany as opening acts for a-ha's Foot of the Mountain tour. In December 2009, the second album Rise and Fall, produced and recorded entirely by Stanfour, was published. The band has grown and their sound has become slightly more electronical and lighter. The first single "Wishing you Well" from this album reached #10 of the German charts. The title "Tired Again" is also featured in Til Schweiger's 2009 film Zweiohrküken.
In 2010, the album Rise and Fall reached gold status in Germany for 100,000 shipped copies. Stanfour represented Schleswig-Holstein with their song "Sail on" in the 2010 Bundesvision Song Contest and reached rank 7 in the competition.
In November 2011, founding member Eike Lüchow left the band to focus on other musical projects.
