Stephan Remmler (*10/25/1946 in Dortmund) : vocals, Casio
Gert Franz Alexander "Kralle" Krawinkel (*04/21/1947 in Wilhelmshaven) : guitar
Peter Behrens (*09/04/1947 in San Antonio) : drums
In the mid-sixties already, Remmler and Kralle play together in various bands. Amongst other names, they perform as MACBEATS and JUST US. They mostly play Rhythm & Blues and are influenced by the Rolling Stones.
In the years 1970 and 1972, Kralle releases two Solo Albums at Philips Records under the name CRAVINKEL.
After having finished school, Remmler and Kralle take up their studies at university. They both become teachers for a while. In 1979 they again start to play together, this time under the name WIND. While calling themselves WIND, they don't perform on stage. A demotape is being produced.
In 1980, Remmler and Kralle begin to search for a drummer via ads in various newspapers. A few people apply for the job. Before each applicant is allowed to play drums, he has to drink a Bommerlunder with the other two. When Peter Behrens shows up, they never get past the drinking. They become friends, and from now on Behrens is the drummer. Before that he has worked as a circus clown. In the end, they decide against taking a bass player into the band, as they think their sound is much more interesting without a bass.
Together, they move to the house in Regenterstr. 10a, 26197 Großenkneten near Oldenburg. On December 20th, they play their first ever gig together as TRIO, at the "Bommerlunder und Grünkohl", their usual hangout, where later the video for "Da Da Da...." is filmed. In February 1981 TRIO record a self-produced (Just Us Music Productions ? Jump) 10" Mini Album, featuring "Lady-O-Lady", "Broken Hearts For You And Me" (live from their first concert) and "Sunday You Need Love Monday Be Alone". They promote this record by playing short gigs at record stores.
Especially because of their shows, TRIO soon become the inside tip around Oldenburg and Bremerhaven. The concerts they play seem somewhat bizarre. Peter Behrens' drum kit consists solely of a bass drum, snare, hi-hat and one cymbal. Apart from that, he is standing while he plays and therefore has been named the founder of playing drums standing. (Bela B. of the Berlin-based punk band "Die Ärzte" plays standing to this very day.) Behrens also attracts attention because of his "dynamic incompetence". While on stage, he never changes the expression on his face. Guitarist Kralle plays a Fender, from which he has removed two of the pick ups. He plays his solo on "Broken Hearts For You And Me" blind, which is to say, he pulls his knitted cap over his eyes. Singer Stephan Remmler performs the partly German, partly English lyrics with rolling eyes and sometimes uses a microphone attached to his throat on the outside. In some songs he makes use of a mini-keyboard (Casio VL-1) and a rebellious children's guitar which goes by the name of Lucy.
Bass player and graphics designer Klaus O.W. Voormann returns from the US in 1981. Voormann is a close friend of the Beatles. He already knew them before their breakthrough during their time in Hamburg. After the tragic death of John Lennon, for whom he had played bass till the end, he comes back to his home country and has a try as talent scout. He hears about TRIO and decides to become their producer.
In 1981 the first album by TRIO is released. It's simply called TRIO and has been recorded in a converted barn in Husum. On the cover, their private address as well as their phone number (04435/2300) are displayed. During their notorious spring tour 1982 the song "Da da da du liebst mich nicht du liebst mich nicht aha aha aha" comes up. It is subsequently added to the album and released as single.
"Da da da..." becomes one of the greatest hits of the already started "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New German Wave). It's also a great success worldwide. Released in 30 countries, it manages to go gold and platinum. In Europe it's said to have sold around 3 million copies. Frank Zander and Karl Dall (German vocalists and comedians) do cover versions. The album, now including "Da da da..." reaches number 3 in the German album charts. It's released in 20 countries. For the non German speaking countries an English version gets recorded ("Da da da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha")
TRIO become really big in Germany. One of the reasons being their regular appearances on the "ZDF Hitparade" hosted by Dieter-Thomas Heck. On that show musicians of the Neue Deutsche Welle have already pushed aside the interprets of Schlager music (cheese). During the broadcasts of "Hitparade" it obviously attracts a lot of attention that Peter Behrens is eating apples while he performs. For each appearance on the show they come up with a new joke. Stephan Remmler, for instance makes an impression with his never-ending supply of tasteless glasses.
Numerous live gigs follow, e.g. at the Loreley and the amphitheater in Verona. After the "Rockpalast" on WDR has shown one of them, the "BeatClub" broadcasts "Trio In Concert".
From the beginning on, TRIO fight against being labeled Neue Deutsche Welle. Instead, they ironically describe their style as "Neue Deutsche Fröhlichkeit" (New German Happiness). While many regard them as doing pure nonsense or being a comedy act, most people fail to recognize their real intentions. They are experts at reducing all kind of music styles to a minimum, be it Schlager, punk, hard rock or rock'n'roll. In the end, they succeed in pointing out on what simple structures popular songs are based. They just leave out everything that makes a successful song apart from the actual composition, i. e. recording technique, star poses, big instrumentation, slick sound or deep lyrics. Songs like "Kummer" are created that way, consisting of barren lines like: "Kummer, ooh Kummer, mein Herzl ist nicht mehr da (...) Trauer, ooh Trauer, wie schön war's im letzten Jahr, jetzt ist sie nicht mehr da, ich habe Kummer" ("Sorrow, ooh sorrow, my sweetheart's no longer here (...) Sadness, ooh sadness, how beautiful was last year, now she's no longer here, I have sorrow") To this, the drums are played in an extremely languid, simple 4/4 beat, while the guitar melancholically focuses on the basic keys. The words are spoken rather than sung. The song is opened by church bells and ends with a solo part played on a children's guitar.
In October 1982 the second single "Anna ? Laßmichrein laßmichraus" is released, which doesn't appear on the album "TRIO". "Anna..." reaches the number 3 spot in the German charts and an English version ("Anna ? Letmein Letmeout") is released.
During the same month, the live recording "TRIO live im Frühjahr 82" appears on the market. This excellent recording is available only on MC, which leads to the slogan "Die erste Platte, die es nur auf Kassette gibt" ("The first record that exists only on tape"). Apart from live versions of the songs from the first album, you get to hear a lot of on stage talk and some strange short stories. In 1992 it is released on CD. As the display of their phone number on the first album already caused a sensation, they even go a step further this time.
"We mentioned our phone number on the last record. Now our phone is ringing all the time. This has encouraged us to mention the number of our bank account on this record. TRIO Kto-Nr.: 000-273367 Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg Filiale Großenkneten"
At the end of 1982, TRIO withdraw to the mountains in Switzerland, to write new songs in quiet, as a new album is already overdue. In May 1983, the third single "Bum Bum" follows. For this song, a spectacular video is produced, featuring the prostitute Domenica from Hamburg. Her gigantic breasts can also be seen on the cover of the single, with the words "Bum Bum" written across them in lipstick. An English version of "Bum Bum" ("Boom Boom") is released.
In fall 1983 the long awaited second album "Bye Bye" is released. The cover is plain white, as was the first one. Down at the left are two spaces for advertisements by the German firm "Uvex" which produces helmets for motor biking. The rest of the sleeve also contains white spaces, which can be rented for advertisements (10.000 DM per blank and edition). With every new edition, the cover is filling up with more and more ads. On the album, neither "Anna..." nor "Bum Bum" appear. They can only be heard in new edits. The album is released worldwide containing different compilations of songs. Even the American one differs from the Canadian version. In Germany, cover and featured songs change with each new edition.
In some countries, the record appears under the title "TRIO And Error". Via their producer Klaus O.W. Voormann they get into touch with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. On the German version of the album ? and only there ? appears the track "Wake Up" by Yoko Ono. This song is also the only German contribution to a record with her compositions.
With the new album, TRIO begin to move away from their formerly minimalistic style. Just a few songs still remind of the sound of the first LP. Now, there are more instruments in use than a guitar and drums. Sometimes, a bass can be discerned, a Hammond organ, strings, choirs and a few guest musicians. Still, it is fun to listen to ? extremely so. When they go on stage, however, there is still only the three of them to be seen.
Three singles are taken from the LP: "Herz ist Trumpf", "Turaluraluralu ? Ich mach Bubu was machst Du" and the classic "Tutti Frutti". The last single proves to be not that successful. Two English versions are released ("Hearts are Trump" and "Tooralooralooraloo ? Is It Old & Is It New").
Now things become quiet around TRIO for a while. During the video shooting of "Bum Bum" the idea has emerged of turning the clip into a full length motion picture. But things will turn out a little differently. 1984 the film "Drei gegen Drei", costing 5 million marks is produced by Bernd Eichinger and directed by Dominik Graf. Apart from Stephan, Kralle and Peter, also Ralf Wolters, Sunnyi Melles and Ute Lemper (playing a small role) can be seen.
The film is about three South American generals, who are trying to get to Germany, in order to get hold of their money which they have deposited in a Swiss bank. They plan to kill three doubles of themselves in an ambush to fake their own death. Those doubles and the generals (Ludovico, Klotz and Weingarten) are played by TRIO. Like in all typical comedies, this is the cause for a lot of confusion. In the end, the generals die and Stephan, Kralle and Peter receive the money out of the Swiss bank account (300 Million Dollar). Besides that, Stephan gets romantic with the leading female character Frau Pelikan (Sunnyi Melles).
Naturally, TRIO write the soundtrack for the film. For example, the tracks "Drei gegen Drei" (Three against Three), "My Sweet Angel" and "Wahnsinn" (Madness). The song "My Sweet Angel" is featured in the movie, performed by Stephan Remmler and Sunnyi Melles.
But what was it all worth? The film simply was a total flop. The critics did not like it, either. It appeared on video and was then for a first and last time shown on German television (ZDF) in 1988.
Together with the film the third studio LP by TRIO is released, titled "What's the Password". Apart from the soundtrack songs, it contains a few more. Now, the sound no longer has anything to do with their old TRIO concept. There are no more limits to instrumentation. It's interesting to notice that drummer Peter Behrens has no part in the production. Yet, he appears with Stephan and Kralle on TV, and he's on the cover of the LP, though his name is not mentioned anywhere. They play no live gigs to promote the album.
In an interview (1995) Behrens tells that he feels he has not got what he should have from their commercial success. He claims to have demanded a bigger financial share from Remmler and Kralle in 1983, but that they refused to give it to him.
Curt Cress, a well known German drummer, takes Behrens' place. Aside from that, the sisters Humpe (German singers/producers) can be heard on the LP.
Two singles are taken from the album ("Drei gegen Drei" and "Ready For You"). However, they don't make it into the charts and neither does the LP. A third single ("My Sweet Angel") doesn't get released anymore, but the album is critically acclaimed.
After that, TRIO silently split up in 1985.
Remmler tells that they had simply pushed the musical concept of TRIO to the limit. The range of possibilities naturally being narrowed by their choice of just using vocals, guitar and drums in their songs. The members of TRIO, who allegedly lived together in their house in Großenkneten to the very end, finally went astray to pursue different careers of their own.
Remmler moves back to Switzerland to work on his solo career. As it shows later, he's the one to get the biggest commercial success after the split.
Kralle continued to play guitar as a session and studio musician for various artists. In 1993, he releases a solo album.
Behrens records a number of unsuccessful singles. He says that he spent all the money he got out of TRIO (about a million marks) on alcohol, cocaine and women. Since 1997 he has been a street worker in his hometown Wilhelmshaven, taking care of drug addicts and people with AIDS.
After the split of TRIO a Best of TRIO album is released posthumously, bearing the laconic title "TRIO 1981 ? 85 Fünf Jahre zuviel" (Five Years too much). Their biggest hits appear on it in extended versions.
For years nothing is heard of them, apart from many compilations featuring their hits. Then in 1997 a TV spot for Volkswagen is launched, using the English version of "Da da da...", making the song an instant hit in the USA once again. The LP "TRIO And Error" is newly released as "Da Da Da" with slight changes.
Translated by J. Rowehl (100.000 THANX!)
