Rosa Extra
From Unearthing The Music
Rosa Extra were an East German, Berlin based art punk band active between 1981 and 1984. Their name is taken from a feminine hygiene product brand in the GDR.
Their music brought together punk with avant-garde literary texts by poets Stefan Döring and Bert Papenfuß-Gorek, among others. The band first started under the name Der Schwarze Kanal (The Black Canal), with Günther Spalda, Bernd Jestram and singers Cerstin Gorek and Anette Schuster. In January 1983 they recorded a few songs near Dresden for a compilation entitled "DDR von unten" (GDR from below) organized by Sascha Anderson with partners in West Berlin, but after the GDR authorities discovered this planned participation and threatened punishment, Spalda withdrew their contribution.
At the beginning of 1984 the band was forced to change its name to Hard Pop in order to receive official permission to perform, as "Rosa Extra" was a GDR brand name for feminine hygiene products, with Stephan Hachtmann, and Ralf Lepsch joining this new formation.
Members
- Günther Spalda - vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums
- Bernd Jestram - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- Uwe Jellinek - vocals
- Stephan Hachtmann - guitar
- Volker Zimmermann - keyboard
- Ronald Lippok - drums, vocals
- Sven Rose - drums, vocals
- Alexander Kriening - drums
- Ralf Lepsch - saxophone
Discography
- Spannung. Leistung. Widerstand. Magnetbanduntergrund DDR 1979 - 1990 (Compilation) - 2006
Sources
- Galenza / Havemeister 1999 | Boehlke / Gericke: "too much future - Punk in the GDR" (exhibition catalog, 2nd edition, SUBstitut / Verbrecher Verlag 2007)