Hard Pop
From Unearthing The Music
Hard Pop was a band from East Berlin and one of the most important representatives of GDR music.
History
The band's beginnings go back to a band founded in 1979 called The Black Canal (not to be confused with the Leipzig band of the same name that emerged from L'Attentat in 1989), whose members were Günther Spalda (vocals, guitar), Bernd Jestram (bass guitar), Cerstin Gorek (vocals) and Anette Schuster (vocals). In 1981 Spalda and Jestram founded Rosa Extra, a band with the same name as a GDR women's hygiene product. The line-up also included Ralf Lepsch (sax) and Uwe Jellinek (voc). Alexander Kriening and Ronald Lippok were also active as drummers in the group until 1984. Eventually the band were forced to change their name, settling upon Hard Pop. In September 1987 the band broke up, leading Spalda to put together a new band line-up for recording at the end of 1987, while switching from drums to bass and vocals. In 1988 the band played together again live, under the name Gorki Park.
The members of the group were later active in numerous other bands of the GDR underground such as This Pop Generation, Ornament & Verbrechen, Aufruhr zur Liebe, Die anderen, Feeling B, Tausend Tonnen Obst, Teurer denn je oder or Dekadance.
Discography
- 1979: Spiel mit (as Der Schwarze Kanal)
- 1982: Was mir deine Schleuder ist dir meine Waschmaschine (als Rosa Extra)
- 1984: Waschmaschine
- 1985: Live - Berliner Kongresshalle 26
- 1986: In dieser Nacht
- 1988: Grau / Tote Ballerina / Angst vom Mund
- 1989: Katjuscha / Schlaflied
- 1990: Schlaflied
- 1992: Fang an steh auf / Mackie Messer