BAP

Biography

BAP (German pronunciation: [bap]) is a German rock band. With thirteen albums reaching the number one in the German record charts, BAP is one of the most successful rock acts in their home country.
Nearly all of BAP's lyrics are written in Kölsch, the dialect of Cologne, or more precisely in a Kölsch-influenced derivation of Eifelplatt, a regional variant of the Ripuarian language spoken in the nearby rural Eifel. Niedecken's most prominent musical influences, especially early in his career, were Bob Dylan, the Kinks, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Wolfgang Ambros.

History

The group was founded in 1976 under the name Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP in Cologne by Wolfgang Niedecken and Hans Heres. In 1981, they released their most famous song "Verdamp lang her" (Damn long time ago), in which Niedecken describes regrets he has about his relationship with his then recently deceased father. The band's name "BAP" derived from "BAPP", both, a play-on-words on the Kölsch word "Papp" (related to the German word dad), but pronounced differently, and Niedecken's then-nickname.
Niedecken translated a collection of Bob Dylan's lyrics to German for his 1995 solo album Leopardefell.

Current members

(Information valid for 2024)

Wolfgang "Maître" Niedecken – singer (1976–present)
Werner Kopal – bass (1996–present)
Michael Nass – keyboards (1999–present)
Anne de Wolff – violin, viola, cello, percussion, guitar, trombone (2014–present, as guest 2006–2014)
Ulrich "Uli" Rode – guitar (2014–present)
Sönke Reich – drums (2014–present)
Axel Müller – saxophone, guitar, duduk, flutes (2018–present)
Franz Johannes Goltz – trombone (2018–present)
Benjamin "Benny" Brown – trumpet, flügelhorn (2022–present)

Former members

"Afro" Bauermann – percussion (1976–1977)
Rainer "Saxello" Gulich – saxophone (1976–1977)
Hans "Honçe" Heres – guitar (1976–1980)
Klaus Hogrefe – bass (1976–1978)
Wolfgang "Wolli" Boecker – drums (1976–1983)
Manfred "Schmal" Boecker – percussion (1976–1995)
Wolfgang "Gröön" Klever – bass (1978–1980)
Bernd Odenthal – keyboards (1978–1980)
Fritz Kullmann – saxophone (1980)
"Steve Borg" (Stephan Kriegeskorte) – bass (1980–1995)
Klaus "Major" Heuser – guitar (1980–1999)
Hans "Fonz" Wollrath – sounds (1980–1999)
Alexander (Axel) "Tschaikägo" "Effendi" Büchel – keyboards (1981–1999)
Jan-Christoph Dix – drums (1983–1985)
Pete King – drums (1986)
Jürgen Zöller – drums (1987–2014)
Mario Argandoña – percussion (1996–1997)
Jens Streifling – saxophone (1996–2002)
Sheryl Hackett – percussion (1999–2003)
Helmut Krumminga – guitar (1999–2014)
Rhani Krija – percussion (2014–2016, as guest 2008–2014)
Christoph Moschberger – trumpet (2018–2022)

Related projects

1983: Book BAP övver BAP [BAP about BAP]
1987: Album Schlagzeiten [Hit times] (Wolfgang Niedecken solo-album)
1989: Book BAP övver China (about their Chinese tour)
1992: Album Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander [Get up and speak out; literally: Ass up, teeth apart] (various bands from Cologne, live concert against racism and neo-fascism)
1995: Album Leopardefell [Leopard's skin] (Wolfgang Niedecken solo-album with translated Dylan lyrics)
2002: Film Vill passiert [A lot has happened] (film by Wim Wenders about BAP)
2011: Book Für 'ne Moment [For a moment] (autobiography by Wolfgang Niedecken & Oliver Kobold)
2022: Album Dylanreise [Dylan journey] (Wolfgang Niedecken solo-album)