Extrabreit

Biography

Extrabreit is a German punk rock band established in Hagen, Germany in 1978. The band was one of the most successful exponents of the Neue Deutsche Welle movement of the 1980s.

History

The band was founded around the end of 1978, when they began their career as a German punk rock band; later they were ascribed to the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) movement, though their music is not typical of the NDW genre. It was influenced heavily by punk rock music, and their lyrics were often critical of politics and society. The members viewed themselves as punks, whose only association with the NDW was that they appeared at the same time. As testament to that, they wrote on their homepage: "Ja wir haben den Scheiß eben mitgemacht!" (Yeah, we went along with that shit).
The highlight of their career was seen from 1981 until 1983, as they played for sold-out crowds, had records go Gold and Platinum and were pictured on the cover of BRAVO. After two band members left the group in 1983, they released two albums: Europa and LP der Woche. After a creative break until 1987, the band returned with an album that was heavily influenced by The Cure. In the 1990s, Extrabreit moved onto writing lyrics highly critical of society and full of sharp sarcasm (a little bit similar to Dead Kennedys). Their new work did not enjoy the same commercial success of their earlier albums. After their 'Final concert' in the "Berlet Halle" Hagen - Hohenlimburg on 19 September 1998, the group went on to play in Bochum in 2002 and are touring Germany. Also they had in 2010 a concert with the Philharmonic Orchestra Hagen. In the past they recorded songs with Hildegard Knef, Harald Juhnke and Marianne Rosenberg.
Extrabreit played their 1000th concert on 27 August 2005 to several thousand fans in Hengsteysee in Hagen. The band was presented with their first Platinum record for their first major success in 1980.

Band members

Vocals: Kai "Havaii" Schlasse
Guitar: Stefan "Kleinkrieg" Klein, Bubi Hönig
Bass: Lars Larson
Drums: Rolf Möller