Rock music in Switzerland
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Rock and roll first entered Switzerland[1] in the 1950s, as a series of American musicians popularized the style internationally.[2]
Summary
The first Swiss rock band of note were
Formed in 1969, Krokodil was an influential early Swiss progressive rock group, using exotic instruments such as the sitar. Comprising Zürich scene veterans Hardy Hepp, Walty Anselmo and Düde Dürst (ex-Les Sauterelles), with Mojo Weideli and English bassist Terry Stevens rounding out the line-up, Krokodil released a total of 5 albums through 1973. The Swiss progressive rock and psychedelia scene also produced bands such as The Shiver, Brainticket, Island, Ertlif and Flame Dream. Bern's Sinus Studio was long the most influential studio in Switzerland.
The commercially most successful Swiss rock band of the 1970s were Rumpelstilz, fronted by "the Bob Dylan of Switzerland", Polo Hofer. Rumpelstilz were pioneers of Mundartrock preferring to sing in Bernese German rather than English. Their 1976 album Füüf Narre im Charre (five jesters in the wheelbarrow) produced the massive hit singles "Teddybär" and "Kiosk", respectively. After the breakup of Rumpelstilz in 1978 Hofer would go on to a very successful solo career. His 1985 song "Alpenrose", co-written with former Rumpelstilz bandmate Hanery Ammann, was voted "Biggest Swiss Hit" of all time in 2006 by a Swiss German television audience. Rumpelstilz and Hofer were highly influential on bands like fellow Bernese rockers Züri West and Patent Ochsner, Switzerland most successful Mundartrock bands today.
Notable 1970s Swiss
At about the same period, there were a number of punk[4][5] and pub rock influenced bands, including the Looney Tunes, The Swiss Horns, Red Devil Band, Circus and Irrwisch.
In the early 1980s,
Equally as influential and acclaimed as Celtic Frost are
Another Zürich area band, with ties to Celtic Frost, are internationally renowned progressive thrash trio Coroner who released a string of highly acclaimed albums such as No More Color and Mental Vortex in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s. After the demise of Coroner, guitarist Tommy T. Baron, a.k.a. Tommy Vetterli, briefly joined German thrashers Kreator while drummer Marquis Marky, a.k.a. Markus Edelmann, became a member of Tom Warrior's short lived Apollyon Sun. As of 2010, Coroner were active again doing live shows. Yet another Zürich area metal band that made an impression in the late 1980s were Uster based five-piece Drifter with two major label releases, Reality Turns to Dust and Nowhere to Hide, to their credit. Other notable Swiss extreme metal acts of that era include Messiah, Excruciation, Bloodstar and Calhoun Conquer.
In the early 1990s, a very active
Switzerland's internationally most success new band of the last 10 years have been Eluveitie whose eclectic folk metal style incorporates characteristics of melodic death metal combined with the melodies of traditional Celtic music. Their 2014 album, Origins, reached number 1 on the Swiss album charts.
Literature
- Grand, Lurker. Die Not Hat Ein Ende. The Swiss Art of Rock. Edition Patrick Frey, 2015. ISBN 978-3-905929-77-5
- Grand, Lurker. Heute und danach – The Swiss Underground Music Scene of the 80s. Edition Patrick Frey, 2012. ISBN 978-3-905929-21-8
- Grand, Lurker. Hot Love – Swiss Punk & Wave 1976–1980. Edition Patrick Frey, 2006. ISBN 978-3-905509-62-5
References
- ISBN 978-3905929775.
- ^ Künzli, Stefan (3 May 2020). "50 Jahre Rock in der Schweiz: Eine Spurensuche in der ereignisreichen Zeit der Gründergeneration". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Swiss Pop & Rock Anthology - BEAT (Vol. 1): From the beginnings till 1985 - The band Les Sauterelles stood for the decade of the 60ties, when Switzerland's youth was shaken by the rock'n'roll fever". Swiss Info. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ISBN 978-3905509625.
- Ox Fanzine. Retrieved 25 January 2024.