Checkpoint Charlie: Biography: Difference between revisions

[[Checkpoint Charlie]] was founded in 1966 in Karlsruhe after an encounter of Harald Linder and Uwe von Trotha. The idea of combining lyrics of Bertolt Brecht and François Villon with beat music quickly came up. New band members were Joachim "Krebssalat" Krebs and Werner Heß. In 1969 they performed at the last Burg Waldeck Festival. Their first LP was self-released in 1970 and contained a recording of a concert at the University of Erlangen. In their rock operetta "Scheiße" (Shit) they addressed environmental protection problems. This was followed by the first lawsuit against the band for a toilet in the colors of the german flag. As an example of the German rock scene, Checkpoint Charlie was included in the 13-part NDR series "Sympathy for the Devil" in 1971, but most of it was cut out afterwards. After a short break-up of the group Checkpoint Charlie rehearsed in 1972 at Burg Waldeck for their program "Notwehr" (self-defense). The tour was supposed to be financed by the "Verband der Kriegsdienstverweigerer" (association of conscientious objectors), but this association cancelled shortly before the beginning, which caused big financial problems. Nevertheless Checkpoint Charlie played in a smaller line-up in more than 100 german cities, but disbanded in 1973.