WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER, THE - Preziosen & Profanes (Singles & Raritaten 1980-1981)

"Compilation with all singles, sampler contributions and rarities of the Limburg post-punk/neue welle/electro/leftfield pioneers The Wirtschaftswunder. Including the songs from the first EP Allein released in 1980 on Warning/Ata Tak and the songs from the uber-single Television/Kommissar (ZickZack, 1980). Essential compilation of one of the most important German bands of the '80s. "Anruf Schallplattenfirma" (Record company phone call): A little bit of fun. The first recording ... before Angelo. On the first demo tape, 1979. 1980: A year on the road as The Wirtschaftswunder for Tom, Jürgen and Mark... They still need a frontman. Mark finds Angelo in Zoom, a popular punk/new wave discotheque. It's the place to be, attracting punters from everywhere, the entire Rhine Main region. Hippies are the dominant force in Frankfurt at this time. Angelo auditions at one of our rehearsals. Tom and Mark had shared singing duties until then but without any great conviction. Angelo's bizarre, charming vocals are just what the group need. The band is complete. "Ratinger Hof": On stage at Ratinger Hof, Dusseldorf, three months later. With Fehlfarben and Östro 430. The stuff of legends. Clubs and labels from all over Germany have us in their sights. "Ata Tak": The height of summer. One Sunday, Frank Fenstermacher and Moritz R, Ata Tak label impresarios and members of Der Plan, arrive in Limburg. Their sports aeroplane touches down at the airfield in Elz. The Wirtschaftswunder sign their first record deal and deliver one EP: "Allein", "So ist es", "Politsong (don't listen)" and "Metall". "Der Kommissar and Television": We switch to ZickZack, a Hamburg label. Der Kommissar track is an adaption of the theme tune to a 1960s TV police drama series of the same name. Interrogation scenes are spliced together on a tape recorder. Sampling before there was such a thing. Angelo voices the murderer. The confession. "She was only a hippie girl." B-side: "Television". "Ich stehʼ auf Hagen" (I'm into Hagen): A gig at Neue Heimat in Hagen. At breakfast the following morning at the promoter's shared apartment, Wolfgang Luthe hands the group a cassette of his totally distorted screeching vocals. "Can you do anything with this?" Time for the cassette recorder again. Everyday noises and recordings in the finest musique concrete tradition. "Träum Was Schönes" (sweet dreams): Final track. Exit stage left. How we ended every concert. Auf Wiedersehen." - Tapete Records .