Torfrock

The northern German classic rock band Torfrock established themselves in the late '70s, before going on an indefinite hiatus in 1982 and re-forming years later to cultivate their formidable cult status on the concert circuit. Torfrock were formed by Klaus Büchner and Raymond Voß in 1976, and the idea underlying the band's formation was to perform German-language classic rock with a sense of plainspoken northern humor and without any high-minded pretensions. Büchner and Voß, who are singers as well as musicians, were influenced by the classic rock bands of America and Britain. For instance, their early repertoire included German-language interpretations of the classic rock staples "Hey Joe," "Summertime Blues," "Carol," "The Wind Cries Mary," and "Let's Work Together." By and large, though, the band wrote its own material and even constructed its own mythology (i.e., die Torfmoorholmer Legende). Shortly after forming Torfrock, Büchner and Voß settled on a band lineup also including Reinhard Heinrichs (percussion), Gunnar Kämmer (drums), and Thomas Rieckmann (bass). With this lineup in place, the guys recorded and released the album Dat Matscht So Schön (1977), which includes key songs in the Torfmoorholm mythology. Torfrock continued recording albums at a steady rate in the years that followed -- Rata-Ta-Zong (1978), Torfrockball im Hühnerstall (1979), Vierter Versuch (1980), and Mein Gott, Sind Wir Begabt (1982) -- before Büchner and Voß decided to put the band on hold in order to pursue other projects. In particular, Büchner enjoyed a good run of success as part of the schlager duo Klaus & Klaus with Klaus Baumgart, debuting in 1981 with the single "Da Steht ein Pferd auf'm Flur" and releasing albums including An der Nordseeküste (1982), Tierisch Menschlich (1985),...