Puhdys

Die Puhdys are a veteran German rock band, formed in Oranienburg, in what was then East Germany, in 1969, although they had been performing together, with various lineups, as the Puhdys since 1965. They continue to record and tour. Although

Die Puhdys are a veteran German rock band, formed in Oranienburg, in what was then East Germany, in 1969, although they had been performing together, with various lineups, as the Puhdys since 1965. They continue to record and tour. Although they are especially popular in their native eastern Germany, the Puhdys enjoyed significant success outside the GDR, and were one of the first East German bands allowed to tour West Germany. With more than 18 million albums sold, they are probably the most successful German-language rock group.

The Puhdys developed out of the Udo-Wendel-Combo, founded in 1965. When guitarist and singer Wendel left the band late in the year, it needed a new name. The four members took the letters from their first names — keyboardist Peter Meyer, drummer Udo Jacob, bassist (and sometimes manager) Harry Jeske, and lead guitarist and singer Dieter Hertrampf (who had replaced Wendel) — to become the Puhdys. The band went through further personnel changes until 1969, when they were given a professional performance license, which was all-important in East Germany. By then, Jacob had been replaced by Gunter Wosylus and vocalist-guitarist Dieter Birr had joined, cementing the band's lineup for the next ten years; the band dates this, rather than 1965, as its foundation. (The two Dieters are differentiated by their nicknames: "Quaster" Hertrampf, from a corruption of the title of The Shadows' "Quartermaster's Stores," after his long attempt to learn the Hank Marvin guitar solo; and "Maschine" Birr, once called an "eating machine" by his bandmates for his voracious appetite.)