Bela B. is a fictional character who appears in the movie Bel. "At the time, you totally underestimated the power of incest," says (l) and Farin Urlaub. Kirsten Neumann/dpa/dpa/dpa/dpa/dpa/dp
The Doctors are one of the most popular bands in the country. Her song "Geschwisterliebe" has been on the list for decades. Farin Urlaub and Bela B explain what that means for young punks.
Berlin – It is forbidden to publicly quote the song because it would be harmful to young people. The song "Geschwisterliebe" by the punk rock band Die rzte is about incest, brother-sister sex and the unveiled lust that goes with it.
The song was indexed 35 years ago, on January 27, 1987. Today the song is still popular. In an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin, lyricist Farin Urlaub (58) and bandmate Bela B (59) explain the effects.
Question: How do the doctors assess the case now that they have looked at it in retrospect?
Farin Urlaub: First and foremost, I find it amusing that as a 15-year-old I was even able to write this text that is harmful to young people – not to mention my sexual inexperience. We played the song live for years, ostensibly to provoke, before recording it for the third album - and CBS, our record label at the time, didn't mind. Only squares get upset, so we totally underestimated the power of this incest theme and didn't speculate on it. Apart from a few violent horror movies, we had never heard of indexing. It was more about being a role model, I think, to this day. Maybe it's because I lack sociological understanding, but I can't imagine that this silly song would seduce anyone into incest, even if they had the best of intentions.
Belà B: I was happy with the excitement at the time because it reflected my perception of punk rock. Everyone at the record label acted like it wasn't a big problem. Only one of the employees I interviewed took me aside and said he would not play these songs to his daughters and that he had a serious problem with it. Only then did I realize that we have completely different tastes. We were still too young to understand what our parents were thinking at the time. The inclusion of our debut album in the Index should clearly serve as an example.
What was the economic impact and how severe was it?
Farin Urlaub: After the indexing and especially after the sensational confiscation of our albums that followed, we stopped selling records in some record shops from one day to the next. Record dealers, understandably concerned, also returned our non-indexed discs. And the radio didn't even want to get their hands dirty with the scumbags. Concerts have also been postponed or canceled entirely. We were almost out of money for nine months, but Gema was kind enough to keep paying us. The breakup of the band had been discussed before, but we didn't want to give up that easily - evil always wins, right? But then the whole story turned on its head and we were turned into villains. Our young punk flags have been caught in the wind!
Belà B: To be honest, this broad front against us was also satisfying for me. A father yelled at me on a talk show, there were demonstrations before our concerts, flyers were printed against us, and there were information stands about our concerts, which were organized jointly by the CSU and the Greens. To tell the truth I enjoyed it.
Question: Did the indexing affect later texts?
Farin's vacation: It's all about the essentials. We quickly made the decision not to talk about it anymore. With the album "Ab 18" the topic was decided for us. How many scandals can you dream up before it becomes random and obvious? Later we preferred to provoke according to taste, which never really had criminal consequences - because so many things are not forbidden in Germany. The passage of time is an act of art, and the act of art is an act of freedom. Later it became more important for us to break taboos, as in "Omаboy", "Sometimes Women" and "My Friends", or to pack big themes more subtly into pop music, as in "M&F", "Lasse redn", "Ein Schwein named Men” and “Anti-Zombie”.
Where can indexing be kept up to date in today's world?
Farin Urlaub: In my opinion, inciting violence or stirring up hatred against certain groups of people – which often goes hand in hand with dehumanization – has no place in a liberal society, let alone in art.
Belà B: But that's about it, because I have to be able to do almost everything.
Farin Urlaub (*1963 as Jаn Vetter in Berlin) is a character in the film. The Doctors are his band and he is the lead singer and guitarist. Dirk Felsenheimer's real name is Belà B and he was born in Berlin in 1962. He is the drummer and lead singer of the world's best band (“Scream for Love”, “Men аre Pigs”). Rodrigo "Rod" Andrés González Espndolа, a Chilean born in 1968, had not yet joined "sibling love". Since the medical reform in 1993, after a period of separation, he has been a member of the band as a bassist.
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