Fehlfarben - New limited vinyl reissue "33 Tage in Ketten"

An artist's second work usually has a particularly difficult time in public opinion. The premature praise that is generously bestowed upon a debut is quickly exhausted. This was also the case with Fehlfarben's second LP when it was released in the fall of 1981. “33 Tage in Ketten” was measured too heavily against the over-the-top album “Monarchie und Alltag.”

The charismatic shouter Peter Hein was no longer part of “33 Tage in Ketten.” Shortly before a planned tour of Germany in the spring of 1981, he had turned his back on the band because he couldn't cope with the pressure of success. Guitarist Thomas Schwebel, who had co-written the lyrics for “Monarchie und Alltag” with Peter Hein, ultimately took on the difficult role of frontman. Recorded in the summer of 1981 at EMI Studios in Cologne, the album is much harder and more stirring than “Monarchie und Alltag.” On the powerful opener “Tanz mit dem Herzen” (Dance with Your Heart), Uwe Bauer, who died in 2023 and was never a fan of quiet sounds anyway, drums like a young god, while bass (Michael Kemner) and guitar (Uwe Jahnke) march along.

For this reissue on black vinyl, rare B-sides, the completely unreleased track “Warten auf” (Waiting For), and previously unheard live recordings from an 81 gig at Radio Bremen were secured. Feature writer Marc Hairapetian also contributes updated and exclusive liner notes.

Celebrating this release there will be a one time special event on Sunday, December 14. Thomas Schwebel & Band feat. Rick McPhail, Peta Devlin, and Gunther Buskies perform Fehlfarben's legendary second album. Presented by Mint Magazine and ByteFM. Lieblingsplatte is supported by sipgate and Stadtwerke Düsseldorf.

What follows is one of the great stories in German pop history: in 1980, Monarchie & Alltag, a monolithic album, is released. It influences generations of musicians, the press names it the best album, and in 2016 it opens the entire Lieblingsplatte festival series.
Then something unexpected happened around the legendary Ratinger Hof club in Düsseldorf's old town: the scene seemed to implode at this early stage. DAF left the city and moved to London. The punk pioneers Male broke up and soon created a completely different sound as Die Krupps. And Fehlfarben singer Peter Hein found the whole rock star hype too much and returned to his middle-class job at Rank Xerox. Frank Fenstermacher also left Fehlfarben to concentrate on his trio Der Plan and the Atatak label. The remaining members of Fehlfarben are Thomas Schwebel on guitar and vocals, Michael Kemner on bass, Uwe Bauer on drums, and Uwe Jahnke as second guitarist. 

And with “33 Tage in Ketten” (33 Days in Chains), the four recorded an album that was every bit as good as its predecessor, both musically and lyrically. The mood is as dark as on “Monarchie & Alltag,” with the bleakness of the time between the Cold War, RAF terrorism, and recession hanging like a veil over the record. The lyrics on “33 Tage in Ketten” dissect the spirit of the times. The opening track, “Tanz mit dem Herzen” (Dance with the Heart), says: “Lamps blind the faces of believers / People rush like insects to the light / Thinking is difficult Revelation is expensive / No one to be seen who promises salvation.” And the lines in “Schlaflos Nachts” (Sleepless Nights) go like this: “The night is lonely, the night is long / The night is important, the night is damp / At one point a sign / No turning back from here / But there is always something I can never say.” The lyrics are underpinned by the razor-sharp, driving beat of the outstanding rhythm section of Uwe Bauer and Michael Kemner, and the guitars of Thomas Schwebel and Uwe Jahnke cut to the bone. Commercially, Fehlfarben have reached the top, with “33 Tage in Ketten” charting even higher than “Monarchie und Alltag.” The track “Es geht voran” is released separately as a single by EMI and becomes a cult hit, among others in the squatter scene.

But the momentum for Fehlfarben soon seems to be over, with the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) and a much less sophisticated and more commercial sound dominating the music scene. So Fehlfarben break up after another LP, “Glut und Asche” (Embers and Ashes), in 1984. Around 1991, they return like a phoenix from the ashes, with Peter Hein and Frank Fenstermacher back in the fold.
In the meantime, Monarchie & Alltag and 33 Tage in Ketten were released by the record company as a two-CD set, which makes sense, as the two records are like siblings. And how could the favorite record series be complete without bringing the two siblings together?

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