BAP

In the organizer's words:

TIME TRAVEL 81/82

For more than 40 years, Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP has been a true rock institution in the German music scene - as well as an inexplicable phenomenon. The band has thrilled fans throughout Germany and even German-speaking countries far beyond the borders of the Rhineland. They celebrate successes that were not thought possible, astonish the media and critics and, as a matter of course, overturn many a golden rule of the music business.In the early 1980s , they were "pop stars of almost unbelievable greatness" (Rolling Stone / 2023) and their songs had a lasting impact on people's musical tastes, especially in this decade. Hits such as "Verdamp lang her", "Kristallnaach" and, of course, "Do kanns Zaubere" burn themselves irrevocably into the ears and hearts of their fans. In 2024, BAP will embark on a musical ZEITREISE, where they will play all the songs from the two double platinum albums from 81/82, with which they became nationally known and which have been at the top of the fans' wish list ever since, as part of the tour of the same name through Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.

The ZEITREISE 81/82 tour next year will continue the idea that developed during the SCHLIESSLICH UNENDLICH tour for the last album ALLES FLIESST. Although an above-average number of new songs were played on this tour, there were also some rarities - songs that had not been on the setlist for more than 30 years. The reaction of the audience was phenomenal. The band had not expected such an overwhelming response. So it was only natural that Niedecken gave more and more space to the idea of playing a few concerts exclusively with the songs from these two breakthrough albums and the five previously unreleased songs from the live album "Bess demnähx" that followed in 1983.

If you take a closer look at these two career-defining million-sellers, you get an idea of why they were so hugely successful: The thematic breadth of the lyrics is enormous and their multifaceted nature reflects everything that moved young people at the time. The generation of the time was searching for newly defined values, a new self-confidence and independence. It was a time of peace movements, anti-nuclear activists and a new musical direction - one in which the songs of BAP played a key role. And so, of course, the ZEITREISE 81/82 - Tour 2024 will also reflect this wide range, because all the songs from this era will definitely be played. Even those that have never been on a setlist before. For example, "Fuhl ahm Strand" and "Koot vüür Aach". Of course, the essential BAP classics "Kristallnaach", "Müslimän", "Jraaduss", "Waschsalon" and "Frau, ich freu mich" are not to be missed.

The new arrangements of the songs, which have been made carefully and with all due respect, ensure that they meet the demands of contemporary tour productions. And yet they will lose none of their original magic and impact - for Wolfgang Niedecken it was a top priority to preserve the soul and quintessence of those very songs that for so many people are the soundtrack of the eighties, irrevocably linked to their very personal, formative experiences, feelings and also historical events. Although none of the songs played on the tour will be more than 40 years old, there is no danger of BAP running out of repertoire. If necessary, they will fall back on material from their first two albums. For example, "Anna", "Ne schöne Jrooß" and "Stell dir vüür".

With the last tickets for the four Heimspiel concerts for the 2024 tour sold in record time, it is clear that the initially perhaps somewhat daring idea for the ZEITREISE 81/82 - Tour 2024 is once again hitting the nerve of the times. The four dates in December 2023 will not take place in the Sartory Halls in Cologne by chance - but because this is where most of BAP's Cologne performances took place between 1980 and 1984. So if you're not one of the lucky ticket holders, you'll have the chance to attend one of the 29 concerts on the tour next year.