Hello Olaf, please introduce yourself and the band Stage Bottles briefly. Where you come from, who you are, and since when you have existed.
We broadly come from the Rhine-Main area, so Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Stage Bottles have been around since 1993, but I am the only remaining band member who has been there from the beginning. Marcel on guitar has also been with us since 1998. For several years now, Slavko (guitar), Olaf (nickname “O2”, drums), and Kimba (bass) have also been part of the band.
This is our current lineup, which hopefully will last for a long time.
Stage Bottles have played several hundred (about 700?) shows over the years in various countries.
We have now released 6 albums and several singles, and we have appeared on numerous compilations worldwide.
In the early 1990s, you started as a singer with the Blaggers. How did the contact with England come about, and what was songwriting, rehearsing, and playing live shows like before the good internet existed? A lot of letters and expensive phone calls? What do you remember well from the beginnings? What was the skinhead scene like in Germany back then and how (in comparison) in England (since you had some connection there)? Did you also go to football there...? And which British club do you feel closer to or are even a fan of?
First, about the Blaggers:
In the early 90s, I only played saxophone there and did not sing. I contributed to the album “United Colours of Blaggers ITA,” which was released in 1992. I lived in London in 1992 and played about 50 gigs with the Blaggers in England and across Europe.
In 1992, however, I was classified as not good for the band due to my skinhead appearance by the major label, which was a victim of the commercialization of the Blaggers. Since it seemed they wanted to get rid of me in the long term, I took the initiative and moved back to Germany.
With the - I would say “original Blaggers” - it initially ended sadly, as one of the two singers beat up a journalist who called him a “left fascist.” After that, EMI dropped the band.
In 2001, the Blaggers had not existed since 1994, and one of the two singers died of drugs - there was a wedding party in Frankfurt, where the former bassist and the former drummer were also present. We spontaneously played 6 songs with Marcel. After that, we continued the project and put together a set.
We are now back to six members. The main reason for this project was that we wanted to raise money for the IWCA (“Independent Working Class Association”). This left-wing political group formed and participated in elections as the BNP (British National Party) was increasingly moving from the streets into parliaments. To even participate in the election for the London mayor, the IWCA had to raise £50,000. We contributed several thousand pounds with our gigs.
Today we play very rarely. Last time in England in the summer of 2011. In April 2013, we will play a gig in London again. By the way, Stage Bottles will also play there.
The contact with the Blaggers came about at a time when SHARP (“Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice”/“Skinheads gegen rassistische Vorurteile”) was still in its infancy. In 1989, we organized a SHARP concert in Frankfurt with the Blaggers. Through fortunate circumstances, the contact was never lost.
Skinhead scene in England and Germany in 1992:
The difference to Germany was striking. In Germany, a new scene was just emerging through SHARP. The same was true for England, but it was on a much smaller scale there. In England, punk and skinhead were already quite out of fashion at that time. As a skinhead, you were more likely to be seen as a gay person than a skinhead on the streets of London. I say this, even though one does not exclude the other. This type of visual categorization was due to the clothing style.
Moreover, at that time, there was of course the phenomenon of right-wing radicalism in Germany and also the massive presence (extremely unsmart) Nazi skinheads, among others, due to reunification.
There was war here. But I also experienced harsh things in England with Blood & Honour, the Chelsea Headhunters, and also Combat 18. For example, there were hours-long street battles in England before a Nazi concert, including with Skrewdriver.
The music scene regarding Oi! was quite small; only later did many bands reform. Ska was quite popular. There was almost a concert in London every weekend. Otherwise, there were large festivals where it regularly ended in chaos because so many politically extremely different people were at the festivals. This manifested itself back then in the fact that the fascists started to shout and stormed the stage. I also witnessed this (including at “The Adicts” – the support back then was “Cocksparrer”).
But the bonehead scene in England was stronger than the SHARP skinhead scene back then. This was noticeable at concerts. On the street, the SHARP skins were by no means alone.
Football in England:
The hooligans of the team I support, admire, and for which I have often vomited (Fortuna Düsseldorf) have a friendship with the firm from Millwall FC. Therefore, I know some hooligans from Millwall. Additionally, among the Millwall boys for decades has been the good Roy Pierce, singer of “Last Resort.” Since I know him better, Millwall is of course even more interesting for me. Unfortunately, I have never been to a Millwall game.
I have been to Selhurst Park for a Crystal Palace game. That is the club of the bassist from the Blaggers. Therefore, I have always sympathized with them, just as the bassist sympathized with my divine Fortuna.
Brighton is also a club where I follow the results, as my good buddy “Attila the Stockbroker” is the stadium announcer there, and I have been to a Brighton game because of that.
For Brentford FC, we once played a solidarity concert with the Blaggers. The club was – at least a few years ago – bought and managed by its own fans. They were in the 3rd league back then. I saw a qualifying match for the FA Cup from Brentford FC during this concert.
You have also directly experienced the beginnings of the SHARP movement and its end. How do you see what you experienced back then today with the distance that has come over the years? Has RASH now replaced SHARP in recent years (as it seems to me)? What was the scene like back then, which was still strictly separated, and what zines existed? What differences were there for you between SkinUP/Skintonic and the somewhat smaller zines? In the 1990s, there was also "Revolution Times." What is your opinion on this zine? Do you still follow zines like Moloko Plus, Commi Bastard, or Oi! the Print? How relevant are these today for the entire scene?
At the end of the 1980s, there was hardly any non-right-wing skinhead scene left.
When we heard about SHARP, we immediately picked it up and organized some concerts. Meeting points for the “correct” skinheads were also the scooter runs. We were sometimes 200 skinheads at a scooter run with 500 attendees.
At ska festivals and some punk concerts, the first serious confrontations with fascists occurred. They hadn’t even realized how serious the situation suddenly was, that entire rooms could be taken away from them by SHARP. But that’s how it happened. After that, various bands reformed, and with the new momentum, many Oi! and ska bands were also founded. In my opinion, this has developed into the current state of the scene, where there are festivals with up to 4,000 (Force Attack even once had 16,000) attendees, and fascists generally do not publicly identify themselves. Unfortunately, at these large festivals, the mention of politics is often perceived as a fun killer. Those who did not experience the beginnings and who have always found it quite uncomplicated to experience something as a skinhead are unfortunately becoming increasingly apolitical. Many only react within their subculture to fascists and do not see it as normal to care as a “human.” As a member of a subculture that consciously distinguishes itself, such apolitical behavior cannot be normal. There must be reasons for the distinction. That was also the motivation of SHARP, even though surely some of us were just there to fight and party but did not want to do so on the side of the fascists.
RASH is a reaction to the fact that for many SHARP has become too depoliticized. If you were with SHARP at the beginning, you were political. We took an enormous risk in the confrontation with the fascists. Most did not do this just for fun. Today you can hide in the crowd and still consume.
At some point, the more political part of SHARP turned away, and in some cities – across Europe – there are outright hostilities between SHARP and RASH.
It is somewhat strange for me when two groups, where you have friends on both sides, fight against each other. We have never let ourselves be drawn into this, even though we would wish for more political awareness in a leftist sense from many people (most in the world).
Your question regarding the fanzines:
I myself wrote for Skinup as “Rote Zecke.” That was a very good fanzine. There were many smaller fanzines, and they kept increasing. Revolution Times came out later. I found it partly good, partly not so good, as the sometimes Stalinist-sounding comments were not my thing and are still not relevant.
Nevertheless, it was qualitatively quite good and a good mouthpiece for the left skinhead scene.
I do not want to go into other fanzines now. There were also great little wars between certain people and fanzines, and that was also discussed in forewords and gossiped about in the scene. But it was only about a few topics that one focused on. Little things that are now widely discussed on the internet were quickly settled back then.
I believe the fanzines were more exciting back then than the fanzines today.
Back then, a lot still happened “on the street.” Today, the scene is occupied with itself. And there are only a few bands that really live the life they sing about at a good level. Accordingly, the interviews were also more exciting. There was a positive dynamic in the scene. Today, one drifts along consuming with oneself. By that, I mean the “mainstream” in “our scene.”
A more contentless, always celebrating the great skinhead existence and a
self-aggrandizing style is partly spreading. I find it is all much more consumption than before. In the past, fanzines and music were an important part of a dynamic and active subculture.
But of course, there are still good fanzines today. However, I get all the important information this way. I actually read nothing anymore, as I have almost heard everything. And the information from the internet comes days after their
