The German Bonds started out in 1962, soon acquiring a top spot in the Star Club lineup of german beat groups. A few early r&b performances are preserved on the album Rock and Beat Bands Competition, recorded in December of ’63. Their first 45 was the horrendous mock-classical “Sonata Facile”, redeemed by a fine version of “So Mystifying” on the flip.
In 1965 they contributed a good version of a song I’m not a fan of, “Remember” (aka “Walkin’ in the Sand”) to a couple Star-Club various artists lps of the time, Scene ’65 and Sweet Beat.
The line-up changed from time to time, but by 1966 consisted of Rainer Degner lead guitar and vocals, Peter Hecht keyboards, Jurgen Bock rhythm guitar, Dieter Horns bass and vocals, and Peter ‘Peet’ Becker drums. This line-up recorded their strongest record, “We’re Out of Sight”, backed with a great adaption of the traditional “Sing Hallelujah”, released in September of ’66 on Polydor International. It took me nearly three years to track down this one!
Their last recording was for Fontana in 1968, the awful pop tune “Skinny Eleanor” with a somewhat better freakbeat-ish song called “Birthday Is Today” on the b-side.
The Bonds have some connection to obscure Star-Club artists like the Fixx (supposedly the Rattles) and Our Gang. Check out the best song from the Fixx’s only release, “Looking for the Right Girl”.
Thanx for postin’!
My family knew the German Bonds back in the days as they met in Germany.
I posted a photo of the German Bonds from that era on my website:
http://jimmyward.come2me.nl
the Fixx was actually a fake name for the Rattles (Our Gang too), one of the greatest german bands of the 60s.
Gruss aus HAMBURG – Starclub Hamburg
http://www.starclub-hamburg.com
Robby
I saw the German Bonds on TV show Beat Club one Saturday afternoon, and just as I had done with the likes of the Remo Four, purchased the the record of the song they performed, which in this case was ‘Out of Sight/Sing Hallelujah’, which I still have. I saw the ‘live’ around that time, playing in Soest, Germany, at the Hubertus Halle (sp?). I believe the opening band was Sir John & the Starfighters. (I recall their lead singer playing and acoustic guitar and using his right foot to play a tambourine.) The German Bonds were great! With them I remember the guitarist and bassist both playing semi-hollow Gibson electrics (a 335 and EB2 respectively) and the keyboardist on a Vox Continental organ. Aside from the aforementioned tunes I don’t recall what they played other than a classical piece… Chopin, possibly (not likely ‘Sonata Facile’). They even did a – just for fun – synchronized ‘step dance’ to the music. For this tune the keyboardist moved to the piano up in a balcony above the stage. Like most mid/late 60s bands this one was caught out by the radical change in music made by Hendrix and Cream, where heavier blues with jazz undertones and psychedelic lyrics had set a new, different and higher standard of musicianship in rock. The German Bonds were still into the mid-60s R&B thing, likely doing songs many other bands were doing (‘Sing Hallelujah’, ‘Talkin’ ’bout You’, ‘Walking in the Sand’… ), some of which other popular German bands including the Lords and the Boots also covered (as did the Stones do ‘Talkin’ ’bout You’). I had seen the Lords a year earlier in the same hall, and while they were also very good (though funny now to watch on YouTube), the German Bonds were more ‘authentic’… they were grittier and more fun; there were no ‘uniforms’ on stage and now ‘show’ as such. I remember the bassist really moving with the music… grooving totally. They came, they played… and we loved them. And I still love ‘We’re Out of Sight’ as well as the memory of that gig.
Met a guy called Paul Mc level ? in Cochem in1966 was he a member of the band?