{"id":12262,"date":"2016-07-10T06:18:53","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T04:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bsrumybg.myraidbox.de\/en\/?p=12262"},"modified":"2022-06-26T13:03:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-26T11:03:51","slug":"and-thanks-for-the-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibiza-style.com\/en\/and-thanks-for-the-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"… and thanks for the fish! \u2013 Not only in the charts, but a regular visitor to Ibiza, too: H.P. Baxxter"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s the funny thing about quiet days. You can set out to have one, but that\u2019s not enough. They can work out, but not necessarily. Especially not if you\u2019re staying in Ibiza. Hans Peter Geerdes, better known as the leader of Scooter, H.P. Baxxter, can sing a song about it. \u201cI was on the island for a few days and I kept thinking: just take things easy today. But then there are always so many people that you know and you end up partying in the end anyway.\u201d The fact that, just at that time, Jimmy Fallon put the Scooter classic \u201cHow much is the fish?\u201d on his \u2018Do not play\u2019 list, also didn’t do much to ensure peace and quiet. Baxxter himself took it in his stride and just went down to the beach to reply to the US talk show host\u2019s question which has been on all our minds for years: \u201cWhat does he cost then, the fish?\u201d \u201cWell, around 3, 80.\u201d If only we had cleared that up, too. And where else could we meet the singer, who managed to fit in a stop-over for a show in Copenhagen on the way back from Spain, but somewhere that befits his adopted home of Hamburg? In a fish restaurant, of course. He greets chef Kowalke in person; the greeting from the kitchen follows straight away. They all know each other. It\u2019s no surprise given that the man with the permanently dyed blond hair has been one of the most successful pop artists in the country for over two decades.<\/p>\n

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Which is why it\u2019s hard to believe that Scooter have already got a No.1 album under their belt in the UK with \u201cJumping all over the world\u201d in 2007 and yet, of all things, they have never managed to reach the very top of the German album charts: \u201cIndeed, that\u2019s true. We got to second place at times, but never right to the top.\u201d And that\u2019s why, not only was Baxxter right at the bottom in the 80s, but even today he still hasn\u2019t forgotten the tough struggle for success. \u201cI remember our first rehearsal room well; at that time it was in a community centre in Leer. The SPD had their office upstairs while we were rocking downstairs.\u201d A space all to ourselves.\u201d It brought no merit which is what made it all the more fun. \u201cIt was real classic bass, guitar and drums and we wanted to sound like Purple or Rainbow. It was a laugh, but at that point I was already out for success. I wanted it to lead to something.\u201d It had still lasted up until then though. At the beginning of the 80s the direction of music changed: \u201cOf course, we loved The Cure and Depeche Mode. At the legendary festival in Sch\u00fcttorf not only did I see the Simple Minds, but the brilliant Chameleons, too, who I really love to this day. We have even covered their “Second Skin” on several occasions.\u201d Baxxter’s band was called Celebrate the Nun and the family\u2019s VW Combi became the band\u2019s transport when they went to do shows. The parents backed their son, but the young lad had to learn too. After leaving school he went off to university for a time where he also came away with a 3.2 grade in Law. It was a short guest appearance; music remained the great love. Then it was off to Hannover and, finally, to Hamburg to the record company, Edel, where Baxxter got a job on the phone in the sales force. The tide was starting to turn: with \u201cHyper, Hyper\u201d\u2014under the banner of his band, Scooter\u2014his breakthrough came in 1994. By a twist of fate, while still working in sales he sold his own product: \u201cWhen the sales reps said then that they would take just three or four singles, I said: \u2018No way, you’ve got to take a dozen. Or more. Best of all, a whole box.\u2019” Baxxter bursts out laughing at the thought of his days starting out. He was soon able to put down the receiver in the office; when it came to a career, now it was called \u2018hardcore.\u2019 Mainstream was partying and, away from the path, the band was often ridiculed because of their extreme sound and their shortened shout-out formulas. Does it hurt the artist\u2019s soul? Somewhat thoughtfully, Scooter says: \u201cOf course, it\u2019s funny for a while when someone like N-Joy-Radio makes \u201cAldi, Aldi\u201d out of \u201cHyper Hyper.\u201d But at some point it also starts to get annoying, of course. That\u2019s why Scooter\u2019s sound is more than pumping stadium techno. Just one glance at the list of songs the band mentions can testify to an all-round view in terms of pop history: there\u2019s everything there from Albers to Maffay, Led Zeppelin to Billy Idol, Breakmachine, Sailor and Lionel Richie. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, I\u2019m always getting ideas. The way a song comes to me, a title, it gets noted. Sometimes a slogan on the wall of a pub is enough.\u201d Blinkers? No chance. Even in the arts section of the press the wind began to shift long ago; all of a sudden everyone from the features section of Spex (a leading German music and arts magazine) to the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung was listening to Scooter. The TV station, arte, sent Baxxter off through the night with legendary literary figure and humorist, Heinz Strunk. The Fraktus musician recorded an improvised flute solo on his first appearance. Everything runs smoothly at Baxxter\u2019s.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? DSDS (German TV version of Pop Idol) again? \u201cI\u2019m just going to see what happens!\u201d The Eurovision Song Contest? \u201cDefinitely not, doing the preliminary round once was enough. Anyhow, we came second behind Mutzke then.\u201d And Ibiza? It\u2019s back here in any event; I\u2019ll already be on the island in July again.\u201d How long has Baxxter been a fan of Ibiza now? \u201cTo be honest, earlier I used to be more of a Mallorca guy. I came here for the first time in 1997 and it didn\u2019t really grab me at all. Then I came back three years later and it just \u2018clicked\u2019! What is so special for him? There\u2019s nowhere else quite like Ibiza: it\u2019s unique. You can have everything just how you like it. Really quiet spots, busy beaches, retreats or really massive parties. And the clubs, of course. For those who like things a bit darker, there\u2019s Amnesia. Naturally, I love Ushuaia, but my favourite of all is Pacha. The club is a legend; what a history, what an atmosphere. They roll out the red carpet today for anyone who turns up there with a membership card from 1973.\u201d And it also goes downstairs from the fish restaurant when we say goodbye. No sooner does he hit the street than three excited ladies come up to H.P., asking him for a photo together. It\u2019s a question of honour. The man is close to the people and, see above, really laidback. If Jimmy Fallon could only see it…<\/p>\n\n\t\t