| Scooter | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Germany |
| Genre(s) | Techno Rave Hardcore Trance Jumpstyle Hard dance |
| Years active | 1993 – present |
| Label(s) | Sheffield Tunes, Kontor Records |
| Website | www.scootertechno.com |
| Members | |
| H.P. Baxxter Rick J. Jordan Michael Simon Jens Thele (Manager) |
|
| Former members | |
| Ferris Bueller Axel Coon Jay Frog |
|
Scooter are a successful German techno band, who have sold over 14 million records and have earned 80 gold and platinum awards. [1] The band is currently made up of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J. Jordan and new member Michael Simon. They have a sort of "trademark" sound, with most of their songs featuring some "rap shouting", sometimes featuring a high pitched vocal. Much of their music features elements of a live performance, including the roar of the crowd, and the echoing sound of H.P.'s voice. Among their more well-known hits are "Ramp! (The Logical Song)", "Hyper Hyper", "Move Your Ass", "Fire", "How Much Is the Fish?", "Nessaja", "Maria (I Like It Loud)", "One (Always Hardcore)", "Posse (I Need You on the Floor)", "Weekend!", and "Hello! (Good to Be Back)".
Contents |
Celebrate the Nun and The Loop
In 1986 H. P. Baxxter and Rick J. Jordan met in Hanover, Germany through a small ad and founded the new wave band Celebrate the Nun. The band released two albums Meanwhile (1989) and Continuous (1991) and five singles. Initially, they started out as a quartet; however, Slin Tompson left the band in 1990 to start a project on his own. The main vocals were done by H.P. Baxxter whereas the female part of the vocals were delivered by Baxxter's sister Britt Maxime [2]. Not finding the expected success in the new wave arena H.P Baxxter kept working at the former Hamburg based Indie label (currently Edel Records) luckily within the sector of distribution and sales where he met Scooter's future manager Jens Thele. Soon after, in late 1993, the former Celebrate the Nun members joined up with H.P.'s cousin Ferris Bueller under the management of Jens Thele to form a remix team known as The Loop, who became one of the top remix teams in Germany, releasing various remixes for acts like Adeva, Holly Johnson, Tag Team, RuPaul, Marky Mark feat. Prince Ital Joe.[3]
The Beginning of Scooter
Scooter started as a project in 1994. Their debut single "Vallée De Larmes" (French for Valley of Tears) reached #8 on the German official dance chart. In April of that year, Scooter played their first live show in Hamburg, Germany, at "The Palladium" where vocalist H.P. Baxxter began freestyling to an instrumental dance track, thus the melody "Hyper Hyper" being born. At that point, Scooter officially switched from being a project into a band, and Baxxter's rapping became one of the band's trademarks. At first, "Hyper-Hyper" was expected to be a small hit within the club scene only, which surprisingly enough went on becoming a platinum record (700,000 units sold) [4] eventually reaching no. 2 in Germany's Media Control single chart. The boys proved that they are not one-hit wonder band when their third single "Move Your Ass" reached no. 3 within Media Control's single chart after a few weeks of its release. The follow-up singles "Friends" and "Endless Summer" from their first album And the Beat Goes On occupied similar positions as well. The band maintained the initial technique of their sound throughout their second album Our Happy Hardcore until the style became noticeably different with their 1996 single "I'm Raving" (from the 3rd album Wicked) as the tempos were down to 138 BPM from their previous tempos which were between the range of 160 and 190 BPM. However, this didn't seem to refrain their fans from buying their records as the single got its gold certification eventually reaching no. 4 in Germany. A year later, Scooter was the first techno band to use a metal guitar riff in their first single "Fire" from their fourth album Age of Love, four weeks after the release of which the boys picked up the gold disc for (250,000 units sold).
Scooter in 1998-2002
In 1998, Ferris Bueller (Soren Buehler) left the group to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by DJ Axel Coon, who had been working with the band at the recording studio for sometime already. Thus, Scooter entered the second chapter and soon after released one of their memorable singles "How Much is the Fish?" which shot all the way to no. 3, selling well over 300,000 units and becoming another gold single. Their fifth album No Time to Chill which appeared at the stores in July 1998 reached the no. 4 position in Media Control album chart, which is considered the most successful album to date, both in Germany and outside. The success kept on growing the secret of which H.P. Baxxter explains in his own words:
| “ | Find out what you are unable to do and then go and do it. You can’t afford to lose your curiosity or a certain healthy naivety, otherwise you might as well pack it up on the spot. If the element of fun is gone, it doesn’t make much sense. And you need to stay credible. | ” |
Rick J. Jordan's point of view is:
| “ | H.P. comes up with the maddest ideas and then we have to see how we can build a song together. But that’s why I love him, it’s a real inspiration and you can be sure there’s something worthwhile in there, once you get used to his style. I try to sort the creative chaos and add in my own ideas into the production process.[5] | ” |
In July 1999, Scooter's first single "Faster Harder Scooter" from their sixth album Back to the Heavyweight Jam reached no. 7 at home, same position was also occupied by the album. Also, in December of the same year right after the release of the single called "Fuck the Millennium", H. P. Baxxter announced that he, the Scooter-frontman will be called Sheffield Dave, Ice, Screaming Lord and Candyman in future.
Scooter released their seventh album Sheffield in May 2000 which took yet another new direction including 6/8 rhythms on tracks "Don't Gimme the Funk" and "Sex Dwarf". In late 2000, after their second single "She's the Sun" (which portrayed the New Wave roots of both H.P.'s and Rick's), the boys were awarded a Comet at the 2000 VIVA Comet Awards in the "Most Successful Dance Act" category. The band's 21st single "Posse (I Need You on the Floor)" (the video of which is shot at the Fredericia dance festival in Denmark) happens to be the first song to include high-pitched-voice in the chorus since "Endless Summer". Their eighth album We Bring the Noise released in June 2001 includes another single "Aiii Shot the DJ". In December 2001, Scooter released their 23rd single "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" from compilation album Push The Beat For This Jam, the video of which is based on the film The Fast and the Furious. The single shipped well over 200,000 units in Germany, which also went gold in many countries and platinum in others including Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway.
Scooter in 2002-2006
In 2002, the band released their second Best Of album titled Push The Beat For This Jam (The Second Chapter). It was at this time that Axel Coon left the band to pursue a solo career in DJing and remixing, and Jay Frog became the new third man during which time Scooter recorded three more albums. Their 24th single "Nessaja", a cover version of the title track from Peter Maffay´s musical Tabaluga made a sensational entry with their new line-up at number one in the German official single charts for the first time. It is the greatest success in the history of the band so far. Scooter also began to enjoy sort of a comeback within UK charts, with 6 top 20 UK singles "Nessaja", "The Logical Song", "Posse (I Need You On The Floor)", "Weekend!", "The Night" and "Maria (I Like It Loud)" all charting within 18 month period. In February 2003, Scooter picked up the highest award in the German music industry for the single "Nessaja" at the Echo Awards 2003. Also in the same year the video for "Weekend!" caused a real scandal with its scenes of topless dancers. The fans, however, didn't seem to be bothered by this debate as the song reached no. 2 on the German Media Control single chart.
Scooter released their next studio album The Stadium Techno Experience in March 2003, which climbed to no. 7 on the album chart. The single "The Night" became the last number to feature the HPV (high pitched voice) effect and also reached the Top 10 in Germany. The next single from the album "Maria (I Like It Loud)" was released with the collaboration of hardcore producer Marc Acardipane and Dick Rules, the chorus of which has become an anthem for many fans at Scooter concerts. The single eventually reached no.4 on the single chart. Mind The Gap was their 10th studio album. This album was available in three different versions (Basic, Regular, Deluxe). The 28th single "Shake That!" flavoured with 70s Disco sound was released on the 4th of October in most European countries which entered the German Media Control single chart at no. 8 and got a gold certification in Czech Republic.[6] The Who's Got The Last Laugh Now? Tour 2006, named after the 11th studio album, was the last tour to take place. After the tour they released a CD and 2-disc DVD entitled Excess All Areas, containing the final concert of the 2006 tour on one disc, and every single video for every single release on the other.
2006-present
On August 14, 2006, it was announced that Jay Frog had decided to leave the band to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Michael Simon. On August 19 Scooter played at the Tufertschwil Open Air in Switzerland, where Simon debuted as the third man of the band. The single "Behind The Cow" was debuted at The Dome 40 in Düsseldorf on December 1, 2006, and was released on January 19, 2007. The song and its lyrics are based on "What Time Is Love?" by The KLF, the music video of which was shot in India and features rapper Fatman Scoop. Their 12th album The Ultimate Aural Orgasm which includes songs like "The United Vibe" (cover version of Den Harrow's "Catch the Fox"), "Scarborough Affair" or "The Shit That Killed Elvis" (collaboration with Jimmy Pop, the frontman of the American fun-rock-band The Bloodhound Gang, who co-wrote the song) was released on February 9, 2007. The second single release of The Ultimate Aural Orgasm was "Lass Uns Tanzen" which appeared at the stores on March 23. On August 10, Scooter released a new single called "The Question is What is the Question", the release of which surprised many of their fans as they were expecting a third single from the current album rather than an entirely new material. The new single's genre is Jumpstyle, and covers the classic 70's track "How Do You Do" by Mouth & MacNeal. Scooter released their 13th studio album Jumping All Over the World on 30 November, 2007 which contains both singles "The Question is What is the Question" and "And No Matches" (which was released on 23 November, 2007). It's been said that the band will release a limited edition of the new album containing a bonus CD which will include all of their top ten hits from "Hyper, Hyper" to "How Much Is The Fish?" as well as previously unreleased version of "The Question Is What Is The Question?.
Lineup
Current
- Hans-Peter Geerdes (H.P. Baxxter 1993 - Present) (born 16 March 1966) - vocals, guitars
- Hendrik Stedler (Rick J Jordan 1993 - Present) (born 1 January 1968) - keyboards
- Michael Simon (2006 - Present) (born 29 August 1972) Keyboards
Former
- Sören Bühler (Ferris Bueller) (born: 29 September 1971) 1993-1998) - keyboards
- Axel Broszeit (Axel Coon) (born: 23 March 1975) 1998-2002) - keyboards
- Jürgen Frosch (Jay Frog) (born: 7 May 1976) 2002-2006) - keyboards
Collaborations
- Marc Acardipane and Dick Rules [Maria (I Like It Loud)]
- Bloodhound Gang [The Shit That Killed Elvis]
- Fatman Scoop [Behind the Cow]
Management
- Jens Thele (Manager)
- Kai Busse (Bookings)
- Klaus Perreth (Tour-Management)
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | SUI | AUT | NL | SWE | NOR | UK | FIN | |||||
| 1995 | ...And the Beat Goes On! | 25 | 29 | 27 | 31 | - | 18 | 130 | - | |||
| 1996 | Our Happy Hardcore | 17 | 9 | 16 | 54 | 31 | - | 24 | 8 | |||
| 1996 | Wicked! | 22 | 38 | 30 | - | 33 | - | 76 | 5 | |||
| 1997 | Age of Love | 19 | 35 | 32 | - | 26 | 35 | - | 4 | |||
| 1998 | No Time to Chill | 4 | 20 | 27 | - | 16 | 28 | - | 1 | |||
| 1999 | Back to the Heavyweight Jam | 7 | 25 | 5 | - | - | 35 | - | 3 | |||
| 2000 | Sheffield | 15 | 60 | 49 | - | 15 | - | - | 9 | |||
| 2001 | We Bring the Noise! | 11 | 74 | 32 | - | 17 | 12 | - | 8 | |||
| 2003 | The Stadium Techno Experience | 7 | 35 | 14 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 12 | |||
| 2004 | Mind the Gap | 16 | 67 | 34 | 83 | 44 | - | - | - | |||
| 2005 | Who's Got the Last Laugh Now? | 14 | 44 | 31 | - | - | 30 | - | - | |||
| 2007 | The Ultimate Aural Orgasm | 6 | 66 | 17 | - | 30 | - | - | 25 | |||
| 2007 | Jumping All Over the World | 14 | 98 | 40 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | |||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Taken from the album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | SUI | AUT | FRA | NL | SWE | NOR | UK | FIN | AUS | |||
| 1994 | Vallée De Larmes | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1994 | Hyper Hyper | 2 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 26 | 10 | - | - | - | ...And The Beat Goes On! |
| 1995 | Move Your Ass! | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 23 | - | - | |
| 1995 | Friends | 3 | 15 | 15 | - | 38 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1995 | Endless Summer | 5 | 11 | 18 | 48 | 36 | - | - | - | 13 | - | |
| 1995 | Back In The U.K. | 4 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 29 | 39 | - | 18 | 17 | - | Our Happy Hardcore |
| 1996 | Let Me Be Your Valentine | 14 | 23 | 9 | 45 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1996 | Rebel Yell | 8 | 17 | 7 | - | - | 42 | - | 30 | 8 | - | |
| 1996 | I'm Raving | 4 | 13 | 4 | - | 44 | 37 | - | 33 | 2 | - | Wicked! |
| 1996 | Break It Up | 15 | 44 | 18 | - | - | - | - | 92 | 13 | - | |
| 1997 | Fire | 5 | 11 | 5 | - | - | 7 | 10 | 45 | 1 | - | The Age Of Love |
| 1997 | The Age Of Love | 14 | 21 | 21 | 35 | - | 20 | - | 76 | 1 | - | |
| 1997 | No Fate | 39 | 36 | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | Rough And Tough And Dangerous |
| 1998 | How Much Is The Fish? | 3 | 13 | 9 | - | 21 | 23 | 19 | - | 2 | - | No Time To Chill |
| 1998 | We Are The Greatest / I Was Made For Loving You | 26 | - | 36 | - | 98 | 45 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | Call Me Mañana | 16 | 25 | 24 | - | - | 6 | - | - | 7 | - | |
| 1999 | Faster Harder Scooter | 7 | 20 | 24 | - | - | 3 | 15 | - | 2 | - | Back To The Heavyweight Jam |
| 1999 | Fuck The Millennium | 11 | 61 | 15 | - | - | 3 | - | - | 4 | - | |
| Year | Single | Taken from the album | ||||||||||
| GER | SUI | AUT | FRA | NL | SWE | NOR | UK | FIN | AUS | |||
| 2000 | I'm Your Pusher | 17 | 74 | 33 | - | - | 27 | - | - | 19 | - | Sheffield |
| 2000 | She's The Sun | 41 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2001 | Posse (I Need You On The Floor) | 7 | 43 | 7 | - | 65 | 16 | - | 15 | 20 | - | We Bring The Noise! |
| 2001 | Aiii Shot The DJ | 29 | 98 | 22 | - | - | 37 | - | - | 16 | - | |
| 2001 | Ramp! (The Logical Song) | 2 | 14 | 4 | - | - | 8 | - | 2 | 11 | - | Push The Beat For This Jam |
| 2002 | Nessaja | 1 | 7 | 2 | - | 9 | 21 | - | 4 | 7 | - | 24 Carat Gold |
| 2003 | Weekend! | 2 | 33 | 4 | - | 7 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 7 | - | The Stadium Techno Experience |
| 2003 | The Night | 10 | 34 | 12 | - | 26 | 14 | - | 16 | 14 | - | |
| 2003 | Maria (I Like It Loud) | 4 | 21 | 1 | - | 16 | 21 | - | - | 16 | - | |
| 2003 | Jigga Jigga! | 10 | 45 | 9 | - | 50 | 24 | 10 | - | 12 | - | Mind The Gap |
| 2004 | Shake That! | 8 | 38 | 12 | - | 24 | 12 | - | 4 | 9 | - | |
| 2004 | One (Always Hardcore) | 7 | 30 | 5 | - | 10 | 60 | - | - | 9 | - | |
| 2005 | Suavemente | 22 | 39 | 27 | - | 18 | 58 | - | - | - | - | |
| 2005 | Hello! (Good To Be Back) | 14 | 36 | 23 | - | 43 | - | - | - | 3 | - | Who's Got The Last Laugh Now? |
| 2005 | Apache Rocks The Bottom | 24 | 54 | 23 | - | - | 47 | - | - | 2 | - | |
| 2007 | Behind The Cow | 17 | 78 | 22 | - | 54 | 59 | - | - | 3 | - | The Ultimate Aural Orgasm |
| 2007 | Lass Uns Tanzen | 19 | - | 41 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | |
| 2007 | The Question Is What Is The Question? | 5 | 83 | 2 | - | 42 | - | - | - | 4 | - | Jumping All Over the World |
| 2007 | And No Matches | 9 | TBC | 20 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | |
Official compilations
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | SUI | AUT | FRA | SWE | NOR | UK | AUS | FIN | ||||
| 1998 | Rough And Tough And Dangerous - The Singles 94/98 | 38 | - | 47 | - | 18 | 12 | - | - | 2 | ||
| 2002 | Push The Beat For This Jam - The Second Chapter | 5 | 42 | 10 | - | 2 | 1 | 6 | 39 | 29 | ||
| 2002 | 24 Carat Gold | 49 | 94 | - | 46 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
Videos / DVDs
| Year | Title |
| 1996 | Happy Hardcore Clips ...And The Show Goes On! |
| 1998 | Rough And Tough And Dangerous |
| 2002 | Encore: Live and Direct |
| 2002 | 24 Carat Gold |
| 2006 | Excess All Areas |
Live albums
| Year | Album Title | UK Chart Position | Germany Chart Position |
| 2002 | Encore: Live and Direct | - | #13 |
| 2006 | Excess All Areas | - | #29 |
Tours
| Year | Tour Title |
| 1996 | Age Of Love Tour |
| 1998 | No Time To Chill Tour |
| 1999 | Back To The Heavyweight Jam Tour |
| 2000 | Sheffield Tour |
| 2002 | Push The Beat For This Jam Tour |
| 2004 | We Like It Loud Tour |
| 2006 | Who's Got The Last Laugh Now? Tour |
| 2007 | Lass Uns Tanzen Club Tour |
| 2007 | The Ultimate Aural Orgasm Australian Club Tour |
| 2008 | Jumping All Over the World Tour |
In popular culture
The Norwegian comedy duo Bye & Rønning made several parodies of Scooter, including Scooter in studio and Party in Heaven. Oli P. also performed a comedy spoof of HP Baxxter on VIVA. [1] In 2003, the English dance music group Emmet formed a Scooter tribute act entitled Moped. Their songs received airplay on BBC Radio 1. [2]
References
- ^ "Biography".scootertechno.com.
- ^ "Celebrate the Nun".thesecondfuture.net/de/projekte/ctn/celebratethenun.html.
- ^ "Biography/1986-1993".scootertechno.com.
- ^ "Certification".musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank.html.
- ^ "Biography/Quote".scootertechno.com.
- ^ "Biography/October 2004".scootertechno.com
External links
