Who was/is The Rainbows ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

The Rainbows

In the mid-1960s The Rainbows were the most successful German beat band – four genuine Berlin lads: Hartmut 'Teddy' Münster (lead guitar, vocals), Horst 'Hotte' Lippok (bass, vocals), Rolf 'Rolle' Schröder (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Heinz-Dieter 'Diddy' Heinze (drums). With Berlin wit and cheeky stagecraft – nightcaps and striped grandfather's underwear on the TV show 'Beat Beat Beat' – they gave serious beat fans a fright, while lead guitarist Teddy Münster would rather have won them over through sheer quality.

Münster laid the foundations in 1963 in Berlin with his rock'n'roll outfit The Hurrycanes. When the brothers Klaus and Horst Lippok joined, The Rainbows were born, quickly making a name for themselves at their home club Played 66. After Klaus Lippok left, Rolf Schröder came in from the band Die Verdammten, and under bandleader Hotte Lippok the Rainbows moved from Berlin to Ulm, where southern Germany offered the best month-long residencies. Their sound was raw, unpolished and full of drive.

Through their managers' connections to CBS, Balla Balla appeared in 1966 as the German answer to Sam The Sham's Wooly Bully. Released in the USA, Japan, Italy and Holland, it opened every door; on one tour the Rainbows stepped in for Drafi Deutscher alongside the Kinks, the Walker Brothers and Chris Andrews. In 1966 'Bravo' readers voted them the third most popular beat band behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Yet the novelty hit turned them into rock clowns – an image the earnest band could never shake off.

Copyright © Bear Family Records

Copyright © Bear Family Records®. Copying, also of extracts, or any other form of reproduction, including the adaptation into electronic data bases and copying onto any data mediums, in English or in any other language is permissible only and exclusively with the written consent of Bear Family Records® GmbH.

More information about The Rainbows on Wikipedia.org