Puhdys Live At Rockpalast 1996 (LP)

(MIG Records) 8 tracks

“The Puhdys loved the (West) Berlin Waldbühne and the fans loved to see us at the Waldbühne”, Puhdys guitarist and singer Dieter ‘Maschine’ Birr remembers the band's performances at the Berlin open-air arena. In the early 1980s alone, they were guests at the Waldbühne three times. Then they took a short break from the Waldbühne for 13 years and when they returned to the venue in Berlin's Westend in 1996, the wheel of history had turned a lot in the meantime.

Seven years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, WDR-Rockpalast hosted an open-air concert with a total of eight bands from both parts of Germany. In addition to the Puhdys, Stern Combo Meissen, Karat, Die Zöllner, City, Die Prinzen, Extrabreit and Selig also took to the stage. Alan Bangs from “Rockpalast” and Ingo Dubinski from “Elf 99” hosted the show. The atmosphere was great right from the start, with the Puhdys taking to the stage as the penultimate act. The band put on a great show, with big hits such as “Wenn ein Mensch lebt”, “Alt wie ein Baum” and “Rockerrente” to round off the evening.

As the Waldbühne always had to close at 11 pm, the Puhdys were unfortunately unable to play an encore so that the Prinzen could also deliver their set. Exactly 50 years ago, the Puhdys released their first album on vinyl on Amiga, this recording from 1996 will be the last Puhdys album. The circle has now come full circle, a worthy conclusion.